Daily Front Row

2012 November 13

One Hundred Percent

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Sarah Jessica Parker, Joanna Coles
Billy Farrell Agency View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Joanna Coles does not waste a lot of time. The newly-minted editrix of Hearst's preeminent rainmaker (Cosmopolitan, obvi) hosted her first big event on Monday afternoon. The "Cosmo 100" lunch drew the crème of many most-powerful lists throughout a slew of industries—fashion, beauty, film, politics, media, and more. All were female, "but we love men at Cosmo," Coles quipped. "I have binders full of them!" The message reverberating throughout Michael's was clear: Hear us roar!

Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane von Furstenberg, and Naomi Wolff were seated at the head table, but the remaining ones were equally starry—Elizabeth Peyton, EMILY's List's Stephanie Schriock, Jennifer Westfeldt, Gayle King, Sally Hershberger, Ellen Levine, and even Cathie Black. "I've gotta say—I really like these lunches!" said a jovial Celerie Kemble before sitting down to Michael's newly-minted "Cosmo Salad," which—sorry, McCarty—puts that Cobb to shame. (Must be the lobster?) Carmen Dell'Orefice dug into her purse and pulled out a photo of herself with the late Helen Gurley Brown, which she showed to a fresh-from-the-plane Rose McGowan.

Over lunch, Coles invited five recently-appointed politicians in the crowd to say a few words. "People were always saying I was too young and too inexperienced," said Tulsi Gabbard, the new Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii. "These same people were asking, 'Where is the next generation of leadership?'" New Hampshire's Governor Maggie Hassan has the honor of being the only female one in the country—turns out, the Granite State is represented in Congress by an entirely female continegent. But it was the dynamic Val Demings, the first female chief of the Orlando Police Department, whose message rang the loudest/clearest. Despite having lost her bid for Congress in one of Florida's most hotly-contested races, she remained upbeat, focused, and downright inspirational. "Congratulations to all of you," she told her Washington-bound colleagues. "And save me a seat!"
ASHLEY BAKER