Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski: Life, Family, and Career

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski, known as Stan Stokowski, is the eldest son of Gloria Vanderbilt and conductor Leopold Stokowski. Born in 1950, he built a career in gardening and landscape design while largely avoiding the publicity surrounding his famous family. People.com

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Full name	Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski
Commonly known as	Stan Stokowski
Born	August 22, 1950
Age	76 as of September 2026
Mother	Gloria Vanderbilt
Father	Leopold Stokowski
Full brother	Christopher Stokowski
Maternal half-brothers	Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, Anderson Cooper
Known profession	Gardener, horticulture professional, landscape designer
Previously married to	Ivy Strick
Most recently documented spouse	Emily Goldstein
Publicly documented children	At least two daughters, Aurora and Abra

People, in a profile updated in July 2026, confirms Stan’s August 22, 1950 birth date, his parents, his landscaping work, his marriages to Ivy Strick and Emily Goldstein, and daughters Aurora and Abra. People.com

Who Is Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski?

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski belongs to two families closely associated with American cultural history. His mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, was an artist, writer, fashion entrepreneur, and member of the Vanderbilt family. His father, Leopold Stokowski, became one of the 20th century’s best-known conductors and had a long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Library of Congress records document his father’s career, including his work in Philadelphia and on Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Library of Congress Tile

Stan, however, did not follow either parent’s public career path. Rather than enter classical music, fashion, television, or entertainment, he developed a professional life around plants, gardens, and landscape design.

That difference is important because many online biographies describe him mainly as Gloria Vanderbilt’s son or Anderson Cooper’s half-brother. Those relationships explain why his name attracts public interest, but they do not describe the career he built for himself.

His Childhood and Famous Family

Stan was Gloria Vanderbilt’s first child. She had two sons with Leopold Stokowski: Stan in 1950 and Christopher Stokowski in 1952. She later had Carter Vanderbilt Cooper and Anderson Cooper with her fourth husband, writer Wyatt Cooper. People.com

A surviving Library of Congress photograph offers a documented glimpse into Stan’s younger years. Photographer Toni Frissell photographed Gloria Vanderbilt, Wyatt Cooper, Christopher Stokowski, and Stan together in Connecticut in May 1964. The image was connected with a Life magazine project on the Vanderbilt family. Library of Congress

Stan’s father was already an internationally established musician by the time he was born. Leopold Stokowski had led the Philadelphia Orchestra for decades and was associated with numerous recordings and major American premieres. His work on Fantasia also brought him recognition far beyond classical-music audiences. Library of Congress Tile

Despite that background, there is little reliable evidence that Stan attempted to establish a professional music career.

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski’s Career in Gardening and Landscape Design

The strongest published evidence about Stan Stokowski’s work points to gardening, ornamental horticulture, and landscape design.

In a 2009 W Magazine interview with Gloria Vanderbilt, the magazine identified her eldest son as Stan, short for Leopold Stanislaus, and reported that he ran a gardening business in Sag Harbor, New York. W Magazine

His work was not limited to the broad label of “businessman.” Architectural Digest specifically credited Stan Stokowski as a local landscape designer on a Sagaponack property on Long Island. The magazine reported that he oversaw the grounds while architects Taryn Christoff and Martin Finio worked on the house. Architectural Digest

The East Hampton Star provides another useful detail. In a 2017 report involving Emily Goldstein, the newspaper described Stan as a gardener “with a background in ornamental horticulture.” The East Hampton Star

Taken together, those sources give a clearer description of his professional identity than many celebrity profiles do: Stan Stokowski has been documented as a gardener and landscape designer with horticultural experience, particularly on Long Island.

Marriage to Ivy Strick and Emily Goldstein

Stan’s personal life has received far less coverage than those of several other members of his family.

Reliable contemporary reporting identifies Ivy Strick as an earlier wife. People reports that Stan has at least two daughters, Aurora and Abra, and says he has been married to both Strick and Emily Goldstein. People.com

Goldstein has her own professional connection to the art world. W Magazine described her in 2009 as associated with the Drawing Room gallery in East Hampton. The East Hampton Star later reported that she had worked as a gallery director and private art adviser and had helped establish the Drawing Room in 2004. That 2017 article described Goldstein and Stan as married. W Magazine

Because Stan has maintained a private life, details about his family should be handled conservatively. Some secondary sites publish additional names, dates, and biographical claims about his children, but not all of those details are consistently supported by higher-quality sources.

His Relationship to Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper and Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski are maternal half-brothers. They share Gloria Vanderbilt as their mother but had different fathers: Stan’s father was Leopold Stokowski, while Anderson’s father was Wyatt Cooper. People.com

Their professional lives could hardly be more different. Anderson became a nationally recognized television journalist, while Stan remained largely outside mass media.

Stan has nevertheless appeared publicly at important events involving his family. People reports that he and Emily Goldstein attended the 2012 opening of Gloria Vanderbilt’s exhibition The World of Gloria Vanderbilt: Collages, Dream Boxes, and Recent Paintings. He also attended the 2016 premiere of Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper. People.com

The 2016 documentary itself also lists Stan Stokowski among its participants. Hulu

What Did Gloria Vanderbilt Leave Stan Stokowski?

Questions about inheritance often appear alongside searches for Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski, partly because of the Vanderbilt family’s historic association with wealth.

After Gloria Vanderbilt died in June 2019, reporting based on her Manhattan court filing said that Stan was left her interest in the cooperative apartment at 30 Beekman Place in Manhattan. The remainder of the property covered by the will was left to Anderson Cooper. Town & Country

That documented inheritance should not be confused with Stan’s personal net worth.

No authoritative public financial record reviewed for this profile establishes a reliable figure for Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski’s total wealth. Online estimates should therefore be treated as speculation rather than verified financial information.

Why Stan Stokowski Has Remained Less Public Than His Family

Stan’s limited media profile does not appear to result from a lack of professional activity. The available reporting instead shows a person whose work was largely local and private rather than built around celebrity.

His career can be independently documented through W Magazine, Architectural Digest, and local East Hampton reporting, yet interviews with him are uncommon. That makes his public record much smaller than the records of Gloria Vanderbilt or Anderson Cooper.

People’s July 2026 profile continues to characterize Stan as someone who has generally stayed out of the spotlight while working in landscaping and raising a family. People.com

As of September 2026, reliable reporting does not document a major new public-facing career or a shift into entertainment. The best-supported account of his adult life remains centered on horticulture, landscaping, family, and a deliberately low public profile.

FAQs

Who is Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski?

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski, commonly called Stan Stokowski, is the eldest son of Gloria Vanderbilt and conductor Leopold Stokowski. He is known professionally for gardening, horticulture, and landscape design.

How old is Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski?

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski was born on August 22, 1950, making him 76 years old as of September 2026.

What does Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski do for a living?

Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski is best documented as a gardener and landscape designer. Published sources have linked him to a gardening business in Sag Harbor and professional landscape work in the Hamptons.

Is Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski Anderson Cooper’s brother?

Yes. Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski and Anderson Cooper are maternal half-brothers because they share the same mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.

Who is Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski’s wife?

Emily Goldstein is the most recently documented spouse in reliable public reporting. Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski was previously married to Ivy Strick.

What did Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski inherit from Gloria Vanderbilt?

Reporting on Gloria Vanderbilt’s will said Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski inherited her interest in the cooperative apartment at 30 Beekman Place in Manhattan.