New York City's Convent of the Sacred Heart alumni list includes Kennedys, Hiltons and Lady Gaga

The school served as the facade for the Fine mansion on The Nanny
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Meredith Lepore18 July 2020

New York City private schools are rife with fodder for some of the most entertaining books, movies, and shows of our time, from Gossip Girl to The Nanny Diaries.

The admissions processes alone rival that of Harvard and Yale - except even those institutions don't have to deal with parents trying to secure a spot for an unborn baby.

While there are plenty of impressive schools in the city, many are applauded for their lists of famous alumni.

The Convent of the Sacred Heart, also known as 91st Street, is New York City's oldest private school for girls and therefore a coveted spot.

The K-12 school is housed in the exquisite former Otto H. Kahn House, a historic landmark on 91st between Madison and 5th Ave. Most people would recognize it as the facade for the Fine family's mansion on The Nanny.

Another recognizable element? The grey jumpers with red pinafores over them, a look that's cited in one of the Gossip Girl books.

Its excellent reputation for producing not only extremely well-educated and resourceful young women puts it on par with its competitor schools including Spence, Chapin and Nightingale. This is probably why it has reportedly caught the eye of actress Katie Holmes and her now 14-year-old daughter, Suri, who is rumored to be exploring the school as an option. In 2012, a newly single Holmes was first rumored to be enrolling young Suri in the school, as Holmes also went to a Catholic all-girls high school.

Over the years, plenty of rumors have popped up about who has attended the school and who's planning on enrolling, for $54,970 a year.

The alumni list is quite impressive. Lady Gaga is arguably the most famous (back then she was just Stefani Germanotta) but the school also boasts Caroline Kennedy, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, Joan Bennett Kennedy, Gloria Vanderbilt and Nicky Hilton Rothschild.

Caroline Kennedy and a friend going to Convent of the Sacred Heart school
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Jackie Kennedy's cousin Edith Bouvier Beale (known more fondly as Little Edie) of Grey Gardens fame also attended before she became a universally adored recluse. As for actresses, Jordana Brewster is an alum, as well as Broadway vet Elaine Stritch and Christa Miller. In fact, Miller's husband, Bill Lawrence, who created Scrubs, named the hospital on the show, Sacred Heart, after the school. And last, but certainly not least, is the newly famous Real Housewife of New York Leah McSweeney.

With an alumni list that includes socialites, singers, Real Housewives and Hamptonites, it will be fascinating to see who enrolls next.

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