Get ready to be captivated by Truman Capote’s beloved swans. The second installment of Ryan Murphy’s Feud anthology premieres January 31 on FX. The limited series is based on Laurence Leamer’s Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era.
Capote was dazzled and enveloped by a circle of women from the upper echelons of New York’s high society. He nicknamed them “the Swans.” Capote befriended them and became one of their most trusted confidants, only to betray them and reveal their secrets. After excerpts of his words went public, he was banished by the Swans. So, who are the Swans of Feud season 2? Here’s what you need to know about the glamorous women Capote orbited around.
Babe Paley
Babe Paley, played by Naomi Watts, was a magazine editor at Vogue and one of the leading ladies of New York City’s high society in her era. She was married to Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr. from 1940 to 1946. They had 2 children together.
She then married William S. Paley, who helped build CBS from the ground up. They were married from 1947 until she died in 1978. Babe and William had 2 children together as well. Despite William’s numerous affairs, they never split up. Babe was diagnosed with lung cancer and died on July 6, 1978. She was 63 years old.
Slim Keith
Slim Keith, played by Diane Lane, was a socialite with an incredible sense of style. Nancy “Slim” Keith, who became the Lady Keith of Castleacre, was close to Babe. She was married 3 times: Howard Hawks from 1941 to 1949, Leland Hayward from 1949 to 1960, and then Kenneth Keith, Baron Keith of Castleacre, from 1962 until they separated in 1972. Slim died from lung cancer in 1990. She was 72.
Lee Radziwill
Lee Radziwill, played by Calista Flockhart, was the younger sister of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Lee was a fashion icon who heavily influenced her sister’s style. Lee was married 3 times. Her second husband, Prince Stanisław Radziwill, was royalty. She was often referred to as “Princess Radziwill” in the press. They had 2 kids together.
Lee and the prince divorced in 1974. She married her third husband, Herbert Ross, in 1988. They were married until 2001. Lee died in 2019 at the age of 85.
Ann Woodward
Ann Woodward, played by Demi Moore, rose to fame as a radio actress and model. She became a New York socialite when she married banking heir William Woodward Jr. She came under suspicion of murder after the 1955 shooting of her husband. Ann accidentally killed her husband after believing he was a burglar.
In Capote’s unfinished novel Answered Prayers, he alluded that Ann had murdered her husband via the character named Ann Hopkins. Excerpts were published by Esquire in 1975. This caused a storm of gossip. Ann died by suicide on October 10, 1975, at the age of 59. She ended her life by taking cyanide.
C.Z. Guest
C.Z. Guest, played by Chloë Sevigny, was a stage actress, fashion designer, and socialite. She married polo champion Winston Frederick Churchill Guest in 1947. Ernest Hemingway served as the best man at their wedding. C.Z. and Winston had 2 children together. She died in 2003 at the age of 85.
Joanne Carson
Joanne Carson, played by Molly Ringwald, was the second wife of The Tonight Show icon Johnny Carson. She was one of Capote’s closest friends. She had been a model and stewardess of Pan American World Airways. Joanne and Johnny were married from 1963 to 1972. Capote died at her home in 1984. Joanne died in 2015 at the age of 83.