Here is Evelyn Lauder with my cousin, Suzanne Bartholemew, at the launch of the 2010 Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in which Suz and I posed. Suz was a two-time breast cancer survivor - was still going through chemo - and Mrs. Lauder really responded to her and the two of them hit it off instantly. We had a series of photos with Mrs. Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley and you can see that Suz and Mrs. Lauder couldn’t stop talking. It was really lovely to see and it made a powerful impression on Suzanne. The whole experience was incredible, and incredible for her. That trip to New York for the launch (at Bloomingdale’s no less) was her last fun trip. She was supposed to come back with her husband two weeks later but her cancer returned and this time, it was quick and merciless. She died in January 2011, just three months later.
Estee Lauder made a donation in her honor and pulled together all the footage and photos of Suzanne at the events to send to her family. I am pretty sure Mrs. Lauder herself sent a note.
I saw Mrs. Lauder at a luncheon this past June and reintroduced myself - she remembered, and rememberd about Suz. It was a high-octane luncheon and she was the guest of honor, with Diana Taylor, but everything stopped so she could have that conversation and speak with me about Suzanne.
Evelyn Lauder died last week at 75. In addition to her huge role in building the Estee Lauder empire, she was the founder of the Pink Ribbon campaign and left behind a huge legacy of philanthropy. She also left behind a legacy of individual moments like this. What a woman.
Forgive the personal post here, folks, but talk about a ratio-changer - Evelyn Lauder helped changed the ratio of women who lived vs. died thanks to all she did to promote breast cancer research.
