With the country in the grips of Great Depression, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney – then one of the world’s richest women – enrolled her niece, Gloria, at the Green Vale School in Old Brookville while the young girl’s mother was in Europe. When Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt returned to New York, she filed a petition seeking guardianship of her daughter. Gertrude Whitney opposed it. The ensuing custody battle between the two sisters-in-law led to weeks of sensational press coverage. Charges of maternal neglect, greed, and “immorality” among the Gold Coast elite provided an irresistible window into the lives of the rich and would fascinate a country very much in need of distraction. The case became known as the “Trial of the Century.”
The ten-year-old heiress, Gloria Vanderbilt, was thrust into the limelight. She would remain a tabloid celebrity for the rest of her life, as much for her personal life as for her successes as an artist, author, actress, and fashion designer. Her life, her family’s history, and the infamous custody trial have all been subjects for numerous books and films, including her own memoirs and recent books by her son, Anderson Cooper.
The Green Vale School – “Green Vale” was chosen to differentiate it from the adjacent hamlet of Greenvale – was founded in 1923. It remains one of the highest-rated private schools on Long Island.