Who

An heir to the Hearst family fortune, Gillian Hearst is an omnipresent young social fixture.

Backstory

The daughter of kidnappee Patty Hearst and her former bodyguard Bernard Shaw, Hearst was raised in Connecticut and attended Lawrenceville Prep before heading off to Georgetown. Gillian graduated college in 2003 and immediately moved to Manhattan. She's since pursued a series of socialite-worthy pursuits. She launched a clothing line called AnGil with fellow socialite Annie Churchill, which consisted of rhinestone-encrusted tank tops. (Alas, while the line generated a modest amount of press in 2003-4, it inevitably fading into nothingness and was discontinued shortly thereafter.) In early 2007, Hearst took an actual day job, signing on as an editorial assistant at Town & Country, a publication that, not surprisingly, is part of the Hearst Corp. family of magazines. But she remains best known for her social presence and her regular appearances at parties and fashion events around town.

Family ties

Gillian's younger sister is Lydia Hearst; her first-cousin is Amanda Hearst, which makes Anne Hearst her aunt. (Jay McInerney is her new uncle.) In case you're keeping score at home, that makes Veronica Hearst—the mother of Fabiola Beracasa—Gillian's step-grandmother.

Personal

Gillian's boyfriend, lawyer Christian Simonds, proposed to the heiress in early 2007 during a sleigh ride in the Berkshires. The couple tied the knot in a ceremony at the Pierre Hotel on October 13, 2007. They live on West 57th Street in the same building as Gillian's sister, Lydia.