Truman Capote's Swans Had a Grip on High Society

Thanks to an abundance of late-night television interviews and Esquire short stories, we know an awful lot about Truman Capote—and our fascination of him hasn't waned. Now, in FX's Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, actor Tom Hollander portrays the direct and flamboyant In Cold Blood writer in all of his 5-feet-3-inch glory. But what do we know about the Swans? Why did a collective of glamorously rich women share their secrets of infidelity, substance abuse, and even a murder cover-up with Capote? Why did they have such a grip on high society?

Well, before their scandals were published in "La Côte Basque, 1965"for Esquire's November 1975 issue, the Swans were on top of the world. The group was led by Babe Paley, a former Vogue fashion editor. Surrounding her was Marella Agnelli, an Italian noblewoman and the wife of Fiat S.p.A. chairman Gianni Agnelli; Gloria Guinness, a Harper's Bazaar contributing editor; C.Z. Guest, a fashion icon who married into the rich Churchill/Guest family; Pamela Harriman, the U.S. ambassador to France; Slim Keith, who married film director Howard Hawks; Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy's younger sister; and Ann Woodward, a radio actress who married banker William Woodward Jr. Quite a cadre of important people!

If you want to know more about the Swans, keep reading—like Capote, you may even discover a few secrets along the way.

Babe Paley

Portrayed by Naomi Watts in Feud: Capote vs the Swans, Babe Paley was considered Capote's favorite of the Swans. The former Vogue editor was married to CBS Founder William Paley, who was the subject of various infidelity rumors throughout their marriage. Even though she relied heavily on Capote as a shoulder to cry on, the writer unsurprisingly included a character in his story that displays much of what Paley told him in confidence of their friendship. "La Côte Basque, 1965" shattered their relationship thereafter—and Capote was cast out of high society. Always the perfect party planner, Paley also reportedly planned her own funeral after she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1974.

Slim Keith

While married to Howard Hawks, Slim Keith (played by Diane Lane in Feud) made the cover of Harpers Bazaar at the age of 22. She reportedly met Capote at a dinner party that was hosted by Diana Vreeland, according to Capote's Women, where she stated that she was “enchanted by him.” Keith was friends with many powerful Hollywood stars, including actors Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. She later remarried twice, to producer Leland Hayward and Baron Keith of Castleacre. She never spoke to Capote afte her unflattering resemblance to his character Lady Coolbirth in “La Côte Basque, 1965.” Just like Babe, she passed away due to lung cancer in the early 1970s.

Lee Radziwill

As Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister, Lee Radziwill (played by Calista Flockhart in Feud) had a lot of help getting her start in the world of high society. A part-time actress and interior decorator, she no doubt lived in the shadow of her sister. Still, she remained a part of Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed Hall of Fame as a member of the Swans.

C.Z. Guest

C.Z. Guest was a perennial socialite. She performed in the Ziegfeld Follies, famously posed nude for painter Diego Rivera, and married into the wealthy British Winston Frederick Churchill Guest family. Ernest Hemingway was the best man at her wedding—that’s the kind of socialite we’re dealing with here. Surprisingly, Guest (portrayed by Chloë Sevigny in Feud) is the only Swan who didn’t completely cut ties with Truman following “La Côte Basque, 1965.”

Ann Woodward

Portrayed by Demi Moore in Feud, Ann Woodward was a radio actress who married banker William Woodward Jr. despite the fact that her mother-in-law detested her. Since she didn’t come from old money, Woodward was initially rejected from high society—and she was very unhappy in her marriage. There was also a string of burglaries in her neighborhood that shook her so much that she allegedly shot her husband with a shotgun because she thought he was a burglar. In “La Côte Basque, 1965,” Truman rebukes the court’s claim that she was innocent by stating that she probably murdered her husband. She later committed suicide in her Fifth Avenue apartment. At the time that, her mother-in-law allegedly said, “She shot my son, and Truman just murdered her, and so now I suppose we don't have to worry about that anymore.”

Marella Agnelli

A fan of Capote's writing, Agnelli was an easy addition to the Swans—especially since the Italian noblewoman came from money and married the chairman of Fiat. She was also an avid art collector and often appeared within the pages of Vogue. In fact, a 1949 photo of Agnelli in the magazine taken by Richard Avedon was dubbed "The Swan," which served as partial inspiration for the group's name. Though Agnelli is not included in Feud, she did write in her memoir, Becoming an Agnelli, "During the 1960s, I regarded Truman as one of my closest friends, perhaps the closest... but he was waiting like a falcon."

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