JOSÉ CASTELO BRANCO had been wearing the same Balmain leggings for two weeks. Anyone who knows knows this to be a scandal. The spouse of a diamond heiress and a Kardashian-level star in Portugal, José always lived for a certain level of luxury. Traveling from New York to Lisbon for what was supposed to be a short trip, José brought the usual 13 Louis Vuitton suitcases and paid thousands of dollars in excess baggage fees.
But when José and I met up this May in the Portuguese capital, it was in a small apartment on a suburban street, and circumstances did not allow for such standards of presentation. Betty Grafstein, an elderly British aristocrat and José's wife of nearly 30 years, had accused José of physical and psychological abuse. Portuguese authorities were investigating. The couple's shared wardrobe and jewelry collection were now the subject of a marital dispute.
José was effectively couch surfing at the apartment of a loyal friend and down to a single outfit-the same one José had worn to jail, minus a Birkin bag, sold to help pay legal fees.
José's problems started a month earlier, on April 20, 2024, when Betty ended up in the hospital after a fall. According to Betty's statement to doctors treating her for a fractured femur and an injured wrist, José had intentionally pushed her.
The hospital made an official complaint to authorities. José was arrested and spent the night in jail. Paparazzi swarmed outside José's cell window. How was José doing? "Lindamente." (Beautifully.) On paper, beauty was the one thing José and Betty always had in common.
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Jenna Ortega's Year of Wonder - The breakout star of Wednesday settles into fame and with a Beetlejuice sequel on the horizon gets ready for more of it
On the eve of Wednesday's cultural domination, "Tim" invited Jenna Ortega to his house for a meeting. I love when this happens in Hollywood conversations: casually, not even pretentiously, legends referred to by first names only, as Ortega does over a clandestine morning coffee. Here is Wednesday on a Sunday at Velvet, a moody cocktail bar at the Corinthia hotel in London.
SETTING THE STAGE
Before they conquered Hollywood, George Segal, Peter Falk, Roy Scheider, and Wayne Rogers were some of the finest-though perhaps not the finest-stage actors in New York. WAYNE LAWSON, who knew them when, revisits a golden era that revolutionized American theater
HOPE AND CHANGE?
As the threat of another Trump presidency looms, AMERICA TURNS ITS EYES TO THE OBAMAS, who remain two of the most important politicians in the world-whether they like it or not
The Natural
Comedy, singing, scandal, attempted murder: Meghann Fahy, the breakout star of The White Lotus and now The Perfect Couple, can do it all
FULL-COURT PRESS
Microsoft made him one of the richest men alive. Now STEVE BALLMER is chasing one of the few prizes money (alone) can't buy: an NBA championship for his team, the Los Angeles Clippers, whose staggeringly expensive state-of-the-art arena opens this summer
THE TWISTED LOVE STORY OF JOSE AND LADDY BETTY
A 95-year-old diamond heiress and her much younger genderfluid spouse became social media stars. Was theirs a feelgood romance for the agesor something far darker?
CONSIDER
NO ONE KNOWS CANDIDATE ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.'S PROBLEMATIC HISTORY BETTER THAN HIS FAMILY. JOE HAGAN TALKS TO THAT RELUCTANT INNER CIRCLE ABOUT KENNEDY'S PAST AND THE STAKES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE
Paris When It Sizzled
IN 1973, FIVE AMERICAN DESIGNERS AND 36 MODELS DESCENDED ON THE CITY OF LIGHT FOR WHAT WOULD BECOME AN ERA-DEFINING FASHION SHOW-AND WITH THEM WAS PHOTOGRAPHER BILL CUNNINGHAM. HERE, AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT HIS TREASURE TROVE OF LARGELY UNSEEN PHOTOS, PUBLISHED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
Playing It STRAIGHT
Dynamic young stars have broken out in queer roles. Should their own sexuality matter?
Another COUNTRY
Searching for James Baldwin in the South of France
