Whenever they run out of awards for the
much-lauded Evelyn Lauder, they rack their
brains and come up with a new one. And as the
stylish, sparkling dynamo behind much of the
success of the billion-dollar cosmetics
empire founded by her mother-in-law Estee
Lauder, Evelyn has deservedly bagged a
mindboggling list of accolades for her savvy
business sense.
But the sweet smell of success has never
gone to the head of the woman who fled Nazi
Austria as a child, lived through the London
Blitz and came to America as a post-war
immigrant. Indeed, of all her achievements,
it is her charitable work, most notably her
breast cancer campaigns that has brought her
the greatest joy - along with another whole
slew of awards, from an Honorary Doctorate
and Woman Of The Year, to Fun Fearless Female
and Woman Who Has Made A Difference.
Evelyn first joined her in-laws' thriving
family business shortly after her marriage to
Leonard Lauder. With notable flair, and
drawing on her experience as a teacher, she
soon revamped the staff training programmes.
Today, as a company vice president, she still
plays an active role in the firm's fortunes,
and continues to use her famous nose to sniff
out new fragrances.
She has a keen eye as well, and rarely
travels without her camera. Her striking
snaps have led to many critically-acclaimed
one-woman shows, the proceeds of which
invariably go straight into the war chest for
her fight against cancer. Her artistic bent
is also plain to see at her spectacular New
York home, where she received HELLO! to talk
about her work, her dramatic childhood, the
secret of maintaining a happy 43-year
marriage, and of course to offer some beauty
tips. Beauty, after all, is something Evelyn
knows all about. Both her own elegant
appearance and the priceless art treasures
that grace the walls are proof of that.
What inspired you to become a
philanthropist and to do so much on behalf of
the fight against breast cancer?
"I grew up seeing my parents give away
food and money to help poor people. When I
was a little girl, during the war, we made
the effort to collect anything we could to
help, and when I was a Girl Scout one of my
jobs was to help children learn how to read.
So I always did what I could to help others.
Later, when Leonard and I were married and we
had children, we noticed that the playgrounds
in New York City, in Central Park especially,
were not as safe or interesting as they
should have been. Leonard and I decided to do
something about it and we contributed three
playgrounds to the park.
"So my metamorphosis into a philanthropist
came gradually: I was invited to sit on the
board of my children's school, and got still
more involved in parks. After that, it was
natural for me to get involved in health
care. I went on the board at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Hospital and I was told that
they were building a new Breast Cancer
Center. So I raised about $18 million to help
build the new centre and to endow it for
research. Afterwards, we started The Breast
Cancer Research Foundation, in order to
collect the necessary funds so that
investigators from all over the world would
be able to do exciting work in treatment
options and in genetics. I have raised $30
million since 1993."
Tell us the story behind the pink
ribbons you give away and the lighting of
public buildings.
"Our friend Teruka, from the public
relations office is the one who had the idea
of lighting monuments all over the world in
pink in order to draw attention to breast
cancer. The one thing that all women fear is
breast cancer, because it reflects on our
femininity. Most women are very reluctant to
permit their breasts to be removed, and so it
becomes an extremely emotion-packed subject
for all of us.
"Today, most breast cancers, if they are
found early, can be treated early and we can
save our breasts. In order to give women more
information, we thought that we would give
away pink ribbons in 43 countries to remind
women about how to do self-examination and to
have a mammography every year. The result of
this blitz of information is that in the
United States, survival has gone up ten
percent, because women are being diagnosed
earlier."
Are there any goals left for
you?
"I feel that I still have many more goals
and projects that I need to work on. First of
all, I'm determined to raise enough money to
give researchers the opportunity to find a
cure for cancer.
"Secondly, I want to write a family
history for my children and grandchildren so
that they know where their ancestors came
from and who they were.
"I'm also still very involved in Estee
Lauder, where I'm senior corporate vice
president, and all the fragrance developments
are my area. I continue to have a wonderful
time doing that and as long as my nose holds
up, I'm still going to be very closely
involved in the creation of all the
fragrances - which is a third of our
business.~
Tell us something about the early years
of your life.
"l was born in Vienna at the time that
Hitler annexed Austria, so the stories of our
escape were those that were told to me from
the time I could remember. We escaped to
England and we survived the Blitz there."
What recollections do you have of that
time?
"When we were in London, we lived with an
aunt. I didn't have a bedroom and I remember
sleeping in a hallway, because everyone took
in as many refugees as possible, so we
shared. Alas, my mother was considered to be
an enemy because she had Austrian citizenship
and she was interned on the Isle of Man. I
also had Austrian citizenship, but they let
me stay with my father.
"While my mother was on the Isle of Man,
my father was busy trying to secure papers so
we could leave for America That was always my
mother's dream. So I was put in a nursery
school, and the trauma of being separated
from my father when I was so little was
terrible. I remember that I grabbed his leg,
crying and choking. I became one of the
naughtiest children in the nursery. I
probably did it on purpose because I needed
the warmth and love of an adult which,
because of the circumstances, I couldn't get
from my parents.
"I was very upset when I finally met my
mother again, because I felt resentful that
she had left me. Of course it wasn't her
fault at all: she was very loving and I was
an only child. And of course we bonded
again."
What happened when you got to the
United States?
"When we arrived, we really didn't have a
lot of money left and it was hard for my
parents. Then I remember when I was about
seven, my mother told me that she might be
pregnant. Well, I had a fit I was no longer
going to be the queen! I have to tell you, I
was terrible, self-centred and spoilt. I
didn't know how to be with other children, so
finally my parents sent me to camp and I
learned how to behave. At school, I was a
troublemaker, but I got good grades because I
was smart and a good listener."
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