Babe Paley's Car Accident Story from Feud Explained: What Happened to Her?

babe paley car accident
Credit: Plan B Entertainment | Ryan Murphy Productions | 20th Television | FXP


babe paley car accident
Credit: Plan B Entertainment | Ryan Murphy Productions | 20th Television | FXP

Did you know that Babe Paley got into a car accident? Feud: Capote vs the Swans depicts far more than Truman's scheme towards the elite women of New York, it also tells the true story behind these women's lives. Read on to find out.

Who is Babe Paley in Feud: Capote vs the Swans?

babe paley car accident
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Credit: Plan B Entertainment | Ryan Murphy Productions | 20th Television | FXP

The hit Feud: Capote vs the Swans series took its full inspiration from Lawrence Leamer's book titled Capote's Women.

While the story showcased the lives of several American socialites, Babe Paley undoubtedly shined the brightest.

Barbara "Babe" Paley was a master of style. She was often called "the most beautiful woman in the world," as Leamer wrote.

Despite her unhappy marriage with William S. Paley, aka chairman of the board of the Columbia Broadcasting System, her beauty was a sight to behold that captured the biggest fashion designers and even the likes of Truman Capote himself.

Her unconventional sense of style was exactly what enraptured the people around her. Babe Paley's trend-setting fashion became highly influential at the time.

However, did you know that the symbol of elegance wasn't always one of America's greatest dames? Before moving to New York, she suffered from a life-changing car accident that later propelled her into success.

RELATED: Who Plays Happy Rockefeller in Feud: Capote vs the Swans?

Babe Paley's Car Accident Story Explained

babe paley car accident
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Credit: Plan B Entertainment | Ryan Murphy Productions | 20th Television | FXP

Babe Paley was involved in a horrific car accident in 1934.

She was on her way to a promising future in the fashion industry until the accident led to her permanently losing her front teeth, resulting in surgery that also required her to undergo jaw reconstruction.

According to what Leamer wrote, the accident "left her a mass of bruises, blemishes, and scars." Despite having to go through plastic surgery though, Babe's beauty returned "unblemished and perhaps even more heightened."

If anything, the transformation she went through only inspired Truman, convinced that he had found a "real-life heroine."

Shortly after her debut, Babe Paley moved to New York where she persevered in her career in the fashion industry.

In 1935, she was working an entry-level job at Glamour magazine, later climbing up the corporate ladder and securing her position as the editor for Vogue magazine in 1939.

This is also where Babe met her future husband Bill, the co-founder of CBS, in 1947 and truly became a prominent figure in New York society. Her life was filled with luxury and success.

Unfortunately, it would took a tragic turn when she died battling cancer, passing away on July 6, 1978, a day before her 63rd birthday.

READ NEXT: When Will Feud: Capote vs. the Swans Episodes Be Released? Schedule Revealed

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