But some were successful, and some were not.” “This is kind of like the garden from which many flowers bloomed. Mortimer had a love of designer Tory Burch.”Everybody wanted to be Tory because Tory Burch had parlayed being attractive and going to parties and being on the committees and being in the right dress at the right time, in the right place with the right people, into what became a billion-dollar empire,” Hay said. She was constantly photographed sitting in the front row of fashion shows. “She was funny, she was frisky, she was like a little pedigreed filly, and she was a Mortimer, so she had a real strong connection to, kind of, old New York.” Tinsley Mortimer and Fabiola Beracasa attend RADAR Magazine Hollywood Bash |Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
“I knew that Tinsley had the potential to be an ‘it’ girl, because she was beautiful, she was perky, she had a great, vibrant personality,” Hay recounted. Mortimer wanted to be a socialite, but she ended up being New York City’s darling. “Even though a lot of social girls did emerge from publicity.” Mortimer had what it took to be an ‘it girl’ “I felt that we couldn’t turn her into a little socialite that would be put on a pedestal by New York society, and the gossip columnists, and the glossy magazine press, as long as she had a job as a publicist,” Hay said. At the time, Mortimer was working as an event planner. “Tinsley said, ‘Couri, all I want to do is be a little socialite,'” Hay recalled. She approached society publicist Couri Hay at a party. “She looked great and posed for the cameras with style and ease.” Tinsley Mortimer attends The WINTER WONDERLAND BALL|Matt Carasella/Patrick McMullan via Getty Imagesīut Mortimer wanted more than to just be seen. “When Tinsley first appeared on the scene and was married to Topper, she was very prominent and she always wore amazing dresses and was invited to all the major social galas,” Steve Eichner, WWD photographer told Town & Country. She quit her job and made the right connectionsįashion experts recalled how Mortimer became a fixture in the New York City social scene. Although she came from a prominent lineage, she actively pursued the role of being one of the hottest socialites in the city. Mortimer is reportedly a descendent of Thomas Jefferson. His great grandfather was the president of Standard Oil, Town & Country reports. Mariana Sabater, Elisabeth Saint-Amand, Lydia Fenet, Tinsley Mortimer, Marina Rust Connor, Martha Loring and Nathalie Gerschel Kaplan attend The Frick Annual Young Fellows Ball | Matt Carasella/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Like the characters in Gossip Girl, Mortimer lived a privileged Manhattan life and ultimately married her boarding school boyfriend Topper.
Socialite nyc series#
Mortimer was the rumored inspiration behind Blake Lively’s portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW’s popular series Gossip Girl. Tinsley Mortimer from The Real Housewives of New York City recalled the days when she was New York City’s “it girl.” Mortimer remembered being a highly sought-after socialite who was often photographed.