Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (born February 20, 1924) is an American artist, author, actress, heiress and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, and her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, both sought custody of the child Gloria and control over her $5 million trust fund. The trial, called the "trial of the century" by the press, was the subject of wide and sensational press coverage due to the wealth and notoriety of the involved parties and the scandalous evidence presented to support Whitney's claim that Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt was an unfit parent.