Guest, C.Z. (1920–2003)

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Guest, C.Z. (1920–2003)

American socialite, horticulturist and columnist. Name variations: Cornelia Guest; Mrs. Winston Guest. Born Lucy Douglas Cochrane, Feb 19, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts; died Nov 8, 2003, in Old Westbury, NY; dau. of Alexander Lynde Cochrane (investment banker); m. Winston Frederick Churchill Guest (heir to the Phipps steel fortune, international polo player and cousin of Winston Churchill), 1947 (died 1982); children: Alexander (b. 1954), Cornelia (b. 1963).

Renowned gardening expert and icon of fashion, had a rebellious streak; soon after her debutant season, became a showgirl in the Ziegfeld Follies (1944) and posed nude for Diego Rivera; became the center of the social set, befriending Truman Capote, Cecil Beaton, Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ernest Hemingway, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; began a gardening column for New York Post (1976) which was later syndicated in 350 newspapers; published First Garden (1976) and Tiny Green Thumbs (2000), for children; launched her own sportswear line (1986).