Barbara Hutton wearing the Romanov emerald tiara (once belonged to Grand Duchess Vladimr) and the Pasha diamond. Cecil Beaton/Alchetron.
2. Barbara Hutton Struggled With Anorexia and Addiction
Starting in her childhood, Barbara Hutton lived up to her “Poor Little Rich Girl” title whether she wanted to or not. This title started around the time she was four years old and found her mother’s dead body in their suite. The title continued as Hutton dealt the emotional abuse from the neglect of her parents and stepmother throughout her childhood. While some, including Hutton, may have hoped she would have found better days as an adult, this did not occur as many would have wished. Because of all the difficulties of her life, Hutton turned to drugs and alcohol.
It is believed that her addiction and eating disorder, which was anorexia, began with her second marriage to Kurt. Many people think Hutton started to turn to drugs and alcohol to try to numb herself from the physical abuse at the hands of her second husband. It was also in her early adulthood when Hutton began struggling with her physical appearance and became anorexic. During her third marriage to Grant, he started to feel that Hutton was a hypochondriac and didn’t need the surgeries or have all the illnesses she claimed to have.