Tinsley Mortimer

Tinsley Randolph Mortimer (née Mercer; born August 11, 1975)[1][2] is an American socialite and television personality. She is known for starring in reality television series High Society and The Real Housewives of New York City.

Tinsley Mortimer
Mortimer in 2007
Born
Tinsley Randolph Mercer

(1975-08-11) August 11, 1975
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
EducationSt. Catherine's School
Lawrenceville School
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Columbia University (BA)
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (MA)
OccupationActress, fashion designer, socialite, television personality, blogger
Known forThe Real Housewives of New York City
Spouse(s)
Robert Livingston Mortimer
​
​
(m. 2002; div. 2010)​
Partner(s)Scott Kluth (2017–2018, 2019–present; engaged)
Parent(s)George Riley Mercer, Jr.
Dale Tatum

Early life

Mortimer was born Tinsley Randolph Mercer in Richmond, Virginia.[3][4][5] Her father was George Riley Mercer Jr., a wealthy real-estate investor, and her mother is Dale Tatum Mercer, an interior designer and socialite.[3] She has a younger sister, Dabney Winston Mercer.[6] Her paternal grandfather, George Riley Mercer Sr., founded Mercer Rug Cleansing in 1936.[7] Mortimer is descended from multiple First Families of Virginia.[8] She grew up at Graymont, her family's estate in Richmond.[9]

Mortimer attended St. Catherine's School, a private all-girls Episcopal school in Richmond, and later the Lawrenceville School, a boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where she was a member of the Kirby House.[10] Mortimer was a debutante, having been presented to Richmond society at the Bal du Bois at the Country Club of Virginia.[11][12] She went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a freshman in college, but later transferred to Columbia University. At Columbia, she was a member of St. Anthony Hall. She was also a nationally ranked tennis player and played varsity tennis for Columbia.[13][11][14] She graduated from Columbia with a bachelor of arts degree in art history, and later obtained her master's degree in decorative arts from the Cooper Hewitt design museum.[15]

Career

Early in her career, Mortimer worked as a beauty assistant at Vogue and an event planner for Harrison & Shriftman.[16] Mortimer had a line of handbags and clothing in Japan for Samantha Thavasa, for which she was featured in an advertising campaign.[17][18] She also features prominently in Samantha Thavasa USA's online promotional materials and in the company's Madison Avenue store, which also carries her handbags. She subsequently formed her own clothing line, Riccime by Tinsley Mortimer, which was sold exclusively in Japan.[19] In 2008, Mortimer became involved in branding and design for a condominium development.[20]

Mortimer has served as Christian Dior’s beauty ambassador and helped to create a lip gloss named Tinsley Pink.[21] She has appeared in several magazine editorials, including Vogue, WWD, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire.[19] In May 2012, she appeared on the cover of Vestal magazine, which also featured an editorial styled by Lo'renzo Hill-White and shot by fashion photographer Kevin Sinclair.[22][23] She has appeared on the magazine covers of Page Six Magazine,[24] Virginia Living, Avenue,[25] CVLUX,[26] Maniac,[27] and New York.[28]

She made a cameo on the season two premiere episode of Gossip Girl, which aired on September 1, 2008 on The CW.[29] In an interview for Vanity Fair, Gossip Girl's costume designers Eric Daman and Meredith Markworth-Pollack considered New York socialites Tinsley Mortimer and Arden Wohl as a muse when dressing actress Blake Lively and when asked if they were influenced by New York socialites, respectively.[30] Daman and Markworth-Pollack said that "if you put Blair and Serena together, you get Tinsley Mortimer. Tinsley’s hair is always set and she always looks perfect, but she takes risks."[30] On March 10, 2010, Mortimer debuted her own reality television show called High Society, starring Mortimer along with other socialites such as Paul Johnson Calderon and Devorah Rose.[31] The show documented the lives of Mortimer and her friends in New York City, but it was critically panned and cancelled after 8 episodes because of low ratings.[32] The failure of the show was credited with causing Mortimer's subsequent "downfall" as a New York socialite.[33][34]

Mortimer wrote a novel titled Southern Charm, which follows Minty Davenport from South Carolina to New York, where she is the victim of rumors.[35] It was published by Simon & Schuster in April 2013.[36] Mortimer also wrote chapter in the book The Park Avenue Diet, which outlines recommendations on improving one's conversation and social skills, written by Manhattan diet doctor Stuart Fischer.[37] She has been a contributor for Town & Country magazine since 2017.[38] In 2017, Mortimer joined the cast of Bravo's reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City for the show's ninth season.[39]

In 2014, she launched Home Collection manufactured by Pop Culture Living, an e-commerce site featuring curated collections of home accessories.[40][41] She currently has her own line of housewares products sold at Bed Bath & Beyond and Wayfair.[42] The collection includes dinnerware, decorative glasses, barware and ice buckets.[42] In June 2019, Mortimer launched a new collaboration of fake lashes with the beauty brand Winky Lux titled "XXO Tinsley for Winky Lux."[43] She designed the product packaging herself.[44] In September 2019, Mortimer walked the runway for Garo Sparo's fashion show at New York Fashion Week.[45] In October 2019, Mortimer announced that she has partnered up with RuMe to launch a Resort 2020 Collection, which consists of travel, fashion, and beauty accessories.[46][47][48]

Advocacy

In July 2020, Mortimer appeared in a pro-adoption billboard "Buy Shoes, Not Dogs" for PETA.[49] The billboard was located in Chicago, Illinois and Mortimer also appeared in a video, where she encouraged people to adopt dogs from shelters.[50] Mortimer has adopted her two dogs called Strawberry and Shortcake.[49]

Personal life

Mortimer met Robert Livingston "Topper" Mortimer (son of John Jay Mortimer) at Lawrenceville School and eloped when they were both 18. However, their parents forced them to annul the marriage. On May 4, 2002, they remarried in Richmond, Virginia.[51] The Mortimers are now divorced.[52] Her ex-husband married British fashion designer Tabitha Simmons in 2018.[53]

On July 23, 2010, Mortimer was featured with her mother Dale on the Dr. Phil show discussing her divorce and her differences with her mother.[54]

Her father died on March 26, 2015 in Providence, Rhode Island.[55]

On February 11, 2017, Mortimer was introduced to Chicago-based Coupon Cabin CEO Scott Kluth by her Real Housewives of New York City castmate Carole Radziwill.[56] The pair then entered an on-and-off long distance relationship between New York and Chicago, and as of October 2018, the couple had separated.[57] Mortimer and Kluth were engaged in November 2019.[58]

In April 2016, Mortimer was arrested for trespassing on her former boyfriend Alexander "Nico" Fanjul’s property in Palm Beach, Florida.[59][60] The charges were later dismissed.[61]

Filmography
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Manny Herself Uncredited
2008 Gossip Girl Herself Episodes: "The Serena Also Rises", "Summer Kind of Wonderful"
2009–2011 The Fashion Show Herself / Judge 16 episodes
2010 Dr. Phil Herself Episode: "Meddling Moms"
2010 America's Next Top Model Herself Episode: "New York Women"
2010 High Society Herself Main role; 8 episodes
2017–2020 The Real Housewives of New York City Herself Main cast member (season 9–12); 75 episodes
2019 The Other Two Herself Episode: "Chase Goes to a Premiere"

References
  1. "Tinsley Mortimer". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020. ...Tinsley Mortimer was born on August 11, 1976.
  2. Lipton, Lauren (March 13, 2012). "She's Back, Branding Irons in Hand". Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2020. Ms. Mortimer, 35 [as of March 13, 2012]...
  3. "Weddings; Tinsley Mercer, Topper Mortimer". The New York Times. May 5, 2002.
  4. Smith, Ray A. (February 27, 2010). "Tinsley's Turbulent Year". The Wall Street Journal.(subscription required)
  5. Morgan, Spencer (August 12, 2009). "Tinz & Topp in Tears". New York. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. ...a Virginia-born debutante.... The story of Tinsley Randolph Mercer begins in Richmond, Virginia...
  6. "Tinsley Mortimer Is Here to Remind You She Was on a Reality Show Before RHONY". Bravo. July 13, 2019.
  7. "About". Mercer Rug Cleansing. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010.
  8. "Obit". richmond.com. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  9. Konigsberg, Eric (October 21, 2007). "Why Is the Blond Smiling? (Published 2007)" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. Richmond.com, Jennifer Pullinger. "Richmond Native, NYC Socialite Tinsley Mortimer Releases Debut Novel". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  11. "Tinsley Mortimer Rebrands Her Socialite Status". DuJour. October 20, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  12. CRITIC, MELISSA RUGGIERI MUSIC. "Tinsley Mortimer shows how reality can bite in 'High Society'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  13. "Columbia Daily Spectator 20 September 1996 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  14. Times-Dispatch, BILL McKELWAY Richmond. "From the RTD Archives: Richmond socialites' father loses when gossip turns to blood sport". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  15. Troy Patterson (March 10, 2010). "High Society: Tinsley Mortimer's new reality show is like a hideously deformed Edith Wharton story". Slate.com. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  16. "The Dramatic Life Story Of The Newest "RHONY" Star". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
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  18. Brydson, Nicole. Hamptons!, The Observer, September 11, 2007. Accessed March 2, 2010.
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  46. "Brighten your day. Be Eco-Friendly. Shop RuMe". MyRuMe.com. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
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  49. "Tinsley Mortimer Appears on New PETA Billboard: 'Buy Shoes, Not Dogs'". PETA. July 30, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  50. "Bravo TV's Tinsley Mortimer Promotes Dog Adoption". PETA. April 23, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
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  52. Splitsville?, New York Post, January 11, 2009. Accessed March 16, 2012.
  53. "Tinsley Mortimer's Ex-Husband Topper Mortimer Got Remarried: See Inside the High-Fashion Wedding". Bravo TV Official Site. June 12, 2018.
  54. Meddling Moms Dr. Phil.com, Peteski Productions, July 23, 2009
  55. Mercer, George, Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 29, 2015. Accessed 2017.
  56. "RHONY's Tinsley Mortimer Still Dating Coupon Cabin CEO Scott Kluth: 'We're Almost Soul Mates'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  57. Corinthios, Aurelie (October 24, 2017). "RHONY's Tinsley Mortimer Reportedly Splits from CouponCabin CEO Scott Kluth". People. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  58. Swartz, Tracy (November 25, 2019). "CouponCabin CEO, 'Real Housewives' star get engaged in Chicago". The Chicago Tribune.
  59. reports, From staff. "Tinsley Mortimer, former Richmonder & NYC socialite, on 'Real Housewives of New York'". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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  61. "Tinsley Mortimer Finalizes Deal with Ex to Have Case Dismissed After Trespassing Arrest: 'She Can Finally Move On with Her Life,' Source Says". PEOPLE.com.
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