Virginia Fair Vanderbilt
| Virginia Fair Vanderbilt | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Giovanni Boldini, c. 1900
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|
| Born |
Virginia Graham Fair January 2, 1875 San Francisco, California |
| Died | July 7, 1935 (aged 60) Manhattan, New York |
| Occupation | Hotel builder/owner Racehorse owner |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | William Kissam Vanderbilt II (m. 1899–1927) |
| Parent(s) |
James Graham Fair Theresa Rooney |
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt (January 2, 1875 – July 7, 1935) was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family by marriage.
She was born on January 2, 1875 in San Francisco, California as Virginia Graham Fair to James Graham Fair and his wife, Theresa Rooney. Her parents divorced when she was six. She was known throughout her life as "Birdie". Her father, James Graham Fair, was an Irish immigrant who made a fortune from mining the and the Big Bonanza mine in Virginia City and Carson City, Nevada respectively. The United States Senator from Nevada from 1881 to 1887, James Graham Fair died in 1894, leaving his daughter a fortune. In 1899, she and her sister "Tessie" built the Rosecliff mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.
On March 26, 1899, Virginia Graham Fair married William Kissam Vanderbilt II, a sportsman and president of the New York Central Railroad. They settled in a mansion at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City and had three children: Muriel (1902–1972), Consuelo (1903–1994) and William Kissam III (1907–1933). The couple separated around 1909, but because she was a devout Roman Catholic and they had been married by the Church, they did not formally divorce until 1927, when her husband wanted to remarry.
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