Barbara Cushing was born on July 5, 1915, into a family of immense privilege. Her father, Harvey Cushing, was a renowned brain surgeon, and her mother, Catherine, was a prominent socialite. As the youngest of five children, she quickly became the darling of the family, earning the affectionate nickname "Babe" that would follow her for life.
Babe and her sisters, Minnie and Betsy, rose to prominence in high society, each carving out a place among the elite. Minnie and Betsy married into the Astor and Roosevelt families, while Babe blossomed into a striking beauty. Together, the trio became known as "The Fabulous Cushing Sisters," embodying the sophistication of their era.
In 1934, at age 18, Babe made her formal debut with a lavish coming-out ball. The event solidified her reputation as one of the most stylish and captivating women of her time. One admirer remarked, "So great is her beauty that no matter how often I see her, each time is the first time."
That same year, Babe was involved in a devastating car accident on Long Island. The impact knocked out her front teeth and caused significant damage to her jaw. She endured extensive dental and reconstructive surgeries, covering the bruising with a chiffon handkerchief during recovery. When she healed, her new false teeth enhanced her smile, and what could have been a source of insecurity became another facet of her legendary beauty.
In 1935, Babe moved to New York City to join her sisters. She began working in high fashion and eventually became an editor at Vogue in 1939. While there, she met Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr., a member of high WASP aristocracy. The couple married on September 21, 1940, in East Hampton, appearing to be the quintessential society pair.
They had two children, a son named Tony and a daughter named Amanda. But behind closed doors, the marriage was troubled. By 1943, Stanley had left to serve in the Navy during World War II. When he returned, he was sullen, angry, and increasingly dependent on alcohol. Meanwhile, Babe had become consumed by her ambitions to ascend the social ladder, and reports suggest she neglected her children during this period.
Babe divorced Stanley on May 29, 1946, after six turbulent years. The settlement granted her $40,000 to support their two children. The split became the talk of café society, cementing her status as a headline-making socialite.
While the divorce was still in progress, Babe began a relationship with William S. Paley, the media mogul behind CBS. At 45, Paley was over a decade older than Babe. The son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, he had built his empire through ambition and business acumen, transforming CBS into a broadcasting powerhouse. His background made him a controversial figure among the old-money elite.
Paley had recently ended his marriage to Dorothy Hart Hearst, who described him as "cold as ice." Socialite Fleur Cowles once remarked, "Bill was like one of the cats of the jungle. He prowled around in search of money." His temper was infamous, and his outbursts often left Babe terrified.
Babe married William Paley in July 1947, just four days after his divorce was finalized. The couple adopted a strategy of deliberate aloofness to maintain their exclusivity. They kept themselves distant, and the only way to contact them was by formal letter. This carefully curated distance enhanced their social cachet.
It was during this period that Babe crossed paths with Truman Capote. The first meeting was reportedly awkward. A friend had asked if he could bring along "Truman" on a vacation, and the Paleys assumed it was President Harry Truman. Instead, the eccentric author Truman Capote arrived.
Once the initial awkwardness passed, Babe and Capote became close friends. Capote declared her one of his "beautiful swans," an exclusive group of glamorous socialites that included Slim Keith and Gloria Guinness. Capote once admitted, "I was madly in love with her."
Babe's lifestyle was extravagant. She owned so many priceless jewels that she stored them in a bank vault. She reportedly bought entire couture collections from designers like Valentino and Dior. She became the undisputed queen of New York society.
But being one of Capote's swans came with competition. Babe was often jealous of Gloria Guinness, a socialite who rivaled her in style and influence. Babe enjoyed reminding others that Gloria had humble beginnings as a Mexican nightclub worker. Gloria responded by inviting Babe aboard her private yacht, insisting it would be casual and that Babe shouldn't bring her finest outfits.
On the first night, Gloria emerged from her cabin adorned in diamonds and insisted they dine formally ashore. From that night forward, Babe always packed her finest outfits, ensuring she was never outshone again.
Babe became known as one of the most meticulous hostesses in high society. She kept a little gold notebook at every dinner party, jotting down perceived flaws to refine future events. Every bedroom in her home was stocked with fresh flowers, snacks, and the latest newspapers.
The pressure for perfection was driven largely by her husband. Bill openly expected Babe to embody the ideal trophy wife, enhancing his image wherever they went. But he had little patience for the effort it took. Early in their marriage, Babe stopped setting her hair before bed because Bill disliked it. His exacting demands turned their glamorous lifestyle into a gilded cage.
One incident occurred just before a trip to Europe. A lamp in their home had been damaged and remained broken when they returned. Knowing Bill's temper, Babe panicked and frantically called her sister, pleading, "I don't care what you do with it, just get it out of his sight."
Babe once confided to Capote that she and Bill had been estranged in the most personal sense for years. Their lack of intimacy stretched into a full decade. It wasn't Babe who distanced herself; it was Bill who turned away. As one confidant put it, "It wasn't that she denied him. He just lost interest."
Bill's interest in other women intensified. He frequented bars and clubs, seeking out models and aspiring starlets. His type stood in stark contrast to Babe's refined elegance. He gravitated toward curvaceous blondes reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe.
Bill's infidelity left Babe deeply insecure. She began to internalize the rejection, convincing herself she was no longer attractive. She seemingly accepted a life of celibacy within her emotionally barren marriage. Some friends speculated she might be asexual, though this was never confirmed.
Desperate to escape, Babe considered divorce. But Capote harshly discouraged her. He reportedly told her, "Look, you don't have any money and you've got four children. Think of them. Bill bought you." His words dismissed her suffering and reminded her of the constraints trapping her in the marriage.
After that crushing realization, Babe reportedly took a nap, and when she woke, she decided she would never bring up divorce again. Instead, she surrounded herself with witty, urbane men she called her "laughing men," including Capote. They offered her charm and lightheartedness she no longer found at home.
Rumors suggest that in the 1960s, Babe sought solace through brief affairs. One alleged fling was with an American ambassador, lasting only a few months. Another was rumored to be with a banker. But each affair ended, and she found herself back where she started.
Despite the neglect and betrayal, Babe rarely spoke ill of her husband, even in private. Her daughter Amanda later reflected, "She never criticized Bill." Her silence may have stemmed from a determination to preserve the image of a united family.
When Babe's hair began to turn gray, her initial reaction was panic, particularly over how Bill might perceive it. But instead of masking it, she embraced it, allowing her dark brunette locks to transition into stunning silver. The look became instantly chic and set a new trend among New York's elite.
One sunny day, Babe removed a scarf from her neck because it was too warm and fastened it to her purse instead. The unintentional styling choice became a sensation. Women everywhere began tying scarves to their handbags in a nod to her innate style.
Not all of Babe's experiences with aging were graceful. As her daughter Amanda blossomed into a stunning beauty, Babe reportedly saw her as a rival. Consumed by jealousy, she struggled to reconcile her own aging with Amanda's youthful allure.
With Bill, Babe had two more children, a daughter named Kate and a son named Billy. But both distanced themselves from the family in adulthood. By middle age, her closest bond was with her eldest son, Tony, from her first marriage.
Babe had long endured debilitating migraines that confined her to dark rooms for days. She began relying on tranquilizers to cope. She also regularly sought help from a therapist and chain-smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.
In 1974, just shy of her 60th birthday, Babe received a devastating diagnosis: lung cancer. True to her composed nature, she faced the news with the pragmatism of a doctor's daughter. When chemotherapy caused her hair to fall out, she simply tied a chic turban around her head.
What truly devastated Babe wasn't her declining health but a betrayal by someone she considered a close friend. In 1975, Truman Capote published an excerpt from his novel *Answered Prayers* in Esquire. It was a thinly veiled exposé of the private lives of his high-society friends, including Babe.
The excerpt included a caricature of Capote himself conversing with another socialite who reveals the sordid details of a society husband's bedroom indiscretions. Those in New York's elite circles recognized it as a direct exposé of Babe's troubled marriage to Bill.
Some speculated Capote intended the excerpt as a defense of Babe, aimed at exposing Bill's flaws. But for Babe, it was a betrayal that cut deep. The image-conscious socialite, who had never spoken ill of her husband, was mortified by the intimate details made public.
Babe expelled Capote from her inner circle. From that moment on, they never spoke again.
As her health deteriorated, Babe's composure began to crack. At one low point, she called CBS and casually asked, "What's the old so-and-so doing today?" It was a stark reflection of how deeply her marriage had deteriorated.
In a rare moment of raw honesty, with Bill and a room full of people present, Babe dropped her mask of grace. She unleashed a torrent of long-suppressed resentment, expressing her frustration over the many things she had done to please him.
On July 6, just one day after her 63rd birthday, Babe Paley's life came to an end. Even in her final moments, she reportedly found the strength to apply a full face of makeup, facing death with the same elegance she had maintained throughout her life.
In the days surrounding her passing, it was revealed that Bill had been involved with another woman. He had taken up with a 30-year-old named Joan, whom he met at his granddaughter's school play.
At Babe's funeral, a photographer overheard several women eyeing Bill and saying, "I'm going to marry him." Despite the attention, Bill never remarried. Perhaps in the end, Babe had the last word, having maintained control over her image and legacy even after her passing.