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“Mr. Thaw told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me. I stared at him for a moment and then he said, ‘Don’t you care for me?’ ‘ and I said that I did. Then he asked me what was the matter. I said ‘nothing. ‘ ‘Why won’t you marry me?’ he said. He put his hands on my shoulder and asked, “Is it because of Stanford White?’ and I said, ‘yes.’” – Trial testimony from Evelyn Nesbit

Florence Evelyn Nesbit has been called America’s first supermodel. She was born on Christmas Day in 1884 in Pennsylvania to a family of modest means. However, Nesbit lost her father at an early age. This left the family destitute. She began modeling at 14 to support her mother and younger brother. She moved to New York City in 1900 and found success. She appeared on magazine covers, advertisements and in works of art. Nesbit then used her modeling fame to transfer into acting. She appeared in the chorus line for the Broadway play Florodora and a speaking role in The Wild Rose.

Evelyn’s success and beauty led to a long line of suitors, including Stanford White. White was a prominent architect who designed buildings such as the Madison Square Gardens, the Tiffany and Company Building, and the Washington Square Arch. When he began courting Nesbit, White was 47 years old. Nesbit was only 16. White had a red velvet swing in his luxury home, and apparently Nesbit would swing from it, earning her the nickname, “The Girl of the Red Velvet Swing.”

Nesbit became White’s mistress for a year (he was already married). Afterwards, she left and enrolled in a school in New Jersey. There she met Harry Kendall Thaw, a wealthy railroad heir. He relentlessly pursued her and she eventually agreed to his proposal. They married in 1905, and he became abusive shortly thereafter. He was obsessed with her previous relationship with White and on June 25, 1906, he shot White point blank after they all attended a performance at Madison Square Gardens. White died and Thaw was immediately arrested.

Evelyn Nesbit was the star witness in Thaw’s murder trial, which was dubbed “The Crime of the Century.” Nesbit’s testimony was so lurid that a church group attempted to censor reporting of the trial. However, the scandalous details led to intense public interest. For the first time in American history, the jury had to be sequestered. In 1908, a jury found Thaw to be insane and he was committed to an asylum. In 1915, Nesbit’s divorce from Thaw was finalized.

Nesbit attempted to capitalize on her fame by writing two memoirs The Story of My Life and Prodigal Days. She also went on vaudeville tours and performed in silent films. However, she was plagued by a drug addiction and attempted suicide in 1926. After this, she retired from the spotlight and moved to California, where she led a quiet life teaching ceramics and helping to raise her grandchildren. Nesbit died in 1967 at the age of 82.

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