avenue - kelly rutherford723 madison avenue, 212.832.5830. handbag by max mara, 813 madison avenue,...

APRIL 2013

VOL. 37 N

O. 4

AVENUE

KELLY RUTHERFORDREAL LIFE GOSSIP GIRL

THE HOLLYWOOD ISSUE

MICK JAGGER’S banker’s tell-all

PEGGY SIEGALon the most expensive Oscar race in history

ON THE SCENE:

APRIL 2013

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BORN RICH

director Jamie Johnson sets the record straight

10 YEARS LATER

Actress Kelly Rutherford

by Bob Morris

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AVENUEAPRIL 2013 VOL. 37 NO.4

8 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • APRIL 2013

this page and coverKelly Rutherford wears fine jewelry by Graff. White diamond line bracelet (21.14 cts); white round and pear-shape diamond lotus earrings (14.78 cts; white multi-shape diamond necklace (diamonds 36.38 cts); white round diamond ribbon-shaped brooch with pear and marquise diamonds (23.10 cts), available at Graff New York, 710 Madison Avenue, 212.355.9292

40

FEATURES

40 XOXO, GOSSIP GIRLActress Kelly Rutherford opens up about building a new life in New York, following a high-pro�le custody battle and the end of Gossip Girl. She lets us in on her new Upper East Side lifestyle and talks about what she will do di�erently in her next relationship and why she feels right at home in the City. by bob morrisPhotographs by carlos ruiz

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written by Bob Morris photographed by Carlos Ruiz styled by Elle Werlin

hair by Angelo David for Angelo David Haircare makeup by Julie Tussey for Angelo David Salon/ Dior Beauty

Shot on location at The Mark Hotel in a Mark Premier two-bedroom suite


She’ll TAKE MANHATTAN

Rutherford lies down in a strapless gown hand embroidered with gold sequins from Reem Acra, 730 Fifth Avenue, 212.308.8760. 18k gold pineapple bracelet by Verdura, 745 Fifth Avenue, 212.758.3388. Left hand: Diamond 18k white gold Cubism superdome ring by Stefano Canturi, Canturi New York, 42 East 66th Street, 212.879.8800, www.canturi.com. Right hand: “Chioccola” ring with briolette cut, white diamonds, all set in 18k white gold and 18k yellow gold drop boule earrings from de Grisogono, 824 Madison Avenue, 212.439.4220.

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written by Bob Morris photographed by Carlos Ruiz styled by Elle Werlin

hair by Angelo David for Angelo David Haircare makeup by Julie Tussey for Angelo David Salon/ Dior Beauty

Shot on location at The Mark Hotel in a Mark Premier two-bedroom suite

APRIL 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 41

She’ll TAKE MANHATTAN

Despite a bad divorce and a cruel custody decision, Kelly Rutherford is marching on with her head held high


O “She’s just a good person who wears her heart on her sleeve—that’s just the way she is.” —Jennifer Creel

n the kind of damp and driz-zly morning that would keep some Upper East Siders at home or desperate for a blowout, Kelly Rutherford looks lovely and sleek in tight white jeans, black riding boots and an architecturally stunning Brunello Cucinelli wool coat. Her skin glows as if the winter air were full of omega oils and aloe vera. Her big smile de�es the damp chill.

She crosses Madison Avenue and, rain be damned, plants herself in front of Stubbs & Wootton’s window, where she takes pictures with her phone of black slippers decorated with big valentine hearts. “I’ll put these up on Pinterest,” she says. In the window of the designer Vera Wang, who once gave a dinner the actress at-tended, a modern tiered wedding gown holds her gaze. “I asked to wear lots of her clothes on Gos-sip Girl,” Rutherford says of her stint on the series that ended in December.

�en she walks a couple of blocks down, enjoy-ing more displays along the way.

“I love window shopping around here,” she says. “I relate to New York more than any other city. I just feel more at home here than anywhere else in the world.”

For those who wouldn’t know better, especially if they judge books or actresses by their covers, hearing the unpretentious Rutherford declare an a�nity for tough-as-nails New York might be surprising. Sure, she played a former ballerina and party girl-turned-society mom on Gossip Girl, where she got to wear some of the most so-phisticated designers in New York. But she was

born in Kentucky and grew up in uncynical New-port Beach, California. In a case of life imitating art, she now lives on the Upper East Side.

And since moving back here six years ago, hav-ing lived in New York during various stints before that (she trained at the venerable downtown HB Studio and once lived over the Waverly Restau-rant), she has come to know this city as well as any insider. “In L.A. you can take things slowly and hide out in your house in the hills,” she says. “But not here. New York is of the moment, and it’s everything all at once. You can show your kids all kinds of amazing things without ever getting in a car. I love everything about it.”

�at includes the chance to see women of style whom she respects. “Growing up, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I always admired women who were chic and powerful,” she says. �ey included Diane von Furstenberg, Gloria Steinem, and Lee Radziwill, whom she


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Rutherford wears a white silk gown by Rafael Cennamo, available at Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, 212.753.4000. Chick pin, made of South Sea pearls and pavé diamonds, set in white gold; triple cabochon earrings in blue topaz, set with diamonds in 18k white gold; pearl and diamond fringe necklace set in 18k gold, signed Seaman Schepps (7.56 cts); all from Seaman Schepps, 485 Park Avenue, 212.753.9520. White diamond and white gold ring from de Grisogono, 824 Madison Avenue, 212.439.4220. Diamond 18k white gold Cubism bracelet by Stefano Canturi, Canturi New York, 42 East 66th Street, 212.879.8800, www.canturi.com



spotted in the neighborhood not long ago. “She’s so amazing, so understated, and one of the few style icons le� from that era,” Rutherford coos.

She is unapologetically upbeat and enthusias-tic, even at a time that she’s embroiled in a terrible custody battle. But more about that later. Right now, she’s excited to be inside for breakfast at �e Carlyle, in all its hushed elegance, just blocks from her apartment.

“A�er the hurricane, downtown came uptown, and this place was packed for weeks,” she says, sit-ting on a well-lit banquette in an empty lounge area, and ordering a decaf cappuccino and noth-ing more. “It was great; Bungalow at the Carlyle!”

utherford, 44, is a social whirlwind. She knows her nightlife as well as her social media, and gets around both quite well. She’s o�en photographed at fashionable events that she tweets about, charitable ones in particu-lar, and she’s typically accompanied by in�uential Upper East Side pals who aren’t all that used to having a working actress in their midst.

“Instead of spending all that money going out to dinner, why not put it to good use at a charity event?” she asks. “It’s a much more helpful way to have a good time.”

Marjorie Gubelmann, who met the actress in the Hamptons years ago, thinks Rutherford has the right idea; that’s why Gubelmann says she’s always game to hit the town with her.

“She’s beautiful and elegant and a great addi-tion to the group,” Gubelmann says. “And even though not everybody watches TV in New York, everybody saw her in Gossip Girl at one time or another. �ere aren’t that many actresses who en-joy the kind of socializing we do, so it’s fun she’s around.” Jennifer Creel is another big fan. “[Ruth-erford has] a warm personality and is welcoming to everyone who approaches her,” Creel says. “She’s just a good person who wears her heart on her sleeve—that’s just the way she is.”

“Heart on her sleeve” is putting it mildly. Since a court decision in August sent Rutherford’s two young children, Hermés, 6, and Helena, 3, to live in the south of France with their father, Daniel Giersch, from whom Rutherford parted in 2010 in a contentious divorce, she has talked to the

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“She’s beautiful and elegant and a great addition to the group.” —Marjorie Gubelmann

Lace water lily sleeveless tea length dress with organza overlay and cut-out back from J. Mendel, 723 Madison Avenue, 212.832.5830. Sputnik design white pearl bracelet in 18k gold, signed Seaman Schepps, at Seaman Schepps, 485 Park Avenue, 212.753.9520. 18k gold lollipop stud earrings in clear quartz from Ippolita, 796 Madison Avenue, 646.664.4240.



Lying low, Rutherford wears a white shirt dress in cotton poplin with a wool and bridle leather belt, both from Hermès, 691 Madison Avenue, 212.751.3181. Heels by Manolo Blahnik for J. Mendel, 723 Madison Avenue, 212.832.5830. Handbag by Max Mara, 813 Madison Avenue, 212.879.6100. Amethyst “Illumina” diamond and 18k rose gold earrings by Plukka, available at Plukka.com. 18k gold drizzle pavé diamond ring; 18k gold stardust two-station pavé diamond bangle; 18k gold pavé multi-bangle with diamonds, all by Ippolita, 796 Madison Ave, 646.664.4240


press about her loss to the point that Giersch’s lawyer called her actions in an earlier interview an “aggressive public relations approach.”

In September she appeared on network TV, breaking into tears on both Dateline and �e View, where Whoopi Goldberg ran over to hand the actress a box of tissues. “Great service around here,” she quipped before continuing her alarm-ing saga. “It’s just crazy,” she said.

iersch, a German business-man whose mother has a house in France, had his American visa revoked last year for unknown reasons, which the government is not required to provide. Because he now cannot reenter the country, the judge ruled it would be best for Rutherford to visit their children, despite their being born in the U.S., rather than to regularly take them to meet their father in Bermuda, Can-ada or any other locale he may enter. Since her children were taken to France in May 2012, Ruth-erford has made 12 trips to see them.

Attorney Dan Abrams of ABC News called the decision “one of the worst custody decisions—ever.” Alan Dershowitz, who was involved in the Elián González case involving a family split be-tween Florida and Cuba, has gotten involved as a consultant.

Even in a world of incredibly dramatic divorc-es, and the �shbowls of New York and Los An-geles where powerful people don’t take adversity sitting down, this one has been a killer, worthy of the most convoluted plot twist of Gossip Girl.

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The actress sits in an electric orange lace dress by Carolina Herrera, available at Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Avenue, 212.753.7300. Handbag by Max Mara, 813 Madison Avenue, 212.879.6100. 18k gold drizzle pavé diamond flower stud earrings from Ippolita, 796 Madison Avenue, 646.664.4240. Gold bracelet from de Grisogono, 824 Madison Avenue, 212.439.4220


Back in 2009, when Rutherford was two months pregnant with her second child, she sus-pected Giersch of cheating, a�er only three years of marriage. She sought a divorce, and things got so ugly that when she gave birth, she did not in-clude his name on her daughter’s birth certi�cate. Giersch claimed he learned he had a daughter only by reading the tabloids. �en, not long a�er, Rutherford declared on Good Morning America that she was frightened he would abduct the chil-dren during the divorce proceedings. Meanwhile, Giersch’s business practices came under �re; sources told People magazine and the New York Post that there had been various allegations of weapons and drug dealing and fraud, all of which the source said were untrue.

Giersch’s lawyer claims that a former lawyer for Rutherford actually informed on his client’s alleged illegal actions to the State Department. Rutherford denied any knowledge of them. Nev-ertheless, the State Department apparently found enough evidence to deport him last spring.

’m being punished for being a good mother and taking care of my children, and he’s being rewarded for having his visa revoked,” she told Dateline in September. “Our kids are U.S. citi-zens, and they have a right to be raised in the U.S.”

Terrible as the ordeal is, Rutherford, in her own upbeat and irrepressible way, is trying to turn the

experience into something positive. While asso-ciates have recommended she stop talking about the case, she says she will continue, and in fact has started speaking out for organizations fo-cused on treacherous divorces and custody issues. “I’m hoping that in some way, my case will help change the way courts makes their decisions,” she said on �e View. “I’m just thankful that everyone has taken an interest in it…I think it will help cre-ate change and help get my kids home.”

She made that statement in September. But in February, as she sipped her cappuccino at the Carlyle, nothing seemed to suggest the case was getting resolved in her favor.

“Everybody feels for her and wants to help,” says her pal Gubelmann. “A lot of people get married and divorced,” Rutherford herself says. “Do I feel I was taken by surprise? Yes. But things like this can happen to anyone. I meet so many women in their 30s in a rush to get married and have the ‘princess’ wedding. All I did was ask for a divorce.

“I50 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • APRIL 2013

“I would certainly be more careful getting into a relation-ship with someone next time. . . I will need references and a board to interview him!”

Rutherford shines in little else but fine jewelry by Graff. White diamond line bracelet (21.14 cts); white round and pear-shape diamond lotus earrings (14.78 cts); white multi-shape diamond necklace (diamonds 36.38 cts); white round diamond ribbon-shaped brooch with pear and marquise diamonds (23.10 cts); white pear cut diamond ring with tapered baguette shoulders (5.74 cts), available at Graff New York, 710 Madison Avenue, 212.355.9292


“I’ve had women around here tell me that the reason they don’t leave their husbands is because they are powerful men and would rake them over the coals with a divorce. It’s just easier to stay because they are terrified to leave.”

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Alongside her dog, Oliver, the woman-about-town struts in a white leather trench coat by Salvatore Ferragamo, 655 Fifth Avenue, 212.759.3822. White leather sandals by Manolo Blahnik for J. Mendel, 723 Madison Avenue, 212.832.5830. Handbag by Max Mara, 813 Madison Avenue, 212.879.6100

52| AVENUE MAGAZINE • APRIL 2013

I didn’t even ask for money, and I volunteered to take the children to see him every holiday.”

She pauses. “I would certainly be more care-ful getting into a relationship with someone next time, especially if he’s from abroad,” she says, then switches into light comic mode: “I will need references and a board to interview him!”

She describes how she’s become a sounding board for other women’s experiences, mentioning disturbing conversations she’s shared about vari-ous marriages on the Upper East Side.

“I’ve had women around here tell me that the reason they don’t leave their husbands is because they are very powerful men and would rake them over the coals, with a divorce. It’s just easier to stay because they are terri�ed to leave.”

At any rate, she says, she’s now determined not to let her nightmare de�ne her. A�er all, divorce never kept her mother, Ann Edwards, a vivacious model, actress and author who married four times, down for long; Rutherford says that learn-

ing to live with various stepfathers in childhood made her adaptable and keenly observant in ways that have inspired and bene�ted her as an actress.

“I’m just an enthusiast who loves to fall in love with people and things all the time,” she says. “I don’t mean that I swing from chandeliers, but I really do love life.”

�e dark clouds around her custody battle comment seem to be li�ing as she bundles up to go back outside, where the weather has im-proved, as well.

ater, she’ll have lunch with Blythe Danner, another lovely Upper East Side mom and actress who o�en works on TV. But for now, Rutherford only has one thing on her mind. “I have to go home to Skype with the children,” she says. “We do it every day.”

She will do that seated on her sofa alongside her children’s two big white rabbits. “I’m always very upbeat when I talk to them,” she says. “I don’t let this situation de�ne us at all.”

In addition to the rabbits, she has her 17-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, Oliver, to keep her company during a di�cult time.

“He’s been with me forever,” she says. “We have the perfect marriage!”

Perhaps someday she will �nd the same thing with the right man. ✦


avenue - kelly rutherford723 madison avenue, 212.832.5830. handbag by max mara, 813 madison avenue,...

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