Alva Vanderbilt: The Real Bertha Russell?

2025-08-19

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Ever since the premiere episode of HBO's "The Gilded Age", viewers and historians have discussed just how close the fictitious character of Bertha Russell (played by Carrie Coon) may be to the real-life socialite steamroller Alva Vanderbilt. There certainly seems to be similarities from Bertha and Alva's mutual unrelenting drive to claw a place in society - and then there was, after all, the fact that both women married their daughters off to British dukes. The Gilded Gentle...

Ever since the premiere episode of HBO's "The Gilded Age", viewers and historians have discussed just how close the fictitious character of Bertha Russell (played by Carrie Coon) may be to the real-life socialite steamroller Alva Vanderbilt.

There certainly seems to be similarities from Bertha and Alva's mutual unrelenting drive to claw a place in society - and then there was, after all, the fact that both women married their daughters off to British dukes.

The Gilded Gentleman takes a look at Alva's own story -- we have so far, been given little of Bertha's -- in an attempt to understand just why she made the choices and had the attitudes to social structure that she did.

Alva Vanderbilt was complex, complicated, conflicted and endlessly fascinating as she navigated her life from a loveless marriage to a new role as a divorced woman and suffragette. Join us for this look at Alva's early life to see how it all began.

An earlier version of this show ran in early 2022.

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