The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

• Those looking to own a piece of Hugo history will be
• intrigued not only by the gowns themselves but also by the
• context in which they were worn. Included in the sale will be
• the emerald-green Miranda La Conda that Hugo wore to the
• 1959 Academy Awards, the violet soufflé and organdy scoop-
• neck she donned at the premiere of Anna Karenina in 1962,
• and the navy-blue silk Michael Maddax that she was wearing
• in 1982 when she won her Oscar for All for Us.
• Hugo has weathered her share of Hollywood scandals, not
• the least of which being her seven marriages, including her
• decades-long relationship with film producer Harry
• Cameron. The two Hollywood insiders shared a daughter,
• Connor Cameron, who is no doubt the influence for the
• auction. Ms. Cameron passed away last year from breast
• cancer soon after turning 41.
• Born Evelyn Elena Herrera in 1938, the daughter of
• Cuban immigrants, Hugo grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen
• neighborhood of New York City. By 1955, she had made her
• way to Hollywood, gone blond, and been rechristened Evelyn
• Hugo. Almost overnight, Hugo became a member of the
• Hollywood elite. She remained in the spotlight for more than
• three decades before retiring in the late ’80s and marrying
• financier Robert Jamison, older brother of three-time Oscar-
• winning actress Celia St. James. Now widowed from her
• seventh husband, Hugo resides in Manhattan.
• Preternaturally beautiful and a paragon of glamour and
• daring sexuality, Hugo has long been a source of fascination
• for moviegoers the world over. This auction is expected to
• raise upward of $2 million.
• C AN YOU COME INTO MY office?”
• I look around at the desks beside me and then back at Frankie,
• trying to confirm to whom, exactly, she’s talking. I point to myself. “Do
• you mean me?”
• Frankie has very little patience. “Yes, Monique, you. That’s why I
• said, ‘Monique, can you come into my office?’ ”
• “Sorry, I just heard the last part.”
• Frankie turns. I grab my notepad and follow her.
• There is something very striking about Frankie. I’m not sure that
• you’d say she was conventionally attractive—her features are severe,
• her eyes very wide apart—but she is nevertheless someone you can’t
• help but look at and admire. With her thin, six-foot-tall frame, her
• short-cropped Afro, and her affinity for bright colors and big jewelry,
• when Frankie walks into a room, everyone takes notice.
• She was part of the reason I took this job. I have looked up to her
• since I was in journalism school, reading her pieces in the very pages
• of the magazine she now runs and I now work for. And if I’m being
• honest, there is something very inspiring about having a black woman
• running things. As a biracial woman myself—light brown skin and
• dark brown eyes courtesy of my black father, an abundance of face
• freckles courtesy of my white mother—Frankie makes me feel more
• sure that I can one day run things, too.
• “Take a seat,” Frankie says as she sits down and gestures toward an
• orange chair on the opposite side of her Lucite desk.
• I calmly sit and cross my legs. I let Frankie talk first.
• “So, puzzling turn of events,” she says, looking at her computer.
• “Evelyn Hugo’s people are inquiring about a feature. An exclusive
• interview.”
•  My gut instinct is to say Holy shit but also Why are you telling me
• this? “About what in particular?” I ask.
• “My guess is it’s related to the gown auction she’s doing,” Frankie
• says. “My understanding is that it’s very important to her to raise as
• much money for the American Breast Cancer Foundation as possible.”
• “But they won’t confirm that?”
• Frankie shakes her head. “All they will confirm is that Evelyn has
• something to say.”
• Evelyn Hugo is one of the biggest movie stars of all time. She
• doesn’t even have to have something to say for people to listen.
• “This could be a big cover for us, right? I mean, she’s a living
• legend. Wasn’t she married eight times or something?”
• “Seven,” Frankie says. “And yes. This has huge potential. Which is
• why I hope you’ll bear with me through the next part of this.”

“What do you mean?”

Frankie takes a big breath and gets a look on her face that makes

me think I’m about to get fired. But then she says, “Evelyn specifically

requested you.”

“Me?” This is the second time in the span of five minutes that I have

been shocked that someone was interested in speaking with me. I

need to work on my confidence. Suffice it to say, it’s taken a beating

recently. Although why pretend it was ever really soaring?

“To be honest, that was my reaction, too,” Frankie says.

Now I’ll be honest, I’m a little offended. Although, obviously, I can

see where she’s coming from. I’ve been at Vivant for less than a year,

mostly doing puff pieces. Before that, I was blogging for the Discourse,

a current events and culture site that calls itself a newsmagazine but is,

effectively, a blog with punchy headlines. I wrote mainly for the

Modern Life section, covering trending topics and opinion pieces.

After years of freelancing, the Discourse gig was a lifesaver. But

when Vivant offered me a job, I couldn’t help myself. I jumped at the

chance to join an institution, to work among legends.

On my first day of work, I walked past walls decorated with iconic,

culture-shifting covers—the one of women’s activist Debbie Palmer,

naked and carefully posed, standing on top of a skyscraper overlooking

Manhattan in 1984; the one of artist Robert Turner in the act of

painting a canvas while the text declared that he had AIDS, back in

1991. It felt surreal to be a part of the Vivant world. I have always

wanted to see my name on its glossy pages.

But unfortunately, for the past twelve issues, I’ve done nothing but

ask old-guard questions of people with old money, while my colleagues

back at the Discourse are attempting to change the world while going

viral. So, simply put, I’m not exactly impressed with myself.

“Look, it’s not that we don’t love you, we do,” Frankie says. “We

think you’re destined for big things at Vivant, but I was hoping to put

one of our more experienced, top hitters on this. And so I want to be

up front with you when I say that we did not submit you as an idea to

Evelyn’s team. We sent five big names, and they came back with this.”

Frankie turns her computer screen toward me and shows me an e-

mail from someone named Thomas Welch, who I can only assume is

Evelyn Hugo’s publicist.

From: Thomas Welch

To: Troupe, Frankie

Cc: Stamey, Jason; Powers, Ryan

It’s Monique Grant or Evelyn’s out.

I hope you enjoy this book

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