Inside the Glamorous Life of New York Socialite and Designer Nina Griscom
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
New York socialite and 1980s "It Girl" Nina Griscom died earlier this year due to complications from A.L.S., and she leaves behind a legacy as a classic American beauty with a "fabulous smoky voice" who found success as a model, TV host, food critic, columnist, designer, and home décor entrepreneur. Griscom lived out her 65 years glamorously, ambitiously, and to her mother's dismay, with a bit of a rebellious streak.
Griscom grew up surrounded by wealth and beauty, as the daughter of journalist Charles C. Renshaw, Jr. and philanthropist Elizabeth Fly Vagiano, who later became the wife of powerful investment banker Felix G. Rohatyn, (the man who helped save New York City from financial run in the '70s, became U.S. Ambassador to France, and was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to rebuild New York after Hurricane Sandy). Griscom called Manhattan home her whole life, besides attending Miss Porter's School in Connecticut, and her rise from local to widespread style icon began when she picked up modeling for industry icon Eileen Ford while attending Barnard College.
Though she had the grace of an elite prep school alumna, Griscom had the grit, tenacity, and passion of a New Yorker, and she found great success in a variety of industries and avenues she cared about. After modeling took off, she spent plenty of time behind the camera as a budding journalist like her father, capturing the lives of glamorous and frivolous Manhattanites and movie stars—and enjoying one of her own. She began hosting television shows in the '90s—an entertainment news series with Matt Lauer for HBO and a Food Network series where she and food writer Alan Richman dished about restaurants.
Griscom loved nightlife and traveling the world—she had a special place in her heart for Africa and traveled there as often as she could—but she was equally as passionate about cultivating a beautiful home. New York Social Diary recounts, "She wasn’t a homebody but much of her social life centered around the home and dinner with friends, both here and in the country where they had a house."
Griscom partnered with Richman once their show ended to create two home-decorating stores, one in Manhattan and the other in Southampton, which have since closed. She also designed a line of handbags for GiGi New York, worked as a consultant and spokesperson for Revlon, and was a judge on the popular series Iron Chef America in 2010 and 2011.
Though she grew more ambitious about her career and less interested in attending parties as she grew older, Griscom always kept things interested. Whether hosting a yard sale with all of her ballgowns at The Regency or getting a porcupine tattoo in her '50s at a Brooklyn tattoo parlor, Griscom rarely worried about what others thought, contrary to what one may expect after decades living under a Manhattan microscope. She leaves behind husband, Leonel Piraino, whom she married in 2007, and a 13-year-old daughter, Lily, from her marriage to prominent plastic surgeon Daniel Baker.
Griscom's legacy as a style icon lives on as her impressive collection of art, jewelry, home decor is up for auction with Christie's this month, with an online auction December 2-17 and a live event on December 8 in New York City. Her stunning 5.02-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, sketches by designer and friend Bill Blass, and antique global finds are among some of the most exciting offerings from the collection.
The auction offers glimpses into various facets of her life: Nina, the model and fashionista; Nina, the sought-after home decorator; Nina, the collector and aesthete; and Nina, the globetrotter who wished to experience all the world had to offer—and she succeeded as all of the above.
You Might Also Like
