Lee Radziwill, sister of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, lived a life of privilege and style, navigating the complexities of high society and the ever-present shadow of her older sister. Often referred to as one of Truman Capote's "swans"-a group of his closest, most polished female friends-Radziwill's life was marked by both glamour and a constant search for her own identity. This article explores aspects of Lee Radziwill's life, including glimpses into her diet and lifestyle, her relationships, and her struggle to define herself.
The Making of a Swan
Born into a wealthy family that placed great importance on status, Lee Bouvier was raised alongside her sister, Jackie. However, Lee often felt overshadowed by Jackie, who would later become First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Despite her own beauty, intelligence, and wealth, Lee was often consumed by jealousy of her sister's accomplishments and fame.
Truman Capote, however, saw something special in Lee. According to Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott, author of "Swan Song," Capote gave Lee the validation she craved, seeing her as Jackie's equal, or even her better. This validation was crucial to Lee, who struggled to escape her sister's shadow. Capote reserved the title of "swan" only for his closest female friends, so what earned Lee Radziwill the title? “She was a woman who had it all. She was a princess. She was very rich. She had houses in London. She had a beautiful apartment in Manhattan. She had yachts. She had fancy vacations, jewelry, and she had a really good instinct about fashion,”
Marriages and Relationships
Like other swans, Lee Radziwill sought marriage to men of wealth and status, marrying three times. Her first marriage was to Michael Temple Canfield, an American diplomat aide, in 1953, ending in divorce in 1958. In 1959, she married Polish aristocrat Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill, remaining married until 1972. Her final marriage was to Herbert Ross, an actor and director, in 1988, which lasted until 2001.
Her marriage to Stas provided her with a "gilded lifestyle," living in grand homes in England and Manhattan. She was known as “Princess Radziwill.” Even The New York Times bought into it. In November 1961, America’s paper of record did a story on Lee headlined “Princess Lee Radziwill Adds Charm to Any Setting.” The story referred to her as a princess again and again, and in that way, it was a pure delight. But the story was there for only one reason: Lee’s brother-in-law was now president of the United States and her sister was First Lady.
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Lee's relationship with Aristotle Onassis was also significant. She had an affair with the shipping magnate while he was still involved with opera singer Maria Callas. Later, she invited her sister Jackie to join them on Onassis's yacht, a decision she would come to regret as Onassis became infatuated with Jackie, eventually marrying her.
Friendship with Truman Capote: A Double-Edged Sword
Lee's friendship with Truman Capote was complex and intimate. She confided in him about her jealousy of Jackie, something she couldn't admit to anyone else. Capote, in turn, admired Lee and provided her with the attention and validation she craved. However, their friendship was ultimately destroyed when Capote betrayed her trust by exposing her secrets in his writing.
In 1962, Truman Capote sat down with Lee Radziwill for an intimate chat over lunch in an upscale Manhattan restaurant. Lee had never talked with Truman like this before, and she had every reason to be suspicious. Her older sister, Jackie, was the overwhelmingly popular First Lady, an iconic figure who was changing the way Americans thought about dress, décor, and culture. It was a measure of the emotional pain Lee was suffering that, despite Truman’s reputation, she told him the most painful secret of her life: she was wildly jealous of Jackie. It was all she could think about, all she could talk about.
Capote's most widely known excerpt was titled “La Côte Basque 1965.” He wrote what Leamer described as a “string of gossipy vignettes, repeating the kind of ugly stories that were whispered at dinner parties.” Although he exposed and betrayed all of the swans in his writing, he most heavily slandered Babe Paley and Slim Keith. Capote actually praises Lee in the excerpt, describing her as “marvelously made, like a Tanagra figurine” and “feminine without being effeminate” while describing her sister as “unrefined, exaggerated” looking.
After their fallout, Capote went on The Stanley Siegel Show to expose Radziwill for what she said about him. He told all the viewers at home all of Lee’s secrets, including how jealous she was of her sister, Jackie. Radziwill joined her fellow swans in their protest against the author, resulting in Truman losing one of the only friends he had left.
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Style, Diet and Lifestyle
Lee Radziwill was known for her impeccable style and taste. She had a natural instinct for fashion and was often seen wearing elegant and sophisticated outfits. She had a gilded lifestyle. She was married to Stanislaw Radziwill, a Polish prince who had left his native land, and she lived in two grand homes in England-and later a major apartment in Manhattan too.
Regarding her diet, accounts suggest she maintained a slender figure through careful eating habits. One anecdote describes her scraping the sauce off her pasta and eating only that-a pin prick of salsa di pomodoro.
Carole Radziwill, daughter-in-law to Lee, shared insights into her lifestyle: "In the morning, I have coffee. I try not to, but I love it. And I have a banana or a bagel with cream cheese. I love the Korean delis. I don't have a relationship with food. I pretty much eat whatever is in front of me. I don't have a relationship with alcohol either… I don't like cleanses, and I don't believe in them. You know what the cleanse is? Don't eat for a whole day. Don't eat anything."
Another account details a summer in Italy where Lee, already very thin, would scrape the sauce off her pasta and eat only that; a pin prick of salsa di pomodoro.
Lee loved attention and publicity that sanctified her worth, but for the rest of her life, Jackie would always be lurking there somewhere. She still harbored dreams of a life in the arts, and her proximity to “real” artists like Peter and Truman was a source of both inspiration and, often, envy. “My deep regret is that I wasn’t brought up or educated to have a métier,” Lee told Interview. “I am mainly interested in the arts, but because of my kind of education, my interests were never channeled in any particular field until it was too late to make use of them except in a dilettante way.”
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