Gloria Laura (Vanderbilt) Cooper (1924 - 2019)

Born 20 Feb 1924 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Pasquale DiCicco — married 28 Dec 1941 (to about 1945) in Santa Barbara, California, United States

Wife of Leopold Anthony Stokowski — married 22 Apr 1945 (to about Oct 1955) in Mexico

Wife of Sidney Arthur Lumet — married 28 Aug 1956 (to Aug 1963) in New York City, New York, United States

Wife of Wyatt Emory Cooper — married 24 Dec 1963 (to 5 Jan 1978) in Arlington, Virginia, United States

Died 17 Jun 2019 at age 95 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Gloria (Vanderbilt) Cooper is Notable.

American artist, author, actress, heiress and socialite, noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans. She is a member of the Vanderbilt family of New York, the great-great granddaughter of shipping magnate, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the mother of CNN television anchor Anderson Cooper.

Early Years

Born in New York City, Gloria Vanderbilt is the only child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and his second wife, Gloria Morgan. She became heiress to a half share in a $5 million trust fund upon her father's death from cirrhosis when she was 18 months old. She initially lived with her mother, and after a bitter custody battle, went to live with her aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney at the age of ten.

In 1941, Gloria went to California to visit her mother in Beverly Hills, where she had the opportunity to meet and mingle with movie stars and the rich and famous. That year, at the age of 17, she married Hollywood agent Pasquale ("Pat") DiCicco; they divorced in 1945. Her second marriage was to conductor Leopold Stokowski in April 1945. They had two sons, Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski and Christopher Stokowski. Around this time, she discovered her passion for art and studied at the Art Students League of New York. She explored an interest in acting as well, studying with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She divorced Stokowski in October 1955. On August 28, 1956, she married television director Sidney Lumet, and they divorced in August 1963.

Professional Success

Gloria married her fourth husband, author Wyatt Emory Cooper, on December 24, 1963. They had two sons: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper and CNN news anchor Anderson Hays Cooper.

She began her career as a commercial designer in 1971 when Don Hall of the Hallmark company saw her drawings in an art gallery. The drawings were used in a line of paper goods. A collection of scarves was adapted from her paintings. Vanderbilt went on to design a highly successful line of designer jeans, which featured her signature and swan logo. In 1980, she earned $10 million. Her name was seen on such products as perfume, blouses, sheets, shoes, leather goods, liqueurs, and accessories. In the mid-1980s, she launched a tofu-based frozen dessert. Vanderbilt was one of the first designers to put her name on clothing and also to make public appearances.

Personal Tragedies

Gloria and Wyatt Cooper had a happy marriage and family life until he died in 1978 during open heart surgery in New York City. On July 22, 1988, her son Carter Cooper committed suicide at the age of 23 by falling from the family's 14th-floor apartment. She saw it happen, but was unable to stop it. In 1997, she wrote A Mother's Story about this most difficult experience of her life.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Vanderbilt
• http://biography.yourdictionary.com/gloria-vanderbilt
• http://www.biography.com/people/gloria-vanderbilt-9515220
• Find A Grave: Memorial #189824824 Headstone photo by Jeffrey Casale. Profile photos by The Gilded age and AJ

https://famouskin.com/family-tree.php?name=35749+gloria+vanderbilt