Barbara Hutton

Who was Barbara Hutton?

Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American debutante/socialite, heiress and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl," first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930, amid the Great Depression, and later due to a notoriously troubled private life.

Heiress to the retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworth, Hutton was one of the wealthiest women in the world. She endured a childhood marked by the early loss of her mother at age 5 and the neglect of her father setting the stage for a life of difficulty forming relationships. Seven times married, all of which ended in divorce and none of which lasted more than three years, she acquired grand foreign titles but was maliciously treated and often exploited by several of her husbands. While publicly she was much envied for her possessions, her beauty and her apparent life of leisure, privately she remained deeply insecure, often taking refuge in drink, drugs, and playboys.

Hutton bore one child, Lance Reventlow, with her second husband, but was an indifferent and insecure parent and the subsequent divorce ended in a bitter custody battle. She later developed anorexia which inhibited further childbirth.