Georgette Mosbacher
- Full Name
- Georgette Paulsin Mosbacher
- Date of Birth
- 01/16/1947 (62 years old)
- Undergrad
- Indiana University
- Neighborhood
- Upper East Side
- Other Residences
- Southampton, NY
- Website
- www.borghese.com
- Filed Under
- Beauty
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Who
The head of luxury cosmetics company Borghese, Mosbacher is better known for her red-maned presence on the social circuit and as one of the GOP's most reliable—and highest-profile—fundraisers.
Backstory
Mosbacher wasn't born into a life of luxury. Raised in the Midwest by a single mother, she had to work three jobs to put herself through Indiana University. Fortunately for Georgette, she managed to marry well and after her second divorce left her with a small fortune, she turned her eye to the cosmetics industry. In 1988, she purchased the struggling skin care company La Prairie; taking over as CEO—and taking to the airwaves in a series of gaudy infomercials—she managed to turn the company into a moneymaker before unloading it three years later for an estimated $20-30 million.
In 2000, she took over Borghese, a beauty concern once owned by Revlon and later sold off to Saudi investors. Mosbacher quickly shifted the company's direction, cutting the number of products and sales outlets, as well as adding a low-cost line available at Costco. Mosbacher continues to oversee the brand, but it's not her cosmetics company that's given her such a presence in the city, it's her tireless campaigning and fundraising for the Republican party. A veteran on the GOP circuit, Mosbacher was national co-chair of John McCain's campaign in 2000 and currently serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee's finance committee. She's also a regular on Fox News where she can be counted on to push the Republican party line.
In print
Mosbacher has authored a handful of books, including 1993's Feminine Force: Release the Power Within to Create the Life You Deserve, in which she explains, "I wasn't born a redhead, but I was born to be a redhead." Her 1998 book It Takes Money, Honey offered tips on how to meet and marry a millionaire, how to establish a "secret stash" of money and how to persuade one's husband to sign over ownership of his property.
The look
A longtime cosmetic surgery enthusiast—and an avid consumer of hair dye—Mosbacher is also an advocate of permanent makeup. "My eyebrows are so pale, I go to a salon every two years to have them tattooed on."
Personal
Mosbacher has been married three times. Her first marriage was to L.A. real estate developer Robert Muir. She then tied the knot with Fabergé CEO George Barrie, the creator of Brut cologne, who once made headlines for punching Mosbacher in the nose. (Mosbacher also worked at Fabergé for several years in the late 1970s and 80s.) In 1989, she tied the knot with Houston businessman and former George H. W. Bush cabinet secretary Robert Mosbacher before divorcing him in 1998. Mosbacher now claims she'll never marry again. Her constant companion these days is her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Eve.
Habitat
When Georgette sent her third husband packing, she not only kept his name, she also held on to the couple's Fifth Avenue apartment across the street from the Met as well as their lavish house in the Hamptons. Mosbacher often hosts elaborate dinner parties at the two residences, which she plans months in advance: "For my dinner parties, I will take a silver mint-julep cup and have it engraved with the date and the name of the guest I'm honoring."
