A longtime presence in fashion and society circles, Annette a socialite, philanthropist, and the wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

Anne France Mannheimer was born in Germany, the daughter of banker Fritz Mannheimer, who passed away before her birth. Annette, as she was nicknamed, and her mom, Marie Annette Reiss, moved to the United States in the 1940s and her mother remarried. Annette was later adopted by her mother's new husband, Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., an industrial magnate from New Jersey. Endowed with her mother's taste for wealthy men, Annette married Samuel Pryor Reed, a publishing tycoon in 1960. Samuel and Annette had three children but were divorced in 1967 — Samuel distributed his fortune to their children to make sure Annette got as little as possible. Annette didn't let the divorce diminish her presence on the social scene; in 1989 she married her new beau, fashion fixture Oscar de la Renta.

Annette was in the news throughout 2006 and 2007 when she came to the defense of her longtime pal Brooke Astor who, authorities have alleged, was abused by her son Anthony Marshall. Since Astor's death in August 2007, Annette has continued involvement in the legal battle over her estate.

Annette's daughter from her first marriage, Eliza, and her husband, Alex Bolen, run the de la Renta fashion empire, leaving Annette and Oscar time to spend their estimated $100 million while traveling between their houses in New York, Connecticut, and the Dominican Republic. [Image via AP]