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Betsy Bloomingdale

Betsy Bloomingdale
Betsy Bloomingdale.jpg
Betsy Bloomingdale, 1981
Born Betty Lee Newling
(1922-08-02)August 2, 1922
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died July 19, 2016(2016-07-19) (aged 93)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation Socialite, philanthropist
Spouse(s) Alfred S. Bloomingdale (m. 1946–1982; his death)
Children 3
Parent(s) Dr. Russell Lee Newling
Vera Browner

Betty Lee Bloomingdale (née Newling; August 2, 1922 – July 19, 2016), known as Betsy Bloomingdale, was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was considered a fashion icon, frequently appearing on the International Best Dressed List after 1970, and in 2009 was named in the list's Hall of Fame.

Bloomingdale was born on August 2, 1922 and was raised in Los Angeles, California. She was the only child of Vera (née Browner) and Russell Lee Newling, both born in Australia. Bloomingdale attended the exclusive Marlborough School in Hancock Park.

On September 14, 1946, she married Alfred S. Bloomingdale, the son of Rosalind (née Schiffer) and Hiram Bloomingdale, and the grandson of Lyman G. Bloomingdale, a co-founder of the famous department store Bloomingdale's. The couple settled in Bel Air, Los Angeles and had three children:

In the early 1960s Bloomingdale began travelling to Paris regularly to view and purchase haute couture clothing. Over the coming decades she amassed a collection of over 100 gowns and outfits. Bloomingdale was charged by U.S. customs officials for falsely declaring the value of two imported Dior haute couture gowns in 1975. She pleaded guilty to concealing an invoice from federal customs officials and was fined.

When her husband died of cancer, a media scandal ensued over his estate. Bloomingdale had cut off a financial allowance to her husband's mistress Vicki Morgan in 1981. On his death, Morgan took her 12-year relationship with Alfred public. She sued his estate and widow for $10 million, claiming that Alfred had promised her lifetime support. Most of the suit was dismissed in 1983, but after Morgan was murdered the following year, a jury awarded $200,000 to her estate. Bloomingdale's life, marriage and the affair were the basis of Dominick Dunne's novel An Inconvenient Woman.


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