Titans in Party Dresses
By GEORGE GURLEY |
The New York Times | December 23, 2010
OF the 30 swell young ladies who will be formally introduced to high society during the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria on Dec. 29, the most swell may be Hadley Marie Nagel —
a German countess, according to her mother, Susan Nagel, and
also a direct descendant, through her father, Jon (a lawyer), of two signers of the Declaration of Independence.
But Miss Nagel, 19, plays down her pedigree. “I mean, you still have to pay for your coffee at Starbucks,” she said recently. “It doesn’t mean anything. I think you impress people more with your talents, with who you are.” And for much of her young life, Miss Nagel’s talents, unusual for a socialite, have been on rather dizzying display:
published articles, a scholarly paper, nationally syndicated op-ed pieces, awards, advocacy work for sustainable organic agriculture and social justice. An expert shooter in trap, skeet and clay, she was a blue-ribbon winner of a small-bore rifle competition. By the time of her 2009 graduation from Nightingale-Bamford, the private all-girls school on the Upper East Side, Miss Nagel had founded Model United Nations and history clubs, a travel Web site for teenagers, playintraffic.com, and another site, americansformadison.org, intended to raise awareness of her hero, the founding father James Madison, and win him a federal monument. Along the way, Miss Nagel befriended some prominent historians and at 17, became
the youngest registered lobbyist on Capitol Hill. She is currently a sophomore at Johns Hopkins, double-majoring in international relations and history, with a minor in voice (
a coloratura soprano, she recently recorded a CD of operatic arias).
“When you read out her résumé, you just want to throw up in a bucket,” said Vicky Ward, the Vanity Fair writer, who thanked Miss Nagel in a recent book about the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and said she has given Miss Nagel advice on matters on the heart. “I would warn the young men of New York,” Ms. Ward said, “that she’s not somebody who would let herself be trifled with.” According to Susan Nagel, also a historian and her daughter’s de facto publicist, “many, many, many” people have thought Serena van der Woodsen, a character on the CW network show “Gossip Girl,” is based on Miss Nagel, minus the promiscuity and drugs (both are 5-foot-7, leggy and natural blondes). On “Author’s Night” at Nightingale last year, Cecily von Ziegesar (class of ’88) inscribed a copy of her latest “Gossip Girl” novel: “To Hadley, the real thing. I hope you don’t mind being hassled about being the model for Serena. So, so funny! Sounds like you’re doing a lot more important things than Serena ever did, and more beautiful too. XOXO.”
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Does the debutante of the year have any flaws?
“Karate, Latin declensions and can’t cook.”
Can she dance?
“I have rhythm, thank you.”
More at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/fashion/26DCDEB.html
