Anderson Cooper reported the death of his mother Gloria Vanderbilt on CNN just after the network announced the death of his mother.
The fashion icon and heiress to the Vanderbilt railroad fortune died Monday at the age of 95.
“My mom lived her entire life in the public eye,” Cooper said. “She grew up in France not knowing anything about the fortune or the money she would inherit when she turned 21.”
Cooper, one of Vanderbilt’s four children, provided a biographical account of his mother’s lifelong attempts to avoid paparazzi and public scrutiny.
She eventually became a household name with a line of perfumes, clothing, and other household items.
Vanderbilt was married four times.
“She always worked hard, always pressed on, always believed the best was yet to come,” Cooper reported. “She was always in love. Love is what she believed in.”
Earlier this year, Cooper said, Vanderbilt was diagnosed with stomach cancer that spread to other organs.
Cooper worked video he had taken of his mother in a hospital bed into his report. The video showed mother and son giggling at a joke with a nearly identical laugh.
“She was ready, she was ready to go,” Cooper said as he finished his report. “Gloria Vanderbilt was 95 years old when she died. What an extraordinary life. What an extraordinary mom. And what an incredible woman.”
