What I Know About Gloria Vanderbilt

Observations from a lifelong friendship.

- Wendy Goodman

The first time I met Gloria Vanderbilt, who recently died at the age of 95, I was about 6. I started storing away memories of her then, when my family went to the fantastical Christmas parties she hosted each year, first at 10 Gracie Square, when she was married to Sidney Lumet, and later in a townhouse at 45 East 67th Street, when she was married to Wyatt Cooper. As she welcomed our family and the other guests to the festivities, she left me dazzled. Her rooms were drenched in the scents of Rigaud candles and the exquisite flowers that towered above the elaborately set tables, and the women at the parties wore evening clothes and sparkling jewels, seizing the opportunity to look their most magnificent best.