Extravagant Facts About Gloria Vanderbilt, The All-American Heiress
Everybody knows money can't buy happiness, but nobody lived that truth like Gloria Vanderbilt. This "Last Daughter of the Golden Age"
started out life eye-poppingly well-to-do, but before the baby heiress was out of diapers, she had experienced unimaginable tragedy. From there, it somehow only got more dramatic—and ten times more scandalous.
Gloria Vanderbilt Facts
1. She Was A Daddy's Girl
Gloria had the definition of a charmed existence—at first. The only child of the fabulously wealthy railroad magnate Reginald Vanderbilt and his second wife Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, she was the golden apple of her father’s eye. Almost from the beginning, Reginald had a special connection to his daughter. When he first saw his baby girl, he exclaimed, "It is fantastic how Vanderbilt she looks! See the corners of her eyes, how they turn up?"
But little Gloria had precious little time to bask in her father’s love.
2. Her Father Met A Horrible End
Although the Vanderbilt family were already famous for their wealth, class, and taste, they hid very dark secrets behind their gilded doors. For one, her father Reginald was haunted by demons, and his enormous wealth simply wasn't enough to buy his way out of his problems. After a life of drinking, he passed from cirrhosis of the liver when Gloria was only 18 months old.
As the toddler quickly found out, this was just the beginning of her infamous story.
3. Her Mother Took Her Money
With her father's passing, Gloria became a very rich baby—like, she was a millionairess multiple times over. This…wasn’t a good thing. See, Gloria’s mother was only 21 years old, extravagant, and stunningly beautiful to boot.
Since the months-old girl was too young to control her estate, her mother took over "responsibility" of the vast sum...with disastrous consequences.
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