Would you believe, Katharine Graham, one of America's most conservative and traditional women was selected -years ago, of course- as one of the sexiest women in Washington and America? Art Buchwald said so!!

Photos from L to R: #1. Judge Judy Sheindlin, #2. Ebay's Billionaire Meg Whitman,  #3. Author, Dr. Ilil Arbel. #4. Opera Diva, Beverly Sills, #5. Dr. Monica Crowley. Photos credits: International News Agency.

Today, America has a new wave of sparkling, multitalented and fabulous women. A new kind of eve, characterized by education, class and "classe intellectuelle", authorship, culture, knowledge of the world, such as Dr. Ilil Arbel, author of "The Lemon Tree" (Selected by the London Monthly Herald as one of 10 best authors of the year), and one of the best writers of our generation according to the Jewish Post and La Femme Magazine, the fabulous Dr. Monica Crowley, a.k.a. grande diva of the American Media and one of the brightest political commentators of our time,  billionaire Meg Whitman, ebay founder and president, the legendary Oprah Winfrey,  Condoleezza  Rice with two hats, one in The White House, the other over the head of Sadam Hussein, the witty and fabulous Arlene Peck, Diva Paulette Attie, columnist of the year, etc...and of course, America's today produced a new "go-getters", "shrewd", "brilliant or vain" specimens like Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Pamela Anderson and Britney Spears. And America seems to accommodate all of them! Twenty years ago, women of "la haute societe" were different. The social buzz was originally created in Washington, DC. Scandals, celebrities homosexuality gossips circulated in New York. Indiscreet affairs were "grapevined" in California, and the rest of America watched the Red Skins making history. Grosso modo, the world has changed in less than 25 years.

Photo from L to R: #1. Paris Hilton, #2. Nicole Richie. #3. Oprah Winfrey. #4. Diva Paulette Attie. #4. Columnist Arlene Peck. Photos credits: International News Agency.

The truth is, the world did not change. We did.  Nowadays, successful women in America  are making 78% more than what they used to make in late seventies and early eighties. Meryl Streep was paid $2 millions per picture, today, Julia Roberts gets between $25 Millions and $28 millions per film, good or bad.  Opera Divas like Beverly Sills earned $65,000 per performance and if lucky, they could or would make $2 Millions a year. Today, singers like Britney Spears earns $80 Millions a year, Madonna, $84 Millions a year. A solid anchorwoman like Renee Poussaint made approximately $200.000 a year, and today C. Couric makes $80 Millions a year! You figure it out! Famous businesswomen in the early eighties amassed a maximum of $12 Millions a year, and today, ebay Meg Whitman catches more than $800 Millions a year. A TV celebrity and show hostess in the late seventies will bring home approximately $4 Millions a year, and today, Oprah Winfrey takes to the bank over $600 Millions a year from her various enterprises. In the not for distant past, judges (women and men) reigned solely in their court rooms and chambers. Today, they reign over the air, invade our living rooms, host their own shows on TV, glitters as media celebrities and make millions, to name a few, judge Judy Sheindlin, judge Napolitano, judge Brown, et al.

The French say: « Plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme chose ». Not totally true. Things change with women throughout the years, especially American women. I just finished writing the editorial of this special issue of the year and the article on the hottest and most talented women of the year. While re-reading some paragraphs of that article, one million ideas and memories came to my mind. All of a sudden, I began to remember the ladies who made their mark on Washington and the rest of the country, some twenty years ago. In 1984, I wrote a book, the social register of the high society and newsmakers of America: “The Best of Washington: The Social Register of the Most Influential Personalities and Establishments of the United States”.  What an experience! It was the story of Ben Battouta and Ali Baba of la crème de la crème of America. I devoted so many chapters of the book to American women, their style, way of life, influence, beauty, scandals, achievements, culture, parties, even their fragrance, gloves, shoes, handbags, you name it. So, I had to pose for a while, take a deep breath, shake the shadows of time flirting over the dusty shelves of my memories…and try to remember those magnificent, beautiful, classy, scandalous and outrageous women I wrote about, some twenty years ago…It was quite a hard task to remember all of them, for I have listed thousands of names of the best and worst women in America. To make my life easier and let my socio-historical curiosity sail at ease over the waves of time, I decided to go back to my book and retrieve the most interesting chapters of it, for I wanted so bad to reprint in this special issue of the year, some excerpts which retraced and described those American Femmes Fatales.  Unfortunately, the only copy (of that book) I kept as well as copies of other books I wrote (some 97 good and bad ones) were left in the apartment of a lady I dated in Georgetown, Washington, DC, when I left the United States, some 7 years ago. That lady with whom I "deposited" personal effects, my piano and the original copy of the Washington's book got mad at me because I stopped paying the rent of her apartment after having done so for a very long time, despite the fact that we were not dating anymore. This barracuda who took me to the cleaners wanted me to keep on paying the rent  of her apartment as long as I live, because as she stated " Max can afford it".  Grosso modo, she threw in the trash the last remaining copies of all the book I wrote, the original music score and orchestra arrangements of a world premiere musical melodrama  play I wrote and directed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts, and gave away my piano to an Afghanistani guy she used to date years before she met me.  What a story!

Porcha miseria!! But, I had to find a copy of my book! It took me two months of researching and contacting libraries and booksellers nationwide to find out where I can buy and “re-possess” a copy of my book. Finally, I was fortunate enough, to locate a bookseller in Virginia who rushed me with a used copy of the book for $20. It was a good deal, for the original price was $50. But, you know, it is funny and strange for an author to buy a copy of his or her own book, the very book he or she wrote!! Now, I have a copy of the book. And I  want to share with you some excerpts from that book which tell us who were the most influential, prettiest, sexiest and brightest women in America some twenty years ago. And now, I am wondering where are these women today and what are they doing? Are they still famous and powerful? Pretty and sexy? Would you or could you recognize them? And what happened to them? We will see…

EXCERPTS FROM  MY BOOK "THE SOCIAL REGISTER"

AMERICA’S MOST ELEGANT WOMEN: 1-Judy Esfandiary 2-Evelyne Chapman 3-Diane Kay 4-Gretta Clarke  5-Sandra de Borchgrave  6-Clare Boothe Luce  7-Former First Lady Nancy Reagan  8-JoAnn Mason  9-Bunny Mellon  10-Nancy Kissinger  11-Marie Zupnick  12-Evangeline Bruce  13-Casey Ribicoff  13-Deeda Blair  14-Drue Heinz  15-Leslie Westreich  16-Evelyn Brandt  17-Diane Sawyer  18-Nina Hyde  19-Tatiana Demian. AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL LADIES: 1-Viva Wiese-Haughland  2-Peggy Hanes  3-Dina Merrill  4-Kim Novak  5-Elizabeth Bagley  6-Lynda Carter Altman  7-Susan Lee  8-Mary Heron  9-Elizabeth Stevens  10-Buffy Cafritz  11-Lise Zvonar  12-Suzanne Groennings. AMERICA’S CLASSIEST LADIES: 1-Judith Martin  2-Helga Orfila  3-Penny Korth  4-Sondra Bender  5-Sonya Wagner  6-Christiane Clarke  7-Diana McLellan  8-Polly Logan  9-Eliska Coolidge  10-Doris McClory  11-Sally Chapoton  12-Pamela Harriman  13-Cecile Schoumaker  14-Dorothy Lewis  15-Sara Larkin  16-Gayle Wilson  17-Nancy Reynolds  18-Mary Jane Wick  19-Elizabeth Stevens  20-Alma Gildenhorn  21-Pam Howar  22-Countess Ulla Wachtmeister  23-Tatiana Demian  24-Pam Jacovides  25-Carol Foley  26-Donna Marriott.