Nina Gore Auchincloss Straight (formerly Steers, born January 10, 1937) is an American author, journalist, and socialite. She is the mother of writer/director

Burr Steers Burr Gore Steers (born October 8, 1965) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. His films include '' Igby Goes Down'' (2002) and '' 17 Again'' (2009). He is a nephew of writer Gore Vidal. Early life and education Steers was born in ...

and artist

Hugh Auchincloss Steers Hugh Auchincloss Steers (June 12, 1962 – March 1, 1995) was an American painter whose work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Denver Art Museum. He died of AIDS at the age of ...

, half-sister of

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

, step-sister of First Lady

Jacqueline Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular fi ...

and socialite Princess

Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Radziwill (; March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady of the ...

Early life

Nina Gore Auchincloss is the daughter of Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Jr. and the former

Nina S. Gore Nina S. Olds (née Gore; July 25, 1903 – April 3, 1978) was an American actress and socialite known for her three marriages, to Eugene Luther Vidal, Eugene Vidal, Hugh D. Auchincloss, and Robert Olds, as well as her children, authors Gore Vidal ...

. Her father was an American stockbroker and lawyer, and a cousin of the novelist and lawyer,

Louis Auchincloss Louis Stanton Auchincloss (; September 27, 1917 – January 26, 2010)Holcomb B. Noble and Charles McGrath''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 27, 2010. was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a novel ...

. Her father had previously been married to Maya de Chrapovitsky, a Russian noblewoman with whom he had one son, Hugh Dudley Auchincloss III. Her mother had previously been married to

Eugene Luther Vidal Eugene Luther Vidal (; April 13, 1895 – February 20, 1969) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, New Deal official, inventor, and athlete. For eight years, from 1929 to 1937, he worked closely with Amelia Earhart in a number of aviatio ...

, a commercial aviation pioneer, with whom she also had one son, the writer

. Hugh and Nina had married in 1935 and besides young Nina, the marriage produced one additional child, Thomas Gore Auchincloss. Kauffman, Bill (2006-11-20
The Populist Patriotism of Gore Vidal
, ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

'' Young Nina's parents divorced in 1941, and a year later, Hugh remarried for the third and final time to

Janet Lee Bouvier Janet Norton Lee Auchincloss (formerly Bouvier), (December 3, 1907 – July 22, 1989) was an American socialite. She was the mother of the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Lee Radziwill, and the mother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Early l ...

, in 1942. Janet was the mother of future First Lady Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and Caroline Lee Bouvier. Nina's father had two more children with Janet, half-siblings to young Nina, Janet Jennings Auchincloss and James Lee Auchincloss. Hugh and Janet remained married until his death in 1976. Also in 1942, Nina's mother remarried for the third and final time to

Robert Olds Robert Olds (June 15, 1896 – April 28, 1943) was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic bombing, strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as th ...

, but only remained married a short time until Robert's early death of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1943, after hospitalization for

constrictive pericarditis Constrictive pericarditis is a condition characterized by a thickened, fibrotic pericardium, limiting the heart's ability to function normally. In many cases, the condition continues to be difficult to diagnose and therefore benefits from a good ...

and Libman-Sacks endocarditis, at the age of 46, just prior to his son

Robin Olds Robin Olds (born Robert Oldys Jr.; July 14, 1922 – June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a "Flying ace, triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II ...

' graduation from West Point. Nina's paternal grandparents were Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Sr., a merchant and financier, and Emma Brewster (née Jennings) Auchincloss, the daughter of

Oliver Burr Jennings Oliver Burr Jennings (June 3, 1825 – February 12, 1893) was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil. Early life Jennings was born in 1825 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Abraham Gold Jennings and Anna (née B ...

, one of the original stockholders in

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

. Her maternal grandparents were

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Thomas Gore Thomas Pryor Gore (December 10, 1870March 16, 1949) was an American politician who served as one of the first two United States senators from Oklahoma, from 1907 to 1921 and again from 1931 to 1937. He first entered politics as an activist for t ...

and his wife Nina Belle (née Kay) Gore.

Debutante

In 1955, Auchincloss made her debut at a formal ball given by her father and stepmother Janet (who lived in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...

), at their summer home,

Hammersmith Farm Hammersmith Farm is a shingle-style mansion and estate located at 225 Harrison Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was a childhood home of First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and the site of the reception for her wedding to U.S ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. The ball was attended by over 700 guests. In 1957, she inherited a $225,000 () trust.

Education and career

Nina attended the Potomac School in Washington, D.C., and

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

. She attended and graduated from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, just outside of Philadelphia. Nina subsequently attended and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in journalism from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1961. While she attended Columbia, she worked part-time for columnist Charles Bartlett. In 1964, she earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in history from Columbia, her second degree from Columbia. From 1963 until 1971, Nina worked as Washington correspondent and

bureau chief A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a 'Tokyo bureau' refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; 'fo ...

for the ''

Chattanooga Times The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's majo ...

'', while raising her three sons. In 1981, her novel ''Ariabella: The First'', was published by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. At the time, she was in her second year of evening law school at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

and was working on a biography of her maternal grandfather, Oklahoma Sen.

Thomas Pryor Gore Thomas Pryor Gore (December 10, 1870March 16, 1949) was an American politician who served as one of the first two United States senators from Oklahoma, from 1907 to 1921 and again from 1931 to 1937. He first entered politics as an activist for t ...

Personal life

In 1957, Nina married Newton Ivan Steers, Jr., who was 20 years her senior. Jackie Kennedy was her matron of honor at the wedding and then Sen.

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

was one of the groomsmen. During their marriage, Steers became a member of the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. Together, they had three sons: *

(1962–1995), a painter * Ivan Steers * Burr Gore Steers (born 1965), a writer and filmmaker.Film; A Family's Legacy: Pain and Humor (and a Movie)
, ''The New York Times'', September 15, 2002. Nina and Steers separated in 1972 and divorced in 1974. In 1976, Steers was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Maryland's 8th congressional district Maryland's 8th congressional district is concentrated almost entirely in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, with a small portion in Prince George's County. Adjacent to Washington, D.C., the 8th district takes in many of the city’ ...

. Steers remarried to Inge Wirsich Irwin in 1978, to whom he remained married until his death in 1993. In 1974, Nina married her second husband,

Michael Whitney Straight Michael Whitney Straight (September 1, 1916 – January 4, 2004) was an American magazine publisher, novelist, patron of the arts, a member of the prominent Whitney family, and a confessed spy for the KGB. Early life Straight was born in New Yo ...

, 21 years her senior and a member of the

Whitney family The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from non-Norman English immigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elm ...

who was a publisher and novelist. Straight was the son of

Willard Dickerman Straight Willard Dickerman Straight (January 31, 1880 – December 1, 1918) was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter, diplomat and by marriage, a member of the Whitney family. He was a promoter of Chinese arts and investments, and a major s ...

, an investment banker who died in Michael's infancy, and

Dorothy Payne Whitney Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney, previously Straight; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an United States, American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Life and work Whitney wa ...

, a philanthropist. After his mother's remarriage to

Leonard Knight Elmhirst Leonard Knight Elmhirst (6 June 1893 – 16 April 1974) was a British philanthropist and agronomist who worked extensively in India. He co-founded with his wife, Dorothy, the Dartington Hall project in progressive education and rural reconstruc ...

, Straight lived in England. The wedding was attended by Janet Auchincloss,

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1937) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'' for over thirty years and the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1968 to 1969. She h ...

Beatrice Straight Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film, television and radio actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was both an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, as well as a Primetime Em ...

, and

Peter Cookson Peter Cookson (May 8, 1913 – January 6, 1990) was an American stage and film actor of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his collaborations with his wife, Beatrice Straight, an actress and member of the Whitney family. Early life Cookso ...

. Nina and Michael's marriage ended in divorce in 1998. He later married Katharine Gould, a child psychiatrist and art historian, to whom he remained married until his death in 2004.

Published works

*''Ariabella: The First'' (1981)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight, Nina 1937 births Miss Porter's School alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni American socialites Auchincloss family Living people Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Writers from Washington, D.C.