Henry Kissinger, ‘The Playboy’

Image taken from The Washington Post, depicting him with actress Jill St. John at a reception for Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev

Henry Kissinger was famous for his role as the Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford, transforming American foreign policy and his realist view of international politics. A slightly lesser-known fact is that he was also famous with the women who dominated the society pages in the 1960s and 70s. Indeed, in 1972, a poll of Playboy Club bunnies ranked him number one as “the man I would most like to go on a date with.” A spread in Life magazine presented the variety of ‘Kissinger’s women’, including TV-star Marlo Thomas, movie star Judy Brown and ‘pinup girl’ June Wilkinson, among others. Such articles on Kissinger’s sex life were ubiquitous during his years in office. Maxine Cheshire wrote that every time Kissinger is in Hollywood, everyone wonders, ‘Who was that girl he was with this time?’ She further stated that the women associated with the ‘Enigmatic Kissinger’ even benefitted from the publicity, suggesting that he took St. John to gossip columnist Joyce Haber’s Hollywood house for the ‘good publicity’ it would generate since St. John had not landed an acting role in half a year. This displays how Kissinger was not exclusively a ‘Washington VIP’; due to his powerful network in Hollywood, he could also reignite an actor’s career through mere association with him, a feat reflective of his own power. Whilst Kissinger stated that he had minimal experience with the ‘Hollywood press agentry’, this is evidently not true and can further be seen in a conversation with Haber where she assures Kissinger that he will easily find a date for an upcoming party since ‘it is very difficult to get a starlet who doesn’t like publicity.’ 

Kissinger’s womanising was so prevalent that he got a reputation of being a ‘secret swinger.’ This label was originally earned from an evening at a salon for Gloria Steinem in October 1969, where Kissinger said, ‘Why don’t you assume I am a secret swinger?’ As a precursor to his remark, socialite Barbara Howar (with whom he was also romantically linked to) stated, ‘I teased Henry about how he would have to choose between Gloria and me. He said we were both bad for his image.’ Such dry wit in Kissinger’s arsenal helped make him so attractive to famous women and the media. The interconnectivity between these two demographics undoubtedly amplified the interest in Kissinger, as the captivated media and ‘starlets’ would create a frenzy around him, further boosting his press coverage and therefore, popularity. Roxanne Roberts (Post journalist) argues that it was Sally Quinn, the author of the ‘Salon for Gloria Steinem’ article who ‘made Kissinger a sex symbol.’ Indeed, the same night, Kissinger arrived late ‘clutching a manila envelope with the White House stamped on it’, he refused to put it down and when asked what it was, he joked, ‘it’s my advance copy of Playboy’, highlighting both his attention-seeking remarks and specifically, his juvenile humour as being the very attribute that the lifestyle columnists warmed to.

Kissinger’s mischievous humour can also be evaluated as highly sexist and condescending. This is evidenced when he flew in a standard commercial flight in 1974 during the OPEC energy crisis, stating in an ABC news conference that he enjoyed flying coach since there were ‘no stewardesses in Air Force One.’ Although he found himself in the midst of a crisis, the inclusion of such a trivial comment in a news broadcast highlights how Kissinger underplayed issues by using his humour; the reporter stated he ‘manages to retain the famous Kissinger humour.’  Thus, through such comical remarks, he would distract the public from the real issues at hand and harvest further media attention. Combined with his humour, Kissinger believed his image as a playboy would remind people that he was ‘not a museum piece’, adding more relatable dimensions to his character and altering the potential public perception that he, like many of his colleagues, was an out-of-touch, intellectual, Washington bureaucrat. 

A key article displaying Kissinger’s humour as facilitating his celebrity image is the ground-breaking interview in Women’s Wear Daily by Kandy Stroud, titled ‘I Wonder Who’s Kissing Now’ (1971). Stroud interviewed Kissinger wearing hot-pants, he responded by teasing her, ‘What are you trying to do? Seduce me? She detailed that Kissinger avoided the topic of his introvert nature at Harvard, but in speaking about his life as “Playboy of the Western Wing,” his interest suddenly sparked. This conveys how Kissinger was genuinely interested in crafting his sexual icon image as he believed it would help him in the quest for power. Schwartz corroborates this notion, arguing that Kissinger realised his colourful personality was “key in the relatively colourless Nixon administration [where] his image as a playboy or swinger increased the media attention devoted to him.” Even Nixon understood the image’s importance as ‘there were not many smiles in those days,’ thus ‘cuddly Kissinger’ was undoubtedly a welcome distraction. Following this article, Kissinger stated, ‘I got more calls and letters about [it] than I have gotten on any other article’, thus confirming that – if not before – at this point, Kissinger was totally aware of the wide-reaching power such a scandalous image could bring.

Famous women would fight for Kissinger’s attention, which aided his status as a womaniser, and in turn, drew the attention of top-tier actresses. For example, Haber told Kissinger that she was ‘jealous because Steinem gave a better quote’ than her for the Women’s Wear Daily article. Furthermore, Hollywood stuntwoman Lara Edmund believed that Kissinger flirted with her in front of St John as ‘they got off on each other’s sexual achievements.’ This encounter explains why so many Hollywood ‘starlets’ were attracted to Kissinger, because he played women off each other, declaring that he only went out with actresses as ‘a diversion, a hobby’ and he was ‘not apt to marry one.’ Such observations would have been contrary to most men who worshipped these A-list actresses, thus contributing to Kissinger’s mystique. However, Kissinger was truly not apt to marry one, as his Playboy image was merely another tactic to promote his celebrity status in the social scene, drawing press attention away from his covert foreign policy missions. His Playboy image was also a distraction from Kissinger’s relationship with his second wife, Nancy Maginnes, a woman he sincerely cared for. Isaacson argues that Kissinger was the ‘most celibate bachelor’ since he would never have a physical sexual relationship with his dates, yet Maginnes was different. 

Kissinger’s relationship with Maginnes in the press consisted of the classic tactics he used to engineer fame: deception and manipulation of the media. During the 1970s, it appeared that Maginnes was just one of Kissinger’s many women. However, in reality, Kissinger deliberately avoided her presence in the gossip columns, so much so that she went unmentioned by the Times until nine years after their first meeting. Even then, the article merely described her job, her membership of the Colony Club and that she organised Kissinger’s fiftieth birthday party. This was nothing compared to the ostentatious descriptions of Kissinger meeting Oscar-nominated Liv Ullmann for a lavish banquet with the Russians at the White House. Kissinger tiresomely endeavoured to keep his relationship with Maginnes private, evidenced from a telecon nearly two years before her first mention in the Times where he stated, ‘I would prefer Nancy not to be in the public eye, but I am closer to her than to any of the others or all of them combined.’ Likewise, he was very defensive with a journalist about a potential picture of Nancy and him being published and stated, ‘keep her [Maginnes] out. Use someone else.’ Thus, Kissinger’s womanising was only a publicity stunt, achieved with the help of his press connections and echoed by a 1974 Times article which stated that the other women Kissinger went out with ‘were just kind of a flattery to his ego.’ Therefore, Kissinger’s tendency to overshare in areas that would not impact his career, whilst maintaining the utmost privacy of truly impactful issues – such as foreign policy – clearly influenced his approach in managing his personal life with Maginnes.

The extent of the façade Kissinger projected to court women and conceal his relationship with Maginnes is reflected through his claim that he stopped seeing actress Judy Brown as she used him for publicity. This drama was so prevalent that the South China Post wrote, ‘Kissinger ignores gossip on mission’ – regarding the scandal with Brown – who he called a ‘publicity maniac.’ Firstly, it is striking that a Chinese newspaper equated the troubles of his ‘gossip’ with his ‘secret mission’, thus displaying how far-reaching his celebrity status as a womaniser truly was. More significantly, it is interesting that Kissinger acted as though he disapproved of women seeking press attention, despite his carefully orchestrated association with actresses who, like him, wanted publicity. Thereafter, by seemingly hating women who craved publicity, Kissinger could obtain a position that the public rarely attributed to many celebrities, without needing recognition. However, this was of course another façade since behind closed doors he took pride in crafting publicity, whilst also nurturing his relationship with Maginnes, a union in which ‘there was never any doubt’ amongst those who knew him best.

This piece was written by Mahika Mehrotra and edited by Emerson Lam

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Newspapers and magazines

“A Private Person in the Public Eye Nancy Maginnes Kissinger.” The New York Times, April 2, 1974, 10. [https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/02/archives/a-private-person-in-the-public-eye-accepts-him-as-he-is.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/02/archives/a-private-person-in-the-public-eye-accepts-him-as-he-is.html)

Cheshire, Maxine. “Marlo Thomas dates Kissinger.” The Boston Globe, April 7, 1971, 28. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. [https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/506145390/A525AAB467684E72PQ/7?accountid=14533](https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/506145390/A525AAB467684E72PQ/7?accountid=14533)

Cheshire, Maxine. “Now it’s Jill St John linked to Kissinger.” The Boston Globe, June 19, 1970, 16. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. [https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/506181420/A525AAB467684E72PQ/14?accountid=14533](https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/506181420/A525AAB467684E72PQ/14?accountid=14533)

Cummings, Judith. “The Bride: Tall, Quiet, Intellectual.” The New York Times, March 31, 1974, 5. [https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/31/archives/the-bride-tall-quiet-intellectual-completely-natural.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/31/archives/the-bride-tall-quiet-intellectual-completely-natural.html)

Dembart, Lee. “80 Toast Kissinger For 50th Birthday.” The New York Times, May 28, 1973. [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/28/archives/80-toast-kissinger-for-50th-birthday-watergate-casts-shadow-raise-a.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/28/archives/80-toast-kissinger-for-50th-birthday-watergate-casts-shadow-raise-a.html)

“Kissinger Rated Tops By Bunnies.” Miami Herald, July 7, 1972.

“Kissinger ignores gossip on mission.” South China Morning Post, October 18, 1971, 24. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: South China Morning Post. [https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/1549164281/A525AAB467684E72PQ/19?accountid=14533](https://search-proquest-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/docview/1549164281/A525AAB467684E72PQ/19?accountid=14533)

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“Nixon’s Sex Symbol: The Enigmatic Kissinger.” San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 1971. [http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/Nixon%20Administration/Nixon%200958.pdf](http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/Nixon%20Administration/Nixon%200958.pdf)

Quinn, Sally. “Salon for Gloria Steinem – ‘American Folk Hero’.” The Washington Post, October 10, 1969.

Roberts, Roxanne. “No Matter the Era, Washington’s Boldface Names Know Where to Find a Good Name.” The Washington Post, June 5, 2002. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/06/05/no-matter-the-era-washingtons-boldface-names-know-where-to-find-a-good-time/aa34d4b2-77bb-4b78-b355-4ddecc11fc99/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/06/05/no-matter-the-era-washingtons-boldface-names-know-where-to-find-a-good-time/aa34d4b2-77bb-4b78-b355-4ddecc11fc99/)

Schecter, Jerry. “Henry Kissinger, not-so-secret swinger.” Life, January 28, 1972, 70A. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=D0AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=D0AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1)

Stroud, Kandy. “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Now.” Women’s Wear Daily, September 8, 1971. [https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/celebrating-henry-kissinger-6967416/](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/celebrating-henry-kissinger-6967416/)

Television

“Oil Embargo/ Kissinger President.” ABC Evening News, January 3, 1974.

Interviews

Fallaci, Oriana. “Interview with History.” Interview with Henry Kissinger, November 4, 1972. [https://archive.org/stream/InterviewWithHistoryByOrianaFallaciInterviewArtEbook/Interview%20with%20History%20-%20by%20Oriana%20Fallaci%20%28Interview%20Art%20Ebook%29_djvu.txt](https://archive.org/stream/InterviewWithHistoryByOrianaFallaciInterviewArtEbook/Interview%20with%20History%20-%20by%20Oriana%20Fallaci%20%28Interview%20Art%20Ebook%29_djvu.txt)

Ullmann, Liv. “Liv Ullmann, Face to Face.” Interview by Roger Ebert. RogerEbert.com, February 6, 1977. [https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/liv-ullmann-face-to-face](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/liv-ullmann-face-to-face)

Government records

Digital National Security Archive. “Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, ‘Henry Kissinger and Joyce Haber discuss social arrangements’” (September 15, 1972). The Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969–1977, 1–3. [https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679108883/E29A1B92CBB24046PQ/1?accountid=14533](https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679108883/E29A1B92CBB24046PQ/1?accountid=14533)

Digital National Security Archive. “Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, ‘Lloyd Shearer asks Henry Kissinger whether he may publish photograph of Kissinger with Nancy Maginnes’” (September 22, 1971). The Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969–1977, 1–2. [https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679108479/abstract/CC686AA408A24491PQ/8?accountid=14533](https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679108479/abstract/CC686AA408A24491PQ/8?accountid=14533)

Digital National Security Archive. “Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, ‘Henry Kissinger rejects Mike Wallace's proposal to include footage of him or mention Nancy Maginnes in 60 Minutes television report on Kissinger’” (September 10, 1970). The Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969–1977, 1. [https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679121792/abstract/2369F717FE914F52PQ/1?accountid=14533](https://search.proquest.com/dnsa_ka/docview/1679121792/abstract/2369F717FE914F52PQ/1?accountid=14533)

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Secondary Sources

Ferguson, Niall. Kissinger: 1923–1968: The Idealist. London: Allen Lane, 2015.

Isaacson, Walter. Kissinger: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Schwartz, Thomas A. Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography. New York: Hill and Wang, 2020.

Schwartz, Thomas A. “Thomas A. Schwartz on Kissinger, the media and foreign policy.” YouTube video. Posted by “KrasnoUNC,” January 14, 2014. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imABEzyU6q8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imABEzyU6q8)