Gloria Vanderbilt (born February 20, 1924, , New York, U.S.—died June 17, 2019, New York, New York) was an American socialite, artist, author, actress, and designer of textiles and fashion who was often in the public eye for her social life and professional exploits.Gloria VanderbiltGloria Vanderbilt, photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1958.(more)Born into the prominent of New York, Gloria was thrust into the media spotlight from the moment of her birth. Her father died when she was a baby, and she spent much of her early childhood in Paris. At age 10 she became the centre of an highly publicized custody case between her mother and her aunt, , who had been housing young Gloria on her New York estate for some two years. Gloria was eventually given to the care of her aunt, with her mother having visitation rights. It was through her aunt’s influence that Gloria first became interested in art; Whitney herself was a sculptor and the founder of the .At age 17 Vanderbilt dropped out of to marry the talent agent Pasquale (“Pat”) De Cicco. Soon after the couple divorced in 1945, she attracted press for her marriage to conductor , who was more than 40 years her senior; their marriage also ended in divorce, in 1955. In the late 1940s Vanderbilt gave her first informal art show in , which was followed in the coming decades by numerous one-woman shows in major cities across the country. In 1954 she took her ambitions to the stage, making her debut in a summer-stock production of The Swan, and the following year she made her debut in The Time of Your Life. In 1956 she married director ; the pair divorced in 1963. Later in 1963 Vanderbilt married writer Wyatt Emory Cooper, to whom she remained married until his death in 1978. With him she had two of her four sons—one of whom, , became a prominent news anchor for ., Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, and her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, each sought custody of her , Known for her fashion design and tumultuous personal life, actress, writer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt became an iconic figure in American popular culture during the 20th.