The award-winning writer of HBO's The Gilded Age, Julian Fellowes, shared the real-life socialites on whom he based The Russells in The Gilded Age. The filmmaker, known for creating hit shows like Downton Abbey, is renowned for not only drawing inspiration from past eras but also weaving real-life people and events into his stories.
When The Preservation Society of Newport County hosted An Evening with Julian Fellowes, Lord Julian Fellowes explained that he often shies away from using real people as his characters, explaining that he considered doing a drama about the Vanderbilts but "found that too limiting:"
"I mean I did once toy with the idea of doing a drama about the Vanderbilt, but I found that too limiting because you can't make them do things that they didn't do and so I retreated into the welcoming arms of fiction and I just use real people to punctuate it …"
The Gilded Age masterfully blends fiction with reality through characters like the famous Russell family, inspired by true stories, people, and events from America’s Gilded Age.
The Real-Life Socialites Who Inspired the Characters of The Gilded Age
George Russell - Jay Gould
George Russell (played by Morgan Spector) is based on a notorious robber baron who, despite his fortune, struggled to gain the respect and recognition that came easily to others with similar wealth. This part of Jay Gould’s story was adopted into HBO's The Gilded Age. Lord Julian Fellowes revealed that he was particularly drawn to Jay Gould because he was a strange mix — on one hand, famously ruthless that "even the robber barons thought he was ruthless," yet on the other, an affectionate father and husband.
Jay Gould (1836–1892) was a prominent American railroad magnate and financier. Because of his shrewd and often corrupt methods of amassing wealth, he was often labeled a robber baron.
Additionally, a separate incident in The Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 6, where George Russell nearly opens fire on striking workers, was based on a different real-life event that happened between industrialists Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie. Season 1, Episode 3, titled Face the Music, also features events inspired by a real-life event involving business magnate, Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794 -1877), nicknamed "The Commodore."
Bertha Russell - Alva Vanderbilt
Carrie Coon’s Bertha Russell is based on Alva Vanderbilt and mirrors several key moments from the real-life socialite’s climb during New York’s Gilded Age. Most notably, the events surrounding Alva Vanderbilt’s iconic 1883 costume ball—shown in The Gilded Age Season 1 finale—are drawn straight from history. This is not only in the grandeur of the iconic ball but also in the clever tactics Bertha Russell used to force Mrs. Astor’s hand.
Just like Alva, Bertha Russell refused to invite Astor’s daughter unless Astor herself paid a visit. The move worked, and the ball marked Vanderbilt’s (and Bertha Russell's) official acceptance into high society. As for the ball itself, The Gilded Age creator told Vanity Fair:
“I remember when I read about Alva’s ball, I thought, this is so great, I’m just going to lift the whole thing and put it into the drama.”
Alva Vanderbilt, who lived from 1875 to 1896, was a socialite and married prominent New York City millionaire William Kissam Vanderbilt (from 1875 until they divorced in 1895). She later married Oliver Belmont in 1896 and remained with him until he died in 1908. Besides her influence in the Gilded Age social scene, Alva Vanderbilt made significant contributions to the women's suffrage movement, politics, and architecture.
Gladys Russel - Consuelo Vanderbilt
While this is also a nod to Bertha Russell (or Alva Vanderbilt's) trickery, Gladys, like her parents, George and Bertha Russell, is a fictional character who brings real-life events from Consuelo Vanderbilt’s story into the mix.
During an episode of the official Gilded Age podcast, it was revealed that the events in Season 3, Episode 3 were inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt’s marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough. Host Alicia Malone explained:
“I think it's finally time for us to start to dip our toes into the true story that inspired this whole Gladys and Duke arranged marriage plotline, and that is the marriage of Consuelo Vanderbilt to the ninth Duke of Marlborough...”
Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964) was married to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, in an arranged union she famously opposed. Though the marriage lasted 25 years, they reportedly lived apart for most of it. The Marlboroughs officially separated in 1906, divorced in 1921, and had their marriage annulled in 1926. She later married wealthy French aviator Jacques Balsan in 1921 and remained with him until he died in 1956.
