Iconic American socialite Gloria Vanderbilt has died at the age of 95, having battled stomach cancer in her final months.
Her son, the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, confirmed the sad news on his TV show with an obituary.
He revealed Gloria had died on Monday at her home.
"She was ready. She was ready to go," the emotional TV star told viewers. "[She died] the way she wanted."
Gloria was surrounded by "beauty and friends when it was time".
"What an extraordinary life. What an extraordinary mom and what an incredible woman," her son added.
He had been telling her he loved her every time he visited her for the last few weeks.
"She said, 'I love you too. You know that.' And she was right. I've known it from the moment I was born and I'll know it for the rest of my life," Anderson said.
The heiress had a colourful life, coming from the 'gilded age' of her family.
Her list of former lovers includes Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, and Roald Dahl.
Gloria was an artist, author, fashion designer and New York It Girl, as well as being an heiress to the Vanderbilt fortune.
She was born in February 1924 as the only child of railroad heir Reginald Vanderbilt and his second wife Gloria Morgan.
Her young life was marred by her parents' bitter divorce, which resulted in a high-profile custody battle between her mother and paternal aunt that played out through the press and courts.
One of Gloria's most iconic quotes was about love.
"We should always be in love," she once said.
"In love with men, in love with our friends, in love with our children, and in love with Art. We grow and live life at its fullest if our heart is always in love with something."
Gloria leaves behind four children, including Anderson, from two of her four ex-husbands.
She wed Pat DiCicco in 1941 and divorced him in 1945. Just a few months later she tied the knot with Leopold Stokowski, but ditched him in 1955.
Gloria then married third husband Sidney Lumet in 1955 but divorced him in 1963, then wed Wyatt Emory Cooper - father of Anderson - in 1963.
Their marriage lasted until his death in 1978.
Gloria was still active in the love department well into her twilight years, with Anderson revealing in 2013 that she continued dating at the age of 89.
"My mom once wrote a romance memoir about the men she had dated - and I use that term loosely," the silver fox revealed.
"She described one guy who she was currently dating - my mom was 85 at the time - as the Nijinsky of cunnilingus."
Gloria even asked her famous son to proof-read her book containing all the scandalous secrets of her wild younger years.
