Perle Reid Mesta (born Pearl Skirvin; October 12, 1882 - March 16, 1975) was an American socialite, political hostess, and United States ambassador to Luxembourg (1949-53). Perle Mesta was an American socialite and diplomat who entertained the world's business and political elite from the 1930s through the '50s and who also served as the first U.S. minister to Luxembourg.
Perle Skirvin grew up in an affluent family in Oklahoma City and was educated privately. In 1917. Oklahoma City Native Perle Mesta, who inspired the phrase "hostess with the mostest," reigned over Washington, D.C.'s social elite for more than three decades.
Socialite Perle Mesta used her fortune to host inclusive dinner parties in Washington, D.C., becoming one of the most famous women in the world - "The Hostess with the Mostes' on the Ball.". Perle Mesta in 1962. Photograph of Mesta by William Lovelace/Getty Images.
Perle Mesta was one of DC's most famous socialites, a newspaper staple known for her charm and influence-"the hostess with the mostest," as she was famously dubbed. The Hostess with the Mostes': Directed by Paul Nickell. With Shirley Booth, Hedda Hopper, Perle Mesta, Shepperd Strudwick.
The story of Perle Mesta, who became, first, a renowned society hostess, and then an ambassadress. our namesake Perle Mesta Discover the person behind the name of our historic neighborhood and local park - the dynamic Perle Mesta. More History The Park History Board of Directors [].
The satirical Broadway musical she inspired, Call Me Madam (1950), only enhanced her fame as "the Hostess with the Mostes'." Resigning her diplomatic post in 1953, Mesta resumed party giving and retained much of her informal influence through the 1960s. She remained active as well, however, in politics and philanthropy. Mesta is the subject of an intriguing, well-researched new biography, The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta -- Washington's Most Famous Hostess (Grand Central, 376 pages), by New York Times best.
Perle Mesta is the capital's No. 1 hostess, a position she had inherited, almost by default, from a long line of free-spending, haughty, and sometimes charming dowagers.
