In Downton Abbey, Elizabeth McGovern played Lady Cora Grantham, an American heiress who married a cash-strapped British aristocrat. Which makes her the ideal host of this series seen on the Smithsonian Channel. Spanning the late 1800s to the 20th century, it tells the stories of real-life American millionairesses and stars who changed Britain and Europe: Consuelo Vanderbilt, Grace Kelly, Peggy Guggenheim, Barbara Hutton, Nancy Astor, Pauline de Rothschild, and more. "A vivid, little-known history" - Daily Beast. 7 episodes, 5 ½ hrs, 2 DVDs, SDH.

Episodes

Cash for Class
It's 1895 and the phenomenon of the "Transatlantic Marriage Trade" has reached its height. Daughters of America's new super-rich industrialists married into British royalty at a rapid pace, but these unions came at a price, financially and emotionally. See how these families traded cash for class, how their heiresses survived, and what their legacy is in Britain today.

Wedding of the Century
In the late 1800s, and ambitious mothers and their millionaire American princesses took their wit, willpower, and money to Britain, a move that would change history. Discover the story of Jennie Jerome, whose transatlantic marriage gave us England's greatest statesman, Winston Churchill, along with stories of other American heiresses whose stories inspired the series "Downton Abbey."

Movers and Shakers
It's the early 20th century, about forty years after American heiresses first streamed overseas to trade cash for British titles, and England finds itself undergoing seismic political changes. The end of the First World War has brought amazing opportunities for women, especially the American transports. Over the next two decades they will take high society by storm, take a seat in Parliament, and even take down a king. Discover how their legacies live on today.

Queens of the Screen
They were three American actresses about to take on the biggest roles of their careers, thousands of miles from Los Angeles. Grace Kelly, Gloria Swanson and Rita Hayworth transformed from Hollywood royalty to part of the European nobility. These starlets also brought unparalleled glamour and fame to the aristocracy as well as dramatic twists and turns that would rival any one of their movies.

Queens of Culture
They had passions for paintings, music, entertaining, and obliterating the constraints of societal norms. WInnaretta Singer, Sara Murphy, and Peggy Guggenheim were three modern, empowered Million Dollar Princesses who blazed a trail through the arts world in Europe and eventually the world. They inspired and supported some of the most innovative and creative talents of the 20th century, from Stravinsky and Picasso to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jackson Pollock.

Beautiful and the Doomed
The stories of three women who looked for love but found disaster instead. The tragic tales of Million Dollar Princesses Barbara Hutton, Clara Ward and Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, women of beauty, wealth, and power who married into European nobility but ended up shunned by society, family, and the happy endings they had hoped to achieve.

Leading Ladies
The stories of Million Dollar Princesses Nancy Astor, Nancy Lancaster, and Pauline de Rothschild are examined. They crossed the Atlantic for very different reasons and embarked on very different paths to fame, but each woman shared one attribute: the desire to stand up and be heard, and they were.

Packaging: Boxed set
Run Time: 325 minutes
Format: Widescreen
Number of discs: 2
Language: English
Foreign Language Subtitles: No
Color or B&W: Color
CC: No
SDH: No
Region Code: 1
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Audio Format: Stereo 5.1 Surround
Rating: TV-PG

Cast

Elizabeth McGovern, Charles Jennings, Clive Aslet, Fiona Herbert 8th Countess of Carnarvon, Jessica Fellowes, Earl Charles Spencer, William Astor, John Spencer-Churchill, Lade Henrietta Spencer-Churchill

Cash for Class
It's 1895 and the phenomenon of the "Transatlantic Marriage Trade" has reached its height. Daughters of America's new super-rich industrialists married into British royalty at a rapid pace, but these unions came at a price, financially and emotionally. See how these families traded cash for class, how their heiresses survived, and what their legacy is in Britain today.

Wedding of the Century
In the late 1800s, and ambitious mothers and their millionaire American princesses took their wit, willpower, and money to Britain, a move that would change history. Discover the story of Jennie Jerome, whose transatlantic marriage gave us England's greatest statesman, Winston Churchill, along with stories of other American heiresses whose stories inspired the series "Downton Abbey."

Movers and Shakers
It's the early 20th century, about forty years after American heiresses first streamed overseas to trade cash for British titles, and England finds itself undergoing seismic political changes. The end of the First World War has brought amazing opportunities for women, especially the American transports. Over the next two decades they will take high society by storm, take a seat in Parliament, and even take down a king. Discover how their legacies live on today.

Queens of the Screen
They were three American actresses about to take on the biggest roles of their careers, thousands of miles from Los Angeles. Grace Kelly, Gloria Swanson and Rita Hayworth transformed from Hollywood royalty to part of the European nobility. These starlets also brought unparalleled glamour and fame to the aristocracy as well as dramatic twists and turns that would rival any one of their movies.

Queens of Culture
They had passions for paintings, music, entertaining, and obliterating the constraints of societal norms. WInnaretta Singer, Sara Murphy, and Peggy Guggenheim were three modern, empowered Million Dollar Princesses who blazed a trail through the arts world in Europe and eventually the world. They inspired and supported some of the most innovative and creative talents of the 20th century, from Stravinsky and Picasso to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jackson Pollock.

Beautiful and the Doomed
The stories of three women who looked for love but found disaster instead. The tragic tales of Million Dollar Princesses Barbara Hutton, Clara Ward and Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, women of beauty, wealth, and power who married into European nobility but ended up shunned by society, family, and the happy endings they had hoped to achieve.

Leading Ladies
The stories of Million Dollar Princesses Nancy Astor, Nancy Lancaster, and Pauline de Rothschild are examined. They crossed the Atlantic for very different reasons and embarked on very different paths to fame, but each woman shared one attribute: the desire to stand up and be heard, and they were.