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- Are "The Gilded Age" Characters Real People? Meet the New York Socialites Who Inspired Them</p>
<p>Christopher RudolphJuly 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty</p>
<p>Donna Murphy in The Gilded Age ; Portrait of American socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn.</p>
<p>The Gilded Age mixes fact and fiction, featuring characters interacting with figures from history</p>
<p>Taissa Farmiga's Gladys Russell is loosely inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt</p>
<p>Oscar Wilde, J.P. Morgan and Mamie Fish are a few of the real people who have appeared on the HBO historical series</p>
<p>The Gilded Age season 3 has viewers — and characters — clutching their pearls as the historical series dials up the clock and drama in season 3.</p>
<p>The storylines on the HBO period piece might seem sensational, but they are inspired by real events and figures brought to life week after week by popular actors from stage and screen.</p>
<p>In November 2021, Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a co-executive producer and historical consultant on the series told Entertainment Weekly that "while The Gilded Age is a fictional show, it's important to ground the storytelling in authenticity."</p>
<p>"We want viewers to feel and see a landscape that is from the past yet believable and accurate. The show takes place in late 19th century America when the country was moving into a modern era," Dunbar continued. "We want viewers to experience and marvel at the progress of that moment but to also understand the very real hurdles that existed for many Americans."</p>
<p>Some of the series' main characters are creations of The Gilded Age writer Julian Fellowes but others are actual people who rubbed shoulders in New York's high society.</p>
<p>Here are The Gilded Age actors side-by-side with the real-life figures they portray on TV.</p>
<p>Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell, appears to be inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; Gilliam Press Syndicate/PhotoQuest/Getty</p>
<p>Taissa Farmiga in 'The Gilded Age' ; American socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Taissa Farmiga plays Gladys Russell, a fictional character who seems to be loosely based on Consuelo Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Like Gladys, Consuelo was the daughter of a railroad baron and a Manhattan socialite. While both had hoped to marry for love, their respective mothers arranged for them to wed Dukes instead.</p>
<p>In The Gilded Age, Gladys exchanged vows with the Duke of Buckingham, and in real life, Consuelo married Charles Spencer-Churchill, the ninth Duke of Marlborough. The latter made history by being the first American woman to become a Duchess.</p>
<p>Consuelo and the Duke had two sons, but the couple separated in 1906 and divorced in 1921. That same year, Gladys married her second husband, Jacques Balsan.</p>
<p>Ben Lamb as the Duke of Buckingham, may have been inspired by Charles Spencer-Churchill</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; Hulton Archive/Getty</p>
<p>Ben Lamb in 'The Gilded Age' ; Illustrated portrait of John Churchill.</p>
<p>English actor Ben Lamb portrays the Duke of Buckingham.</p>
<p>Lamb previously starred in films like Divergent and the Netflix movie series The Christmas Prince, but on The Gilded Age, he was part of the wedding century when his character married Gladys Russell.</p>
<p>Gladys being married off to the Duke appears to be inspired by the real-life relationship between Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill.</p>
<p>That said, The Gilded Age's Duke of Buckingham wasn't a real person, but the title has been used throughout British history.</p>
<p>Ashlie Atkinson as Mamie Fish</p>
<p>Barbara Nitke/HBO ; Bettmann/Getty</p>
<p>Ashlie Atkinson in 'The Gilded Age' ; American socialite Marion Graves Anthon Fish.</p>
<p>Ashlie Atkinson brings levity as Mamie Fish, a real woman from New York history known for her "wicked wit" and outlandish dinner parties.</p>
<p>Mamie was married to railroad tycoon Stuyvesant Fish, and she became society's "fun maker," according to Jennifer Wright, per Town & Country, the author of Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power.</p>
<p>Mamie is a notable and unique character in The Gilded Age and history, remembered as a rule-breaker who kept the uptight society ladies on their toes.</p>
<p>Nathan Lane as Ward McAllister</p>
<p>Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO ; Bettmann/Getty</p>
<p>Nathan Lane in 'The Gilded Age' ; Ward McAllister.</p>
<p>Nathan Lane is used to portraying campy characters on stage and screen. In The Gilded Age, he plays Ward McAllister, a mustachioed Southerner, who might seem like an exaggerated invention from Fellowes, but was based on a real person.</p>
<p>The real Ward acted as a society guide for those who had come into new money (like the character Bertha Russell) while being close friends with established members of New York's upper class (like Mrs. Astor).</p>
<p>In 1890, Ward published a book, Society As I Have Found It, which ironically had him ostracized from the circles he was once a member of.</p>
<p>Donna Murphy as Caroline Schermerhorn Astor</p>
<p>Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO ; The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty</p>
<p>Donna Murphy in 'The Gilded Age' ; Portrait of American socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn.</p>
<p>Theater icon Donna Murphy plays Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, better known as Mrs. Astor.</p>
<p>Mrs. Astor was a prominent member of New York high society, throwing lavish parties and leading what was known as the "Four Hundred," a list of people who were considered the upper crust of the upper class.</p>
<p>The real-life Ward was once part of her circle, and he was the author of the roster shared in The New York Times.</p>
<p>Bobby Steggert as John Singer Sargent</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; J. Purdy/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty</p>
<p>Bobby Steggart in The Gilded Age ; Painter John Singer Sargent.</p>
<p>Bobby Steggert portrays the popular portraitist, John Singer Sargent.</p>
<p>Sargent was the painter behind works like Portrait of Madame X and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw. In The Gilded Age's third season, Bertha hires Sargent to paint her daughter, Gladys.</p>
<p>"I think that Sargent was someone who did not see women as objects.He saw them as three-dimensional, complicated, powerful people," Steggert told Artnet in July 2025.</p>
<p>"I didn't realize what a likeness I shared with him until I saw his earliest self-portraits and some photographs of him around the time that he painted Madame X," the actor continued.</p>
<p>Bill Camp as J.P. Morgan</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; Bettmann/Getty</p>
<p>Bill Camp in 'The Gilded Age' ; J.P. Morgan Sr.</p>
<p>Bill Camp plays J.P. Morgan, the famous investment banker and U.S. railroad financier.</p>
<p>Morgan was one of the wealthiest men in America during the Gilded Age, and the real-life mogul was introduced in season 3 as a potential business partner for George Russell.</p>
<p>Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune</p>
<p>Karolina Wojtasik/HBO ; Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty</p>
<p>Sullivan Jones in 'The Gilded Age' ; T. Thomas Fortune, a journalist, writer and civil rights leader.</p>
<p>Sullivan Jones portrays T. Thomas Fortune, Peggy Scott's editor.</p>
<p>The real Fortune was a pioneering Black journalist with an inspiring story. He was born into slavery in Florida and was freed after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.</p>
<p>Fortune would go on to study law and journalism at Howard University, and according to PBS, he would later become the "editor and co-owner of several influential New York-based Black newspapers including The New York Globe."</p>
<p>Jordan Waller as Oscar Wilde</p>
<p>Barbara Nitke/HBO ; Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty</p>
<p>Jordan Sebastian Walle in 'The Gilded Age' ; Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, Irish writer and poet.</p>
<p>Jordan Waller appeared as witty writer Oscar Wilde in season 2.</p>
<p>The Irish author, playwright and poet made a trip to New York when his play, Vera; or, The Nihilists, opened the Union Square Theater in 1883, per the American Theatre magazine.</p>
<p>The play was not well-received and closed after running for only one week.</p>
<p>Linda Emond as Clara Barton</p>
<p>Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO ; The Print Collector/Getty</p>
<p>Linda Emond in 'The Gilded Age' ; Clara Barton, founder of the American branch of the Red Cross.</p>
<p>Linda Emond starred as Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross.</p>
<p>In a March 2022 video message to the American Red Cross, Linda said it "was an honor to portray this remarkable woman, who in 1881 single-handedly changed the nation and our humanitarian response to crisis."</p>
<p>"I'm thankful for Clara's strength and passion," she continued. "I'm thankful for the Red Cross, and I'm honored to be one of only a handful of women to have played this great American leader."</p>
<p>on People</p>
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