Barbara Cushing

Barbara Cushing Mortimer Paley (July 5, 1915 – July 6, 1978) was an American magazine editor and socialite. Affectionately known as Babe throughout her life, Paley made notable contributions to the field of magazine editing. In recognition of her distinctive fashion sense, she was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958. Together with her two sisters, Minnie and Betsey, she was a popular debutante in her youth and the trio were dubbed "The Fabulous Cushing Sisters" in high society. She was married twice; first, to the sportsman Stanley G. Mortimer Jr. and second, to CBS founder William S. Paley.

Early life

Barbara Cushing Mortimer Paley, born Barbara Cushing in Boston, Massachusetts, was the daughter of renowned brain surgeon Harvey Cushing, who belonged to a prominent Cleveland medical family and held professorships at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Yale, and Katharine Stone (née Crowell), a granddaughter of Ohio congressman John Crowell. She spent her formative years in Brookline, Massachusetts. Summers were spent at the family cottage, Little Boar’s Head, on the coast of New Hampshire.

Barbara's father was committed to his career and would spend long hours at his work which meant that his wife was left at home alone with the couple's five children. Though affectionate towards his children when home, he would spend much of his time in his study.

Within the family Barbara was known as "Baby" or "Babs" Together, the Cushing sisters were often referred to by the public as 'The Fabulous Cushing Sisters'.

Barbara’s oldest brother William died in an automobile accident in 1926, near New Haven where he was attending Yale University. This marked the beginning of her social journey. She completed her high school education at Winsor School in Boston in 1934. The accident led to her front teeth being knocked out and a shattered jawbone. Doctors had to reconstruct her jaw and teeth. This role granted her access to designer clothing, often obtained in exchange for her high-profile image. In 1941, Time magazine ranked her the world's second-best dressed woman, following Wallis Simpson and preceding Aimée de Heeren. She was also named on the best-dressed lists of 1945 and 1946.

Style

Babe and William Paley maintained an apartment at the St. Regis, which was styled by the interior designer Billy Baldwin. They resided there during the week and spent weekends at their 80-acre (32 ha) estate, Kiluna Farm, located in Manhasset, Long Island. In 1957, they acquired Kiluna North, a retreat on Squam Lake in New Hampshire, which afforded them privacy and allowed them to play host to numerous celebrities.

Despite encountering social exclusions and discriminatory practices due to prevalent anti-Semitic prejudices against her husband, the Paleys cultivated a circle of high-society friends that included author Truman Capote and fellow socialite Slim Keith. Capote included Paley and Keith in his group of "swans," comprising New York socialites such as Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, and C.Z. Guest Paley severed her friendship with Capote when he published excerpts from Answered Prayers, his tell-all about New York's elite.

Paley's personal style was considered influential. She was known for combinations such as pairing high-end jewellery by Fulco di Verdura and Jean Schlumberger with costume pieces, and for choices like tying a scarf to her handbag or allowing her hair to go grey naturally. Several of her fashion choices were widely imitated.

Paley appeared on the International Best Dressed List 14 times before being inducted into the Fashion Hall of Fame in 1958. Fashion designer Bill Blass said of her: "You noticed Babe and nothing else."

Personal life

While working at Vogue, Barbara met and married Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr. (1913–1999), an oil heir and member of a prominent New York family, in 1940 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton, New York. However, their marriage ended by 1946 after Mortimer, upon returning from his service in the Navy during the WWII, became an alcoholic and displayed severe mood swings. Through her daughter Amanda, her granddaughter is Flobelle 'Belle' Fairbanks Burden, a lawyer and New York Times Bestseller for her autobiographical book Strangers which describes her childhood summers at Barbara's home.

After her divorce from Mortimer, Barbara received a settlement from a trust fund. In 1946, she met William "Pasha" Paley, who was estranged from his wife Dorothy Hart Hearst (1908–1998), the former wife of John Randolph Hearst. William Paley, the chief executive of Columbia Broadcast System or CBS, was wealthy, influential, and interested in the arts, and sought acceptance in New York's café society. Barbara's social connections provided him a better chance of gaining entry into the exclusive circles that had previously eluded him. For Barbara, William Paley offered wealth, security, and worldly experiences. William's divorce was finalized July 24, 1947. He and Barbara married the following year. She had two children with Paley:

William C. "Bill" Paley (born 1948), who relaunched La Palina, a cigar company established by grandfather Sam Paley in 1896. who made her "nondebut" in 1968, shortly after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

According to several biographers, Barbara experienced loneliness and frustration as William Paley engaged in extramarital affairs. This emotional toll affected her and her family. Moreover, she faced public and media scrutiny, expected to maintain an unrealistic standard of beauty and social grace.

Final years and death Paley was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1974. She died on July 6, 1978, a day after her 63rd birthday.

Legacy

Barbara Paley remains an icon in the realms of fashion and style. Truman Capote, a former friend, reputedly commented, "Babe Paley had only one fault. She was perfect. Otherwise, she was perfect."

Additional depictions include: The Swans of Fifth Avenue, 2016 novel by Melanie Benjamin, with Babe Paley alongside Capote and Slim Keith Swan Song, 2018 novel by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott, with Babe Paley alongside Capote and other "swans", longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2019 The Capote Tapes, 2019 documentary