CZ Guest

Lucy Douglas "C. Z." Guest (née Cochrane; February 19, 1920 - November 8, 2003) was an American stage actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, fashion designer, and socialite who achieved a degree of fame as a fashion icon. She was frequently seen wearing elegant designs by famous designers like Mainbocher. Her unfussy, clean-cut style was seen as typically American, and she was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1959. She was born on February 19, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Vivian Wessell and Alexander Lynde Cochrane, an investment banker. Her brother called her "Sissy" and she transformed that into "C.Z." She dabbled in acting, including an appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1944. On March 8, 1947, she married Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, the son of Frederick Guest, who was a son of Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, and Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill (daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough) who, through his mother, was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, and was a national polo champion. Ernest Hemingway was best man at the wedding, which took place at Hemingway's home in Havana, Cuba. The couple had two children, Alexander Guest and Cornelia Guest. C. Z. Guest was pictured on the cover of the July 20, 1962, issue of TIME magazine as part of an article on American society. After a horse riding accident in 1976, Guest was asked by the New York Post to write a column on gardening. Her first book, First Garden, was illustrated by her friend Cecil Beaton. Other friends included Truman Capote, Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur, Barbara Hutton, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and William S. Paley, Gloria Guinness and Thomas "Loel" Guinness and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were the godparents of their children. Much photographed, she was also painted by Diego Rivera, Salvador Dalí, Kenneth Paul Block and Andy Warhol. In 1985 she designed a small fashion collection consisting mainly of cashmere sweaters that was introduced at a show of the designer Adolfo Domínguez. In 1986, she expanded her design work to include a limited line of sportswear sold under license, and in 1990 she came out with a fragrant insect repellent and other garden merchandise.