Luscious list: Epicureans, socialites, hosts, philanthropists, and entertainers

A list of some of the most fascinating, famous and infamous people that have affected the social scene in recent history…

If you’re looking for an interesting read, the people on this list are a combination of luscious and not-so-luscious, but enthralling in their own ways.

My personal favourite is “the socialite”. A great example of this is the British-born Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman who could be considered a modern-day courtesan, learning how to “get ahead” in life by seducing and marrying many prominent men, ultimately becoming a political activist for the United States Democratic Party and a diplomat.

She died, as United States Ambassador to France, whilst swimming in the pool at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, in 1997. Whether you like her approach to life, or not, it is certainly fascinating.

Here’s my list of epicureans, socialites, hosts, philanthropists, and entertainers…

Alain Ducasse

Alexandra “Baba” Curzon Metcalfe

Alexandra Miller von Fürstenberg

Aline, Countess of Romanones

Amanda Randolph Hearst

Anne Hendricks Bass

Anne Randolph Hearst

Annette Mannheimer de la Renta

Anthony Bourdain

Barbara “Babe” Cushing Mortimer Paley

Barbara Woolworth Hutton Mdivani von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow Grant Troubetzkoy Rubirosa von Cramm Doan

Betsy Newling Bloomingdale

Betsy Mortimer Roosevelt Whitney

Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias Jagger

Brenda Diana Duff Frazier

Brooke Russell Kuser Marshall Astor

Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Lloyd Mellon

C. Z. Guest (aka Lucille Douglas Cochrane)

Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco

Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor (aka “the” Mrs Astor)

Caroline “Lee” Kennedy Canfield Radziwill Ross

Carolyne Smith Roehm Kravis

Carroll McDaniel de Portago Petrie

Cecil Beaton

Christina Onassis Bolker Andreadis Kauzov Roussel

Cole Porter

Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill Balsan, former Duchess of Marlborough

Cornelia Cochrane Churchill Guest

Cynthia Curzon Mosley, Lady Mosley

Marguerite “Daisy” de Glücksberg de Broglie Fellowes

Daphne Guinness Niarchos

Deborah “Debo” Mitford Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Lady Diana Manners Cooper, Viscountess Norwich

Lady Diana Mitford Guinness Mosley

Dolores von Fürstenberg-Herdringen Guinness

Doris Duke Cromwell Rubirosa

Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich

Edith “Edie” Sedgwick

Edward, Duke of Windsor, former King Edward VIII

Edwina Ashley Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma

Eleanor Berkson Conner Lambert

Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl

Elizabeth Gwynne David

Elizabeth Wharton Drexel Dahlgren Lehr Beresford

Evangeline Bell Bruce

Evelyn Waugh

Ferran Adrià

Florence “Fleur” Freidman Klapper Pettingell Cowles

Georgia Doble Sitwell

Gianni Agnelli

Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt

Gloria Rubio y Alatorre Scholtens von Fürstenberg-Herdringen Fakhry Bey Guinness

Gloria Vanderbilt DiCicco Stokowski Lumet Cooper

Grace Hinds Duggan Curzon, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston

Harold Nicolson

Helen Hay Whitney

Iris Tree Moffat von Ledebur-Wicheln

Janet Norton Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

Jamie Oliver

Jeanette “Jennie” Jerome Spencer-Churchill Cornwallis-West Porch, Lady Randolph Churchill

Jessica Mitford Romilly Treuhaft

Joan Whitney Payson

John “Jock” Hay Whitney

Julia McWilliams Child

Liliane Schueller Bettencourt

Lily van Ameringen Auchincloss

Lydia Hearst-Shaw

Lynn Forester Platt Stein de Rothschild, Lady de Rothschild

Marco Pierre White

Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto Agnelli

Emma “Margot” Tennant Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith

Marie-Antoinette, archduchess of Austria, Queen of France

Marie-Chantal Miller, Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark

Marie-Hélène van Zuylen van Nyevelt de Nicolay de Rothschild

Marion Davies Brown

Martha “Sunny” Sharp Crawford von Bülow

Martha Kostyra Stewart

Mary “Minnie” Cushing Mortimer Astor Fosburg

Mary Victoria Leiter Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston

Mercedes Tavacoli Kellogg Bass

Mona Travis Strader Schlesinger Bush Williams von Bismarck-Schönhausen de Martini

Nan Schlesinger Kempner

Nancy Cunard Fairbairn

Nancy “Slim” Gross Hawks Hayward Keith

Nancy Mitford Rodd

Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor

Nigella Lawson Diamond Saatchi

Noël Coward

Lady Ottoline Cavendish-Bentinck Morrell

Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman

Pamela Mitford Jackson

Patricia “Patty” Campbell Hearst Shaw

Paul Bocuse

Pauline Potter Leser de Rothschild

Philippe de Rothschild

Pia Christina Miller Getty

Porfirio Rubirosa

Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill

María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila, “Rosario” Princess Kyril of Bulgaria

Thelma Morgan Vail Converse Furness, Viscountess Furness

Trish Deseine

Truman Capote

Unity Mitford

Vincent Astor

Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury

Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald

Who did we miss? Leave a comment below.

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More here in our Books to buy: “The Power of Style” and “The Power of Glamour: The Women Who Defined the Magic of Stardom” by Annette Tapert post.

Don’t forget to check out the new LUSCIOUS SHOP for men’s and women’s fashion, kids, homewares, gifts and themed pages for beach and countryside lusciousness.

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Cheers, Natasha
www.myLusciousLife.com