Cape Town - Fashion icon and artist Gloria Vanderbilt has died.
She was 95 years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. She died at home with friends and family by her side. Her death was announced by her son, CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper.
"Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman, who loved life, and lived it on her own terms," Cooper said of his mother.
He added: "She was a painter, a writer, and designer but also a remarkable mother, wife, and friend. She was 95 years old, but ask anyone close to her, and they'd tell you, she was the youngest person they knew, the coolest, and most modern."
According to USA Today, Gloria was famed from birth as the last of a Gilded Age clan of millionaires. In a highly public court case in the 1930s both Gloria's mother and paternal aunt sought custody of her and control over her trust fund.
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