'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans' is about real socialites. Meet them all here

“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” takes a look at how the mighty fall — specifically, when they publish the innermost secrets of their rich, glamorous and high society friends in short stories.

The second season of Ryan Murphy's “Feud” anthology series is based on the true story of famed writer Truman Capote and the New York “coterie of gorgeous, witty, and fabulously rich women,” known as “the swans,” whom he betrayed, per Laurence Leamer's description in his book “Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era.”

Based on Leamer's book, the eight-episode series details Capote integrating himself into the clique and his subsequent demise after writing a lightly fictionalized version of their lives in his novel, “Answered Prayers." The book was not completed but three excerpts were published in Esquire, to grave consequences for Capote and his swans.

“He dished the dirt on their secrets in only thinly disguised versions of the real people, which were clear to everyone reading. Our series is about that fallout and how it destroyed their friendships — in particular, his deeply close, platonic love affair with Babe Paley, played by Naomi Watts,” Tom Hollander, who plays Capote, tells TODAY.com.

The ensemble cast is led by Tom Hollander, who takes on the role of the acclaimed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” novelist. The so-called “creatures of elegance” are led by Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Demi Moore and Chloë Sevigny, among others. The late Treat Williams is also in the cast.

Viewers will meet Capote and his elite group of “swans” when “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. on FX. New episodes will air every Wednesday.

Below, see how the cast compares to the real-life people they portray in the show.

Tom Hollander as Truman Capote

Tom Hollander stars as Truman Capote, the openly gay author who wrote the 1958 novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and the 1966 true crime book “In Cold Blood.”

Born Sept. 30, 1924 in New Orleans, he grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, before moving to New York with his mother and stepfather José "Joseph" García Capote.

The FX series will explore his relationship with his group of New York socialites, while he dealt with his struggles with drug and alcohol.

After publishing the excerpts of "Answered Prayers" in Esquire Magazine, he was excommunicated from the group and his relationship with the swans forever destroyed.

Naomi Watts as Babe Paley

Barbara “Babe” Paley is portrayed by Naomi Watts. The daughter of a neurosurgeon, she was a magazine editor and socialite and was considered, according to Capote, the top Swan.

“She was often called the most beautiful woman in the world, and Truman just liked looking at her, admiring her incredible panache,” Leamer wrote in his book.

Babe Paley’s second husband, William "Bill" S. Paley, was the founder of CBS and Paley Center for Media. As the series will show, while William Paley was being unfaithful, Babe Paley confided in Capote.

Speaking to TODAY.com Watts reflected on the socialite and the author's friendship.

"She was raised to find a rich and powerful husband and she did exactly that. (Then) she finds herself falling into this man in ways that she’s never allowed herself to in any other relationship and therefore feel seen. She kind of gives herself over to this wonderful friendship. That goes horribly wrong," she says.

Diane Lane as Slim Keith

Diane Lane takes on the role of Nancy “Slim” Keith, whom Lane calls "a woman who really lived."

A California native, she was known as a Hollywood beauty despite never appearing in films, according to her obituary. She ran in circles with Lauren Bacall, Ella Raines and Ernest Hemingway, before making her way to New York.

Leamer described Keith — who was named the best dressed woman of 1946 by 150 fashion editors — in his book as “a stunning California girl with a far more casual style than Babe. Droll and supercharged, she could match Truman bon mot for bon mot.”

Chloë Sevigny as C. Z. Guest

Leamer wrote that after Capote saw Lucy Douglas “C. Z.” Guest on opening night of "My Fair Lady" on Broadway in March 1956, "He knew he had to make her his friend."

Portrayed by Chloë Sevigny, Guest was born a member of Boston's upper crust. Aside from her wealth and beauty, Guest was an actress and author, known for her love of gardening, horticulture and fashion. She designed a collection of cashmere sweaters, sportswear and gardening tools, according to The New York Times.

“She was a little bit of a precursor to Martha Stewart. So even though she came into all this money, she was also very into getting her hands dirty,” Sevigny says.

When she married Winston Churchill's cousin, polo player Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, at 27, Ernest Hemingway was the best man. The ceremony also took place at the author's home in Havana, Cuba.

Capote wrote the introduction of her first book, “First Garden.”

Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill

Calista Flockhart embodies Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

According to Leamer, Capote thought the New York native was “far more beautiful and a far better (and more interesting) person than her famous sister, and he devoted himself to her more than he did to any of the other swans.”

Radziwill, a socialite, PR executive and interior decorator, previously spoke about the rumored jealousy between her and her sister.

“It’s just the most ludicrous talk in the world that we’re rivals,” she told People when she appeared on the cover of the Nov. 1, 1976 issue. “We’re exceptionally close and always have been. We’re together very often. In fact, endlessly.”

When approaching the character, Flockhart saw Radziwill as someone "looking for her own identity."

"She really lived in the shadow of her sister. I think she was always trying to find her way out of that. Trying to find her own thing trying to be heard, be seen do something," she says.

Flockhart says Radziwill had "protective armor" around her. "She let it down with Truman. She took her guard down and told him everything and then had to regret it," she says.

Demi Moore as Ann Woodward

Demi Moore is Ann Woodward in the FX drama.

"Ann Woodward was a showgirl and a radio star who married into a very major banking family," Moore explains. "She never quite accepted into the social circles always trying to fit in."

And, as Moore says, Woodward is most famous for "having accidentally shot her husband."

In October 1955, Woodward killed her husband, millionaire sportsman and owner of the Belair Stud William Woodward Jr., claiming she believed someone had broken into her home, according to the Los Angeles Times.

While a grand jury ruled that the death was accidental, Capote and other people suspected otherwise. This, he detailed in his "Answered Prayers" excerpt, accusing her of murdering her husband.

Woodward would eventually die by suicide, taking a cyanide pill the same year the excerpt was published.

Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson

Molly Ringwald, speaking to TODAY.com, calls her character “Truman Capote’s last friend.”

Not considered a swan, Joanne Carson, former wife fo Johnny Carson, nonetheless appeared in his “Answered Prayers” story, “La Côte Basque 1965.”

In it, Capote detailed a talk show host and his infidelities, clearly a nod to Joanne and Johnny Carson.

“It was a devastating depiction, and immediately recognizable to anyone who knew anything about Johnny Carson’s famously roving eye,” Leamer wrote. “But Joanne was so insecure (and so desirous of having Truman as her friend) that she did not let the shattering portrayal bother her.”

Capote was staying with Joanne Carson in California when his swans began getting upset over the excerpts. “Joanne said that week Truman ‘looked like a baby who had been slapped,’” Leamer wrote.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com