As hype builds around Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, Tatler looks at the exquisite style of the series’ protagonist: Babe Paley, the doyenne of the New York social scene

Barbara 'Babe' Cushing was born on 5 July 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts, to wealthy prominent parents (her father was a brain surgeon and professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Yale universities). Along with her two elder sisters Minnie and Betsey, she was part of 'the fabulous Cushing sisters', with the three famed for marrying powerful, wealthy men. While her sisters married Vincent Astor and James Roosevelt, Babe picked William S. Paley, the chief executive of television network, CBS.

Together, they became two power players on the New York social scene, throwing some of the most elaborate and famous parties of the 1960s. Babe's best friend was author Truman Capote, who was known for 'collecting' society beauties, dubbing them his Swans. Their fall out, prompted by his betrayal disclosing their secrets (under false but obvious identities) in an article for Esquire, will be dramatised in the upcoming Ryan Murphy series which will air mid-April. The trailer has prompted a sensation – and Naomi Watts who plays Babe Paley is elegance personified.

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‘The most beautiful woman of the 20th century’: Who was Babe Paley – style oracle, New York darling and charmer for the ages?

With anticipation building around Ryan Murphy's new Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, Tatler takes a look at one of its key characters, Babe Paley. Babe was the socialite to end all socialites – she might well have made that term obsolete; she was also one of the characters maligned by Capote in his Answered Prayers. But was she the most beautiful woman of the 20th century?

By Isaac Zamet

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Ruffled Feathers: inside Truman Capote’s cold-blooded betrayal of his society swans as Feud: Capote vs. The Swans finally arrives

Tatler revisits an article from the November 2023 issue in which the author Laurence Leamer shined a light on the ‘swan’ who Truman Capote let down most terribly of all

By Laurence Leamer

As well as her glamorous lifestyle, she was also known for her faultless taste and her designer wardrobe, favouring Balenciaga, Valentino and Givenchy, and was named in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958. Scroll down to see some of her best looks – from her modelling days to her party wear.