Babe Paley’s False Teeth — More Secrets About Capote’s Favorite Swan

One of these swans is Babe Paley, who was played by Naomi Watts in the series, who harbored many secrets, with some of these being released in the article “La Côte Basque, 1965.”

Capote once said that Paley was perfect other than her one flaw, which was that she was perfect, as reported by Esquire.

Capote wanted his swans to be interesting, stylish, and sophisticated, according to Today, and Babe met all three of those qualities. These combined with her beauty led to her being his favorite.

However, she wanted a wealthy husband and even became a full-time socialite in 1947, a year after her divorce from Mortimer. Despite having been an editor of Vogue, Paley wanted a way into New York high society. They both found this in each other. 

William Paley was reported to have cheated on Babe Paley on multiple occasions, something that was hinted at in “La Côte Basque, 1965.”

Coolbirth is known as a gossip, with one of her stories being about a media executive who washed the bedsheets to cover up an affair. As this resembled something Babe had once told Capote, this was what caused her to end their friendship. 

Babe’s daughter Amanda has said that their mother-daughter relationship was strained and emotionally distant. Not only that, but it was Babe’s decision for it to be this way, according to Women’s Wear Daily. 

The car accident happened in 1934 when Babe was just 19 years old. It resulted in her losing her front teeth and needing false ones, as well as needing to have her jaw reconstructed, according to Freshers Live. 

To maintain a slim figure, Babe reportedly smoked two packets of cigarettes per day, according to The St. Regis Magazine, which ended up being detrimental to her health. 

This trend is to tie your scarf around the handles of your handbag, something she was spotted doing when heading out to lunch, according to Etiquetteer. 

One time, Babe was at a dinner and she had been very quiet, so to get herself into the conversation she covered one of her teeth with some spinach, someone pointed it out to her, and that enabled her to be brought into the conversation. 

So that she didn’t keep serving the same meals to the same guests, Babe Paley would archive her menus so she could look back at them and see what she had already served so as not to serve it again. 

This included wrapping up her jewelry collection to be given to her friends and family and planning her funeral right down to the smallest of details, including the food and wine that was going to be served.