​Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough has become a well-known example of one of the advantageous, but loveless, marriages common during the Gilded Age. The Duke obtained a large dowry by the marriage, and reportedly told her just after the marriage that he married her in order to "save Blenheim" Palace, his ancestral home. Consuelo Vanderbilt and her friends were the inspiration for Edith Wharton's unfinished novel The Buccaneers.

Although the teenage Consuelo was opposed to the marriage arranged by her mother, she became a popular and influential Duchess. For much of the marriage, the Marlboroughs lived separately and the marriage was finally annulled. She went on to marry a wealthy French aviator and continued her charitable endeavours.

Born in New York City, Consuelo Vanderbilt was the only daughter and eldest child of William Kissam Vanderbilt, a New York railroad millionaire, and his first wife, a Southern belle Alva Erskine Smith (1853–1933, who later married Oliver Belmont) from Mobile, Alabama,  the daughter of a cotton broker. Her Spanish name was in honor of her godmother, Consuelo Yznaga (1853–1909), a half-Cuban, half-American socialite who created a social stir a year earlier when she married the fortune-hunting George, Viscount Mandeville, a union of Old World aristocracy and New World money that caused the groom's father, the 7th Duke of Manchester, to openly wonder if his son and heir had married a "Red Indian". 

Consuelo Vanderbilt was largely dominated by her mother, who was determined that her daughter would make a great marriage like that of her famous namesake. In her autobiography, Consuelo Vanderbilt described how she was required to wear a steel rod, which ran down her spine and fastened around her waist and over her shoulders, to improve her posture. She was educated entirely at home by governesses and tutors, and learned foreign languages at an early age. Her mother was abusive and whipped her with a riding crop for minor infractions. When, as a teenager, Consuelo objected to the clothing her mother had selected for her, Alva told her that "I do the thinking, you do as you are told."

None of the others, however, was good enough for Alva Vanderbilt, who was​determined to secure the highest-ranking mate possible for her only daughter, a union that would emphasize the preeminence of the Vanderbilt family in New York society.

With the help of Lady Paget, the wife of Sir Arthur Paget, and daughter of an socially ambitious widow of an American hotel entrepreneur, Alva Vanderbilt engineered a meeting between Consuelo and the indebted, titled Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, chatelain of Blenheim Palace. 

Lady Paget, always short of money, soon became a sort of international marital agent, introducing eligible American heiresses to British noblemen.

Consuelo Vanderbilt had no interest in the duke, being secretly engaged to an American, Winthrop Rutherfurd. Her mother cajoled, wheedled, begged, and then, ultimately, ordered her daughter to marry Marlborough. When Consuelo – a docile teenager whose only notable characteristic at the time was abject obedience to her fearsome mother – made plans to elope, she was locked in her room as Alva threatened to murder Rutherfurd. Still she refused. It was only when Alva Vanderbilt claimed that her health was being seriously and irretrievably undermined by Consuelo's stubbornness and appeared to be at death's door that the malleable girl acquiesced. Alva made an astonishing recovery from her entirely phantom illness, and when the wedding took place, Consuelo stood at the altar reportedly weeping behind her veil. The duke, for his part, gave up the woman he reportedly loved back in England and collected US$2.5 million (approximately US$75.2 million in 2019 dollars) in railroad stock as a marriage settlement. His purpose of marrying her was to restore his beloved Bleinheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

After her marriage, Consuelo Vanderbilt's father built a mansion for her in London, Sunderland House in Curzon Street. The new Duchess of Marlborough was adored by the poor and less fortunate tenants on her husband's estate, whom she visited and to whom she provided assistance. She later became involved with other philanthropic projects and was particularly interested in those that affected mothers and children. She was also a social success with royalty and the aristocracy of Britain.

Consuelo Vanderbilt gave birth to two sons, John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (who became 10th Duke of Marlborough) and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill.

Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill, The Duke of Marlborough divorced in 1921. Shortly afterwards, on ​25 June 1921 The Duke of Marlborough  married Gladys Deacon.  ​

A few days later, on 4 July 1921, Consuelo Vanderbilt married Colonel Jacques Balsan, a textile manufacturing heir and a record-breaking pioneer French balloon, aircraft, and hydroplane pilot who once worked with the Wright Brothers. Jacques Balsan was a younger brother of Etienne Balsan, who was an early lover of Coco Chanel. ​

​After the annulment of her marriage to the Duke of Marlborough, ​Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan still maintained ties with favorite Churchill relatives, particularly Winston Churchill, cousin of The 9th Duke of Marlborough. He was a frequent visitor to her château, in Saint-Georges-Motel, a small commune near Dreux about 50 miles from Paris, in the 1920s and 1930s, where he completed his last painting before the war.

During World War I, Consuelo Vanderbilt worked as the chair of the Economic Relief Committee for the American Women's War Relief Fund.

During the inter-war period, she and Winaretta Singer-Polignac (the Princess de Polignac and Singer Sewing Machine heiress) worked together in the construction of a 360-bed hospital destined to provide medical care to middle class workers. The result of this effort is the Foch Hospital, located in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris, France. The hospital also includes a school of nursing and is one of the top ranked hospitals in France, especially for renal transplants. It has remained true to its origins and stayed a private not-for-profit institution that still serves the Paris community. It is managed by the Fondation médicale Franco-américaine du Mont-Valérien, commonly called Foundation Foch.

​Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias (4 November 1868 – 10 April 1965), better known as Carolina Otero or La Belle Otero, was a Spanish actress, dancer and courtesan. She had a reputation for great beauty and was famous for her numerous lovers.

​Agustina Carolina del Carmen Otero Iglesias, más conocida como Carolina Otero o La Bella Otero (Valga, 4 de noviembre de 1868-Niza, 12 de abril de 1965), fue una bailarina, cantante, actriz y cortesana española afincada en Francia y uno de los personajes más destacados de la Belle Époque francesa en los círculos artísticos y la vida galante de París.

Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias was born in Valga (Pontevedra), Galicia, Spain, daughter of a Spanish single mother, Carmen Otero Iglesias (1844–1903), and a Greek army officer, named Carasson. Her family was impoverished, and as a child she moved to Santiago de Compostela working as a maid. At ten she was raped, and at fourteen she left home with her boyfriend and dancing partner, Paco, and began working as a singer/dancer in Lisbon.

In 1888 Otero found a sponsor named Ernest Jurgens in Barcelona who moved with her to Marseilles in order to promote her dancing career in France. She soon left him and created the character of La Belle Otero, portraying herself as an Andalusian gypsy. She was pretty, confident, intelligent, with an attractive figure. It was once said of her that her extraordinarily dark black eyes were so captivating that they were "of such intensity that it was impossible not to be detained before them". She wound up as the star of Folies Bèrgere productions in Paris.One of her most famous costumes featured her voluptuous bosom partially covered with glued-on precious gems, and the twin cupolas of the Carlton Hotel built in 1912 in Cannes are popularly said to have been modeled upon her breasts.

Within a short number of years, La Bella Otero was said to be the most sought-after woman in Europe. She was serving, by this time, as a courtesan to wealthy and powerful men of the day, and she chose her lovers carefully. She associated herself with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII, Kings of Serbia, and Kings of Spain as well as Russian Grand Dukes Peter and Nicholas, the Duke of Westminster and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio. Her love affairs made her notorious, and the envy of many other notable female personalities of the day. Six men reportedly committed suicide after their love affairs with Otero ended, although this has never been substantiated beyond a doubt. It is a fact, however, that two men did fight a duel over her.

In August 1898, in St-Petersburg, the French film operator Félix Mesguich (an employee of the Lumière company) shot a one-minute reel of Otero performing the famous "Valse Brillante." The screening of the film at the Aquarium music-hall provoked such a scandal (because an officer of the Tsar's army appeared in this frivolous scene) that Mesguich was expelled from Russia.

La Bella Otero retired after World War I, purchasing a mansion and property at a cost of the equivalent of US$15 million. She had accumulated a massive fortune over the years, about US$25 million, but she gambled much of it away over the remainder of her lifetime, enjoying a lavish lifestyle, and visiting the casinos of Monte Carlo often. She lived out her life in a more and more pronounced state of poverty until she died of a heart attack in 1965 in her one-room apartment at the Hotel Novelty in Nice, France.

Of her heyday and career, Otero once said, "Women have one mission in life: to be beautiful. When one gets old, one must learn how to break mirrors. I am very gently expecting to die."

​Hija de una madre soltera y muy pobre (Carmen Otero Iglesias, 1844-1903) y de un oficial de la armada griega llamado Carasson, apenas tuvo acceso a una educación académica. Tuvo cinco hermanos: Gumersindo, Valentín, Adolfo y Francisco, y una hermana gemela, Francisca. En julio de 1879, a los diez años, fue violada por Venancio Romero "Conainas", zapatero del pueblo, a causa de lo cual quedó estéril y huyó de casa unos meses después para no volver nunca más a su pueblo natal, Valga. Tras la fuga decidió usar su segundo nombre: Carolina, en lugar del primero Agustina.

A los trece años conoció a su primer amante, Paco, un joven tres años mayor que ella, quien le enseñó a bailar flamenco, a cantar y a ejercer de comediante en los salones de cantantes. Sin embargo, también fue quien la indujo a la prostitución. Cuando ella enfermó, el médico denuncia la situación de la entonces menor de edad y la llevan a casa, pero su madre la rechaza, tras lo que se une a Paco en Lisboa.

Trabajó en una compañía de cómicos ambulantes portugueses. Al dejar la compañía se vio obligada a ejercer oficios muy humildes para salir adelante, como trabajar de criada doméstica, bailar en locales de la más diversa índole, e incluso llegar a ejercer la prostitución.

Realizó giras por todo el mundo como bailarina exótica y actriz, consiguiendo fama internacional. Se sabe que actuó en Nueva York en 1890, además de visitar otros países como Argentina, Cuba y Rusia, coincidiendo en este último con Rasputín. Otero actuó durante muchos años en París en el Folies Bergère, donde era la estrella y en el Cirque d'été, convirtiéndose en una de las primeras artistas españolas conocida internacionalmente.

Otero no era una bailarina profesional y su arte era más instintivo que técnico. Sus danzas eran una mezcla de estilos flamenco, fandangos o danzas exóticas. También era una cantante competente y tenía calidad como actriz. Representó Carmen de Bizet y piezas teatrales como Nuit de Nöel.

A pesar de sus éxitos profesionales, Otero había conseguido ascender en el mundo artístico prostituyéndose y haciéndose amante de hombres influyentes. No era una práctica extraña que las artistas ejercieran de cortesanas para aumentar sus ingresos. En la Belle Époque era habitual y los hombres que podían pagar las astronómicas sumas que cobraban estas cortesanas conseguían prestigio. Otero era una de las más famosas y cotizadas de la alta sociedad parisina. Fue amante de Guillermo II de Alemania, Nicolás II de Rusia, Leopoldo II de Bélgica, Alfonso XIII de España, Eduardo VII del Reino Unido y Aristide Briand —con quien tuvo una relación entrañable hasta la muerte del político—, entre otros. Otero llegó a reunir una fabulosa fortuna que, debido a la ludopatía que padecía, fue dilapidando en los casinos de Montecarlo y Niza.

Retirada de los escenarios en 1910, se estableció en Niza, Francia, donde vivió hasta su muerte en 1965 totalmente arruinada y sola. Vivía de una pensión que le pasaba el Casino de Montecarlo en agradecimiento por los millones de francos que en él dejara. Nunca se casó.

Falleció de un infarto fulminante en su humilde departamento el 12 de abril de 1965, con noventa y seis años. A su entierro solo asistieron varios crupieres y el gerente del Casino de Montecarlo para despedirla.

De su vida se han escrito varias biografías y se han hecho películas y series para la televisión. Debido a que Otero inventó parte de su pasado para ocultar hechos como su violación o sus orígenes extremadamente humildes, muchas biografías, películas u otros trabajos en torno a su persona tienen datos inexactos y hechos que nunca sucedieron de verdad.

​Carmen Dell'Orefice (born June 3, 1931) is an American supermodel and actress. She is known within the fashion industry for being the world's oldest working model as of the Spring/Summer 2012 season. She was on the cover of Vogue at the age of 15 and has been modeling ever since. Her daily motto is to enjoy herself, at no-one else's expense

​Carmen ​Dell'Orefice was born in New York City to parents of Italian and Hungarian descent. Her parents had an unstable relationship characterized by frequent break ups and reconciliations. Dell'Orefice lived in foster homes or with other relatives during her parents' clashes.

At the age of 13, while riding a bus to ballet class, she was approached to model by the wife of photographer Herman Landschoff. Her test photos, taken at Jones Beach, were a "flop" according to Dell'Orefice.

In 1946, her godfather introduced her to Vogue and the 15-year-old signed a modeling contract for $7.50 an hour. She became a favorite model of photographer Erwin Blumenfeld who shot her first Vogue cover in 1946. She appears in the December 15, 1946 issue of US Vogue; New York Vol. 108, Iss. 11, as Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Cinderella along with model Dorian Leigh, actors Ray Bolger and Jose Ferrer.

Dell'Orefice and her mother struggled financially, and her modeling income was not enough to sustain the family. With no telephone, Vogue had to send runners to their apartment to let Dell'Orefice know about modeling jobs. She roller-skated to assignments to save on bus fares. She was so malnourished that famed fashion photographers Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton had to pin back dresses and stuff the curves with tissue.

Dell'Orefice and her mother were accomplished seamstresses and made extra money making clothes. One of their customers was Dorian Leigh. Dell'Orefice later became best friends with Leigh's younger sister, model Suzy Parker. Together they were bridesmaids at Leigh's second wedding to Roger W. Mehle in 1948.

In 1947, Dell'Orefice's rate was raised to $10–$25 per hour. She appeared on the October 1947 cover of Vogue at age 16, one of the youngest Vogue cover models. She was also on Vogue's November 1948 cover. She worked with the most famous fashion photographers of the era, including Irving Penn, Gleb Derujinsky, Francesco Scavullo, Norman Parkinson, and Richard Avedon. Dell'Orefice was photographed by Melvin Sokolsky for Harper's Bazaar in 1960. The image, titled Carmen Las Meninas has been collected internationally. Mark Shaw photographed her for a classic Vanity Fair lingerie campaign, in which Dell'Orefice obscures her face with her hand. She was painter Salvador Dalí's muse.

Dell'Orefice met and married Bill Miles in the early 1950s. Miles exploited his wife financially, by picking up his wife's modeling agency checks, allowing her only $50 allowance from her earnings. They had a daughter, Laura, and divorced soon after. In 1958, she met photographer Richard Heimann and married him six months later in 1959. She decided to retire, after which he left her. Though their marriage didn't work out, it had nothing to do with her "retirement". Carmen and Richard divorced in 1960 but remained close friends for the next 53 years, until his death in 2013. Her third marriage was to a young architect, Richard Kaplan, in the mid-1960s. The marriage lasted eleven years.

After almost 20 years, Dell'Orefice returned to modeling in 1978. In 1984 she appeared on the cover of Quarante, a newsstand quarterly publication subtitled, "For the woman of style and substance".

In the late 1980s, Dell'Orefice was engaged to television talk-show host David Susskind. He died before they were married. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, Dell'Orefice lost most of her money in the stock market. She was forced to auction off her famous modeling photographs from the 1940s to the 1980s through Sotheby's.

In 1993, a neighbor introduced her to Norman F. Levy, who was Bernard Madoff's best friend. Levy was her boyfriend for several years.

In 1994, with what little money she had left, and with money from boyfriend Norman Levy, she invested with notorious financial fraud Bernie Madoff. For twelve years, Bernie Madoff, his wife Ruth Madoff, Dell'Orefice and Norman Levy were a "foursome", traveling and partying together on lavish yachts. 

In the 1990s and 2000s, she modeled for Isaac Mizrahi's clothing line at Target, as well as Cho Cheng and Rolex. Dell'Orefice is featured regularly in their advertising campaigns appearing in Vogue, W and Harper's Bazaar.

Levy died in 2005, at age 93, and Madoff was the executor of his will. Levy had $244 million in assets at the time of his death, according to Dell'Orefice. Madoff's fraudulent investment scheme drew on these funds to lure over 13,500 individuals and charities to his Ponzi scheme. She continued to socialize with the Madoffs after Levy's death.