Caroline Seebohm Lippincott

Caroline Seebohm (Lippincott) died on July 22, 2023 in Lawrenceville, NJ after a recurrence of cancer. She is survived by her children, Sophie Ferrer of Brooklyn, NY and Hugh Lippincott of Santa Barbara, CA, her siblings, Richard Seebohm and Victoria Glendinning, both in Oxford, England, and three grandchildren, Hudson, Archie, and Josie Ferrer.

Caroline was born on September 14, 1940 in Woodsetts Grange in Nottingham, England, the youngest child of Frederic and Eve Seebohm. She grew up across the English countryside (Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Warwickshire) before settling in London as a teenager. She attended Oxford University, one of only a few women undergraduates. Because of her captivating looks and magnetic personality, she was often compared to Max Beerbohm’s bewitching heroine, Zuleika Dobson (although thankfully no young gentlemen actually threw themselves into the river in despair). After graduation, she married her classmate, Roger Smith, and they lived for a time in Rome before realizing they had perhaps been a bit hasty and reconsidered the whole thing.

Caroline spent a few years in Los Angeles working in the film industry before moving back to London in 1967. There, she began her writing career before coming to New York in 1971; she lived in America for the rest of her life. Over the next 50 years, Caroline had an extraordinary career as a writer for a series of Condé Nast publications (notably House and Garden) and authoring books on a variety of topics, such as gardens and architecture. She wrote several biographies, including Condé Nast (The Man Who Was Vogue); famed New York socialite Marietta Tree (No Regrets); Pancho Segura (Little Pancho: The Life of Tennis Legend Pancho Segura); as well as two novels (The Last Romantics and The Innocents).

She met Walter Lippincott at a Super Bowl party in New York in 1973 and several dinners and operas later, they were married in June 1974. Sophie and Hugh followed in 1978 and 1982 (Sophie born on Super Bowl Sunday and Hugh the week before the Super Bowl). The family moved to Ithaca, NY in 1983 and then again to Titusville, NJ in 1986, where Caroline stayed for the rest of her life. Walter and Caroline divorced in 1991, but remained close, celebrating holidays with their family and continuing their high attendance at the Met. They also traveled together to Egypt, India, Antarctica, and throughout Europe among other destinations in the last twenty years.

During the 1990s, Caroline enjoyed travel and dancing with her romantic partner, Tom Wright of Princeton, NJ. In 1997, they bought a house on the Delaware River, and Caroline later briefly moved to the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico to join Tom in his retirement.

Ever the independent spirit, Caroline returned to New Jersey in 2005, together with the last love of her life, the dog Chippy (adopted as a stray from Vieques). Despite floods and storms, Caroline built the River House into the perfect expression of her personality, and it remained her home until she died.

A lifelong tennis player, Caroline was fond of all sports, including American football. She loved quarterbacks in particular, keeping a portrait of Patrick Mahomes on her mantle in the last few years of her life. Caroline was passionate about the craft of writing and volunteered in elementary schools in Trenton, NJ. She twice spent several months living at the Shanti Bhavan School in Baliganapalli, India (about two hours outside of Bangalore), teaching creative reading and writing to underserved children. She went back to Shanti Bhavan to celebrate the first three graduating classes, each of whom she had taught in her time at the school.

She was a wonderful mother and grandmother, always willing to cook for her (adult) children, play Racing Demon, or read a story to eager grandchildren. She was an equally good friend, warm, attentive, and eager to laugh. She was at home in an airport bar in Trenton, at the Members Table of the Century Association in Manhattan, or at the Athenaeum Club on Pall Mall in London. She could throw a fabulous party or cry together with a confidante a deux. She brought light to any room she entered.

A celebration of Caroline’s life will be held at the Century Club of New York City on September 22 (please RSVP to hugh.lippincott@gmail.com). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to She’s the First , the Maine Coast Heritage Trust , or Doctors Without Borders .