It’s Babe Paley’s twin betrayals that fuel the plot of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. When the series opens, Truman Capote is comforting his friend who has just learned that her husband Bill Paley has been unfaithful. The pair have been deep and dear friends for nearly two decades. Capote, like many others, considers her the most beautiful and glamorous women in New York City. He once wrote, “Mrs. P. had only one fault: she was perfect; otherwise, she was perfect.” He would soon break her heart with the publication of “La Cote Basque, 1965” in Esquire in 1975. It was a thinly veiled account of the lives of wealthy women that left his friends devastated when they realized he was talking about them.
Below, get to know the real Paley and her relationship with the famous writer.