Musical accompaniment: There’ll Be Some Changes Made performed by Kathy Brier.
Evelyn Nesbit was once believed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. One of the most famous murders in history was committed for love of her. She’s immortalized in photographs, news stories, and even fiction—in the book Ragtime, Mother’s Younger Brother was obsessed with Evelyn and had a brief affair with her.
One of the most remarkable things about Evelyn (at least in my opinion) is that, like many other beautiful women, every major event in her life was connected to her beauty. But unlike the beautiful women who followed her, like Louise Brooks, Jean Harlow, or Marilyn Monroe, her looks changed dramatically over time. It seems normal to want to freeze in time how you looked when you were at your best but Evelyn didn’t seem to have any such preservational goal in mind. She’s almost completely unrecognizable from one year to the next. Everyone ages and changes but the differences were rapid and dramatic in Evelyn’s case. I noticed this again recently when I found a photograph of her that looked very different from any I’ve seen. Unmistakably it is her though.
If I had ever been the most beautiful woman in the world, I would be like the ladies in Death Becomes Her, or looking into being cryogenically frozen next to Walt Disney. Bravo for Evelyn! Really. It shows confidence and curiosity to meet the world anew, as you are. (There’s also the not insignificant possibility you look better now than you did before. Many people look better as they age.)
Despite her beauty and courage, Evelyn had a difficult time looking for a place to really fit into the world throughout her lifetime. It’s difficult for people who have been notorious for one reason or another. They can start over but not in the same ways most of us can.
Here are a few of Evelyn Nesbit’s changing looks over time.
By Rudolf Eickemeyer, 1901
1901 by Otto Sarony (LOC)
A page from Harry Thaw’s odd book….
From oddbooks.co.uk
Evelyn in 1915
Evelyn was photographed by the magnificent Arnold Genthe in 1913
vintageshowbiz.com
A photograph with Evelyn’s married name inscribed
vintageshowbiz.com
Evelyn and Jack Clifford, her second husband
old spirituals 
She’s quite lovely. And she has a tuxedo cat!
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She certainly is! She’s also got a dog in one of the first pictures. Maybe you’re kindred spirits!
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Paging through old newspapers of early 1900s, it is impossible not to come across stories of the killing of Stanford White by Harry Thaw . . . . because of Evelyn Nesbit involvement. However, one has to admit all the players in the tragic event were well known in their respective fields.
Nesbit’s love life was a quagmire, though she was married only twice. Evelyn had a blooming relationship with John Barrymore in 1902, who at the time was 21, an aspiring illustrator and cartoonist, but with a small salary and the habit of lavishly spending his family’s money. Nesbit’s mother judged Barrymore to be unsuitable for her and the love flames were squelched. Hollywood legend is that 30+ years later, Barrymore announced to an audience when appearing on stage that Nesbit was is first true love.
Evelyn Nesbit undoubtedly had a photogenic face . . . an attraction to cameras. She had traits to make a photograph truly stand out.
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Poor Evelyn! She should have been allowed to pursue her relationship with John Barrymore. They would have figured it out. And maybe had happier lives.
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