Nina Louise Griscom (née Renshaw; May 8, 1954 – January 25, 2020) was an American model, television host, designer, columnist and businesswoman.

Early years

Griscom's father was journalist Charles C. Renshaw Jr., and her mother was Elizabeth Fly Vagliano, later the wife of

Felix Rohatyn Felix George Rohatyn ( ; May 29, 1928 – December 14, 2019) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He spent most of his career with Lazard, where he brokered numerous large corporate mergers and acquisitions from the 1960s through ...

, who was known for her support of educational and cultural institutions. After graduating from

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 ...

, Griscom attended

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

with the class of 1977. As a college student, Griscom began working as a model for

Eileen Ford Eileen Cecile Ford (née Otte; March 25, 1922 – July 9, 2014) was an American modeling agency executive. Along with her husband Gerard W. Ford, Gerard "Jerry" Ford, she co-founded Ford Models in 1946, which emerged as one of the earliest and m ...

Career

Griscom's work on TV included being co-host of an entertainment news program on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

(1990–1993) and a restaurant-review series on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

(1993–1998). As a businesswoman, Griscom partnered with

Alan Richman Alan Richman (born January 25, 1944) is an American journalist and food writer. He was a food correspondent for '' GQ'' magazine, and has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for journalism. Early life and education Richman is a graduate of the ...

to operate home-decorating stores in Manhattan and in Southampton, New York. She also worked as a spokeswoman and consultant for

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charle ...

and designed purses for the GiGi New York Collection.

Personal life

Griscom was married to, and divorced from, Joe Hunter, Lloyd P. Griscom Jr. and Dr. Daniel C. Baker (with whom she had a daughter). When she died, she was married to Leonel Alfred Piraino. She was a member of the board of the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

and of the Advisory Committee of Africa Foundation (USA).

Death

Griscom died at age 65 at her home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

from complications of

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griscom, Nina 1954 births 2020 deaths People from Manhattan Miss Porter's School alumni Barnard College alumni Female models from New York (state) American television hosts American women columnists American women television hosts Deaths from motor neuron disease in New York (state) 21st-century American women