The real Caroline Astor was also considered to be an unofficial queen of New York society in the 1880s. Per a report from ScreenRant, Caroline was "the first and last word in deciding status and who or what is fashionable in New York City during the Gilded Age."
According to the report, the real Caroline's "old money" wealth was drawn from two sources. The first was her own family.
Town & Country magazine reported that Caroline was descended from two Dutch families, the Schermerhorns and the Van Cortlandts. Both families were part of the earliest European settlers in North America, gaining wealth through "mercantile businesses and real estate holdings."
The second source of Caroline's wealth derived from her marriage to William Astor, the grandson of America's very first multimillionaire, John Jacob Astor.
Not only did Caroline act like an American queen, but she dressed like one too. According to History Extra, Caroline famously wore a stomacher that reportedly belonged to the executed French queen Marie Antoinette. Per the same report, Caroline always "cultivated a regal presence; she wore dark or jewel tones, and often purple, and was always swathed in diamonds."
Referring back to the ScreenRant report, Caroline Astor wasn't the only Mrs. Astor in town. However, she claimed the title of the Mrs. Astor, a power play that placed her firmly in the upper, upper echelon of the New York City elite.
Caroline also had a great deal of influence with a club called the Four Hundred. It was basically the club to be in if you wanted to be considered the best of the best of New York society. Anybody who was anybody would kill for Caroline's approval.
To make a modern-day comparison, Caroline was like Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) in the original Gossip Girl, except even more influential than the queen of the Upper East Side. It's highly likely that Donna will return as Caroline "Lina" Astor in Season 2 of The Gilded Age. After all, she is playing the Mrs. Astor!
You can stream Season 1 of The Gilded Age now on HBO Max.
