First Lady of the Hamptons, Judith Giuliani (Come On In & Get to know Judy!)

Hampton Style ^ | 7.04.06 | HamptonStyle

[Registered]

 

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Judith Giuliani is creating a rose garden at the Hamptons summer home she shares with her husband, Rudy Giuliani. And while there are many people on both sides of the aisle who hope this foreshadows a bid for the White House, Judith will say only: “I just love digging in the dirt; I am obsessed with gardening.”

Of course it requires uninterrupted downtime, something that has become a rarity for the woman whose role has developed into one half of a power couple on the move. In the past four years, the pair has traveled to over 20 countries. This spring his emphasis shifted to domestic pit stops where he stumped for Republican candidates in Iowa, Georgia and Michigan. Judith's weekend reading has recently included The Emancipator's Wife, a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln she borrowed from Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. But, in reply to the question on everybody's mind: “Will Rudy be on the ballot in 2008?” the discreet Mrs. Giuliani will say only, “My parents were married for more than 50 years. All I've ever wanted is a happy marriage and Rudy and I have one. My mother used to tell me the trick was in knowing when to say, ‘whatever makes you happy.' Well, if it makes him happy, I will support him every step of the way.”

Judith Giuliani was not overtly political when she met her future husband. “I remember one of our first conversations. I was explaining that I am a nurse, that I had been working with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and that my arena was in infectious diseases,” she reflects. “We both had our passions; we each brought something unique to the table.” Their partnership has drawn Rudy closer to the medical charities with which Judith aligns herself, and last week the American Heart Association honored the Giulianis at its annual Heart of the Hamptons benefit in Water Mill. “The real champion of the night was Dr. Valentine Fuster,” injects Judith. “He is known around the world as the father of cardiology.” Judith chose to focus her attention on the topic of heart disease, particularly in women, because she says, “heart disease is the number one killer of women in America.” Seven times more women die from heart disease than from breast cancer, she added, and women's symptoms are different. “Whereas men will get the classic symptoms, women may get those, or other flu-like symptoms such as general malaise or nausea. Because many women are such multi-taskers they often just attribute this to fatigue and may not seek treatment.”

An inveterate multi-tasker herself, Judith is also working on developing a Level One trauma center for Saint Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. It will serve as a response center for potential nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks: “N.B.C., that's become the buzzword in medical circles,” she adds. “The center will mean a physician from every different medical specialty will be on call 24 hours a day.” Judith also raises money for Cabrini High School for Girls in the Bronx, a template for educating at-risk women that has since been copied in states across the nation. And in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Judith rallied the Giulianis' friends to address the crisis in New Orleans. “When Katrina hit, I wanted to do a fund-raiser for inoculations and hospital supplies. I called Donald Trump and we put together a golf tournament. Donald was wonderful. We raised well over $1 million.”

The couple has made a point of golfing on many of their international trips. “I will tell you how fanatical we are. We flew to an event in Singapore and arrived early in the morning. We left the plane in golf clothes, played the course, then showered at the club and changed into black tie for the event we were attending. After that we headed back to the plane.”

Rudy Giuliani discovered golf as a young boy sneaking onto the Garden City Country Club at night with friends to hit balls, later buying his first set of clubs as a law student at NYU. Now the man associated with cleaning up the urban jungles of New York finds a retreat from the public eye on the bucolic green links. On a recent Saturday afternoon, he joins Judith on her HamptonStyle photo shoot, fresh from a day spent on the course and full of anecdotes from the game. For the mayor Americans see as an indelible New York institution, the transition from his native Brooklyn to the South Fork has been natural. He spent his first full summer in the Hamptons just a few years ago when he was writing his memoir and serving his last year as mayor. “The spirit of Long Island is an extension of New York City for me. When I was about 16 and learning how to drive, I can remember winding down North Fork roads; the farmland, the beaches...it's a unique part of this country.”

When the couple is in residence at their new home, Rudy also uses the respite to read and unwind with a cigar; his humidor is never far afield. As Judith remarks, “One of my favorite pictures of Rudy is of him reading with a cigar on the porch out here. My husband is so brilliant; he can read two books at once. One will be the biography of a political figure, and the other will be something lighter: for him that might be a history of Russia.” More recently, Rudy has been alternating between Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln and Cobra II, the harrowing account of the Iraqi invasion, written by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor.

But for a moment, in the late afternoon sun, the man known as “America's Mayor” has a moment to think of lighter things. First of all, there's baseball. The Yankees are up. And then, there's his lovely wife. Of Judith, his multilingual, philanthropic spouse, he says simply, “She gets me to unwind from all of the pressures and just relax. I love her.”

[fishtank]

Sounds like a canard. There's nothing wrong in marrying a 2nd cousin.

[television is just wrong]

I just always was told they were. My father told me that like John Kerry and others who where jewish, they went to catholic church or other religious organizations to protect themselves from being prosecuted.

I have been told for many years their name was Rosenfeld and they were in fear of prosecution so they changed their name.

Does't make and issue with me, they are successful and lead this country in a very important time in history. God bless them.

[RockinRight]

I do have to say, she IS an attractive woman. Has a Jackie Kennedy air about her.

Not that it qualifies Rudy to be President, but still...

[linda_22003]

That's an anti-semitic rumor spread about FDR by Father Coughlin and others of his ilk back in the 1930's. It appears now mostly on anti-semitic websites like "Jew Watch". Roosevelt is a Dutch name going back hundreds of years.

And the word you want is "persecuted", not "prosecuted".

[RockinRight]

She had a boob job? (Pardon the expression)

[RockinRight]

She's 52???

[television is just wrong]

little touchy this morning...

goodness. old rumors die hard. you respond like you are angry. I have relatives that are jewish, I have no resentment against them.


As for father coughlin, I recently came across booklets my father had for decades. Probably where I heard about it. I just remember hearing about it so I mentioned it. It was not mentioned with hatred or spite.

My grandmothers name was Kuhlmann, which is also often considered jewish. She and her family were 100% dutch, so I believe you on that one. I was merely for conversation purposes, no hatred, or antisemite injected. Glad that one was cleared up.

[HostileTerritory]

I'm guessing, based on the last photo and how thin she is. It also fits with the lifestyle.

[linda_22003]

No, I'm not angry, but I do know the history of that period and the rumors about Roosevelt were specifically designed to appeal to an audience which was anti-Jewish. Sadly, a lot of people are still receptive to that message.

[television is just wrong]

Being jewish, or any other ethic, religious background changes absolutely nothing for me. I accept people on merit. I have been exposed to a lot in my life time. I have from this come to the conclusion that you accept everyone on their merit, and not on their heritage or religious beliefs.

The only thing that has affected that belief is the 9/11, people who mean to do us harm.

[Hildy]

The Roosevelt's were Jewish? Where do you get your history from?

[Clemenza]

Wrong! He was not ACTIVE in the Stonewall Rebellion, but has hosted events for the Stonewall VETERANS and signed on as a supporting member.

Rudy is beloved by the lavendar mafia. After all, who do you think helped elect him in the first place? Members of the Noo Yawk liberal Democratic coalition.

[nopardons]

Nobody, NOBODY ever said that Teddy Roosevelt was Jewish; which he wasn't. And Eleanor was related to him, as well as to FDR.

The specious libel, about FDR being a Jew and that his name was really Rosenfeld, or even Rosenberg or some such, was begun in the late 1930s, when he had Jews on his team and nominated others for high office and judgeships. It was also said about him by Isolationists, America Firsters, and those who belonged to the American Bund, when he wanted to help England, before we got into WW II.

Nobody, NOBODY in the public knew that John Kerry's paternal grandparents had been Jews, who had CONVERTED, NOT JUST ATTENDE#D CHURCH, until he ran for president.

I'm not trying to disparage or insult you and/or your father; however, to be blunt, your father is ill informed and has told you spurious filth. Does he also believe that THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION is a factual book?

[nopardons]

Nobody, NOBODY ever said that Teddy Roosevelt was Jewish; which he wasn't. And Eleanor was related to him, as well as to FDR.

The specious libel, about FDR being a Jew and that his name was really Rosenfeld, or even Rosenberg or some such, was begun in the late 1930s, when he had Jews on his team and nominated others for high office and judgeships. It was also said about him by Isolationists, America Firsters, and those who belonged to the American Bund, when he wanted to help England, before we got into WW II.

Nobody, NOBODY in the public knew that John Kerry's paternal grandparents had been Jews, who had CONVERTED, NOT JUST ATTENDED CHURCH, until he ran for president.

I'm not trying to disparage or insult you and/or your father; however, to be blunt, your father is ill informed and has told you spurious filth. Does he also believe that THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION is a factual book?

[nopardons]

I know EXACTLY what and who Rudy is. I also know EXACTLY what the post says about STONEWALL VETS and it doesn't say "honorary", though that IS what that list is. By leaving out that word, the implication/innuendo being used on FR, makes it APPEAR that he and the others on the list WERE there and THAT is the intention.

Not all homosexuals are Dems.

Do you want to take away their ability to vote?

Do you imagine that a candidate in N.Y. can get elected solely by the votes of straight, married, white, Protestant males ? LOL

[television is just wrong]

I read the booklet, protocols of Zion, it is a book with this circular reasoning. Makes no sense to me.

The booklets I saw were in my fathers things which explains how he felt about alot of things. However, they are ridiculous and I do not find them to be true.

I just didn't think that statement would rile someone up like that since no malice was meant by it.

[nopardons]

Your father had the Cliff's Notes version of THE PROTICOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION? Oh good grief, I was just being sarcastic, but your reply says more than you can imagine.

You may have thought that your "Roosevelt" remark was innocent and in no way incendiary; however, anyone who knows even a smidgen of history, knows just WHAT it means and WHERE it came from.

[television is just wrong]

Is it a crime to think that someone might be jewish? does that make you an antisemite? I only remember little snipets of what was said when I was growing up. I knew he was an old man. He was 42 when I was born. He had some real odd ideas. He was out of touch with modern culture, and most of what he said was BS. He had no business having children, yet he had 9 of us. He was in his 70's with young children still at home. I'm not saying he was right with a lot of things he said and did, but I have apparently hit a nerve with even mentioning it, and that is odd.

[tioga]

She would be the first First Lady to be referred to as "hot".

[Tribune7]

He has no chance. 90 percent of the women of America will look at her, realize she's wife #3 and vote against him on principle.