Mercedes de Acosta (1892-1968) was a poet, playwright, and legendary costume designer. Known for her bold fashion sense and commitment to writing strong femme roles, this daring advocate never shied away from tackling taboo topics.
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Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s queer icon was a remarkable poet, playwright, and legendary costume designer. Known for her bold fashion sense and commitment to writing strong femme roles, this daring advocate never shied away from tackling taboo topics from lesbianism to anti-Semitism.
Let’s talk about Mercedes de Acosta.
Mercedes de Acosta was born on March 1st, 1892 in New York City to wealthy Spanish immigrant parents. As the youngest of eight children, Mercedes enjoyed freedoms many other girls did not. She wore boy’s clothes. She did boy’s activities. Until she was 7, she thought she’d actually been born a boy. And at first, Mercedes’ parents gave her free reign, letting her do whatever she wanted. But as Mercedes became a teenager, her parents’ support waned. It was time for her to embrace a more traditional kind of femininity. They sent her to a convent school in Manhattan. Mercedes loathed her experience at the convent, and soon began planning her escape.
Before Mercedes successfully ran away, she told one of the nuns that she was neither a boy or girl. She thought she was “maybe both” And because she didn’t know the difference, she would “not fit anywhere” on Earth.
As a young adult, Mercedes became known throughout New York for her eccentric, gender fluid style. She would often pair a men’s suit, cape and tricorn hat with red lips, a powdered white face and short hair. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, who we’ve covered on this show and with whom Mercedes reportedly had a brief affair, dubbed Mercedes “Countess Dracula.”
Mercedes was as famous for her affairs as she was for her creative work -- if not, at times, more so. As Alice B. Toklas said of her, “Say what you will about Mercedes de Acosta, she’s had the most important women of the 20th century.”
Surprisingly, in 1920, Mercedes married painter Abram Poole. Mercedes later recalled that she couldn’t make up her mind and was in a “strange turmoil” about “sex, suffrage, and her inner spiritual development”.
In 1927, Mercedes published her most famous play, Jacob Slovak, which dealt with anti-Semitism. The play was a hit on Broadway and was deeply codified with queer references. Though the work was well-received, Mercedes believed that because she was both a woman and from a wealthy family, critics would never take her seriously.
In the 1930s, Mercedes made her way to Hollywood, where she met actress Greta Garbo. For the next 15 years, Mercedes and Greta would have a passionate -- but turbulent -- relationship. In 1932, Mercedes wrote a screenplay draft for Greta. MGM executive Irving Thalberg axed the project because Greta would spend the entire film “dressed as a boy.”
Whenever Mercedes and Greta fought in their relationship, Mercedes would return to her other lovers, including Marlene Dietrich.
In 1960, Mercedes became seriously ill. In need of money, she published her memoir “Here Lies the Heart.” Though the book never explicitly mentioned homosexuality, it alluded to relationships with women she named as “friends.”
Some of Mercedes’ former lovers felt outed, the most furious being Eva Le Gallienne -- and Greta Garbo. Both women cut ties with Mercedes, claiming she was a liar.
On May 9th 1968, Mercedes passed away in her two room flat in Manhattan
She died in poverty and with little recognition. It was only after her letters, poems, and plays were rediscovered by queer youth that Mercedes became recognized as an important contributor to queer history. Today her memoir is considered a quintessential text of American LGBTQIA history.
All month, we’re talking about iconic queer women.
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