Alva Belmont

Alva Belmont (17 January 1853 – 26 January 1933), née Alva Erskine Smith, and known as Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the women's suffrage movement. Known for having an aristocratic manner that antagonized many people, she was also noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge convention. She was married first to William Kissam Vanderbilt, with whom she had three children, and secondly to Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont.

Read more about Alva Belmont:  Early Life, Building Programs, Society, Women's Suffrage, Later Life and Death, Quotations

Famous quotes containing the word belmont:

    An actor must communicate his author’s given message—comedy, tragedy, serio- comedy; then comes his unique moment, as he is confronted by the looked-for, yet at times unexpected, reaction of the audience. This split second is his; he is in command of his medium; the effect vanishes into thin air; but that moment has a power all its own and, like power in any form, is stimulating and alluring.
    —Eleanor Robson Belmont (1878–1979)