Courtesy: CNN YouTube Channel
Creating A Legacy
Gloria Vanderbilt, a towering icon in the fashion industry, has died today at the age of 95, reported by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who’s the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, Gloria made a name for herself in the public eye all the way back to when she was a little girl when her wealthy railroad father, Reginald Vanderbilt, died when Gloria was just a baby, and inherited a fortune where it became an ugly public battle between Gloria’s mother and aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt, who was victorious in court over control of Gloria’s fortune, until Gloria turned 21-years-old.
Once Gloria rose from being dubbed as “the poor little rich girl” and took control of her money, Gloria was determined to make a name for herself, while on a mission to find the love that was missing in her life by marrying several key figures that either ended in divorce or death, Gloria’s marriage to Wyatt Cooper led Gloria to birth 2 children, being Carter and Anderson Cooper, Carter committed suicide in 1988.
Gloria’s fashion empire came about when she tapped into her creativity of fashion and textile designs, winning her a 1969 Neiman Marcus Award, which led her to create a line of iconic jeans bearing her namesake, as well as other clothing pieces which all were incredibly successful expanding Gloria’s fortune immensely.
A year after moving in with her son, Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt published a book in 1996 titled “A Mother’s Story” which talked about Carter’s death, and Gloria sold her Gloria Vanderbilt Apparel Corp. to Jones Apparel Group in 2002 for $138 million.