Gossip Gal Claudia Cohen Dies at 56

Famed gossip "queen" and socialite Claudia Cohen died Friday in Manhattan at the age of 56, according to the New York Times. She passed away shortly before 5 pm at Memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer center with her family be her side. A spokesperson for Ms. Cohen's ex-husband, Ronald Perelman, said the cause of her death was ovarian cancer.

Ms. Cohen was born December 16, 1950 in Englewood, NJ to Robert and Harriet Cohen. Robert Cohen was the president of the Hudson County News Company.

Claudia attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1972. She then joined the staff of More, a progressive journalism review.

In the late 1970's, she was well known as a reporter and editor for Page Six, a gossip type column of the New York Post. She began reporting for Page Six in 1977 and she edited it from 1978-1980. She also wrote a gossip column for the Daily News of New York in the early 1980's that was entitled I, Claudia.

In 1985 she married corporate raider Ronald Perelman, who is now the chairman of Revlon, and became a name frequently mentioned in society columns. The couple was often seen at fancy parties and charity events in New York and the Hamptons. This was Ms. Cohen's only marriage and she and Mr. Perelman had one daughter.

Filing for divorce from Perelman in 1994 only brought Cohen further public scrutiny. It has been widely reported that she was the recipient of an $80 million out of court divorce settlement.

Ms. Cohen, after her divorce, was involved with Senator Alfonse D'Amato, R-NY for about one year. Senator D'Amato actually called a press conference in early 1995 to announce that he was in love with her,

In recent years Cohen was an entertainment reporter for "The Morning Show" on WABC-TV and she may be best know for being an entertainment correspondent for the syndicated talk show, "Live With Regis and Kelly". Ms. Cohen had the uncanny ability to pick Oscar winners and she aggressively pursued celebrity news.

Mr. Perelman is quoted in the New York Daily News as saying, "Claudia was a remarkable, dynamic woman, a terrific mother and also our best friend. She will be missed by everyone who knew her." .

Regis Philbin said of Cohen, "She was not only a colleague, but a close personal friend. When I went through my health crises, she was always there for me. We're going to miss her terribly. She was a great gal."

Ms. Cohen had homes in the Hamptons and Manhattan.

She is survived by her parents, Robert and Harriet Cohen, of Englewood, NJ and Palm Beach, FL, a brother, James Cohen, of Alpine, NJ, and a daughter, Samantha Perelman, of Manhattan.

Margalit Fox. "Claudia Cohen, 56, Socialite and a Reporter of Gossip, Is Dead". New York Times. June 16, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/nyregion/16cohen.html

George Rush and Leo Standora. "Top Gossip Maven Dies: Cancer Kills Ex-Newser Claudia Cohen". New York Daily News. June 16, 2007. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/06/16/2007-06-16_top_gossip_maven_dies-3.html