Ivy Love Getty is a most unusual multi-hyphenate: model, fashion collector, philanthropist and dog whisperer.
Those last two roles are perhaps closest to her heart. Because the great-granddaughter of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty and an heir to his vast fortune, she’s ready to support an array of causes, from animal welfare organizations to HIV/AIDS nonprofits.
And due to her family’s history of adopting rescue pets, the 28-year-old advocate connects with pups on an intuitive level.
“The companionship is so sweet,” says Getty, who brings her two Chihuahua-mix rescues in every single place. “The bond between a dog and a human may be so strong. It’s just an emotional attachment where I feel like we love one another.”
During our shoot, Getty’s two tail-waggers — Blue Naomi and Martini (on her lap below, from left) — looked positively fetching.
Switching up her poses, Blue peeked winsomely out of a skirt pocket, flaunted a knit strawberry hat and kissed her “mommy” on command. She even smized for the camera. Martini, her impish younger brother, managed to outshine a pack of Judith Leiber crystal pooch purses.
After all, the little darlings are accustomed to fabulous dog togs. When Getty married photographer
Tobias Engel in November 2021 — the star-studded nuptials in San Francisco were officiated by then-Speaker-of-the-House Nancy Pelosi and attended by California Governor Gavin Newsom — Blue’s wedding wardrobe was the peak of canine chic.
The tiny diva rocked a ’60s-style belted yellow knit dress for the mod-themed welcome party at The Palace of Effective Arts and a picnic lunch the next afternoon, then paraded a playful pink tutu for the rehearsal in City Hall.
On the large day, the ethereal bride floated down the aisle wearing a spellbinding John Galliano for Maison Margiela Haute Couture gown adorned with broken mirror fragments.
The avant-garde designer also dressed her bridal party, including maid-of-honor Anya Taylor-Joy, in bias-cut gray slithers. Blue, meanwhile, fulfilled her solemn duties as ring bearer in a ruffled slate sheath with beaded embellishments.
“People thought that John made it, but I got it on PoshPuppyBoutique.com for like $150,” says Getty, who’s as down-to-earth as she is glamorous. “It fit her like a glove and just happened to match the bridesmaids’ dresses perfectly.”
The jade-eyed beauty is the daughter of the late John Gilbert Getty, a musician, and Alyssa Boothby, a former jewelry designer.
She grew up in San Francisco with a veritable menagerie of pets. Her first dog was Buddha, an English mastiff so huge she could ride him like a horse. “In 2005, he was in National Geographic for being officially the largest dog in San Francisco,” she recalls. There have been three pit bulls, a parrot, hamsters, hermit crabs, in addition to a rescue cat and her litter of kittens.
Getty was raised by her grandparents — Gordon, a businessman and classical music composer, and Ann, an interior designer and philanthropist who died in 2020 — alongside a pair of fluffy white goldendoodles, Yankee and Dandee. A rescue mix named Perpetua soon joined them.
The family lived within the Getty mansion, the celebrated five-story hilltop residence overlooking the San Francisco Bay, where Getty held her glittering wedding reception.
The contents of the estate went under the hammer last fall in a series of landmark Christie’s auctions.
The sale of Old Master paintings, European and Asian antiques, textiles and jewellery has to date raised greater than $150 million, the proceeds of which is able to profit the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts, dedicated to supporting arts and science organizations.
Getty inherited much of her grandmother’s exquisite wardrobe of rare couture and designer ready-to-wear, along together with her father’s collection of vintage men’s and ladies’s clothing. “He appreciated and loved fashion,” she recalls. “I actually have a warehouse full of his insane Paco Rabanne from-the-’60s originals, and amazing Tom-Ford-for-Gucci-era snakeskin pants for men. At some point I would like to do an exhibition.”
She wears the identical size as her grandmother, and shares her dramatic flair, donning showstopping gowns at galas and advantages world wide. “A giant treasure of mine is my grandmother’s vintage Yves Saint Laurent coat that she wore for a shoot in Town & Country. It’s red and black and has gold embroidery, and it’s stunning. I wore it in my engagement shoot with my husband.”
Getty is an avid fashion collector, scouring web sites and stores for exceptional finds. A prized rating is a spring 2002 Blumarine dress adorned with colourful fans and floral motifs, the sparkly number that the late actress Brittany Murphy sported in 2003’s “Uptown Girls.”
After looking for years, Getty was alerted that one in all the movie’s backup costumes was available online, and he or she immediately bought it.
“I’ve all the time been into fashion and a number of statement pieces. I used to be an enormous theater kid, and I loved the technique of entering into costume, and I also did ballet,” says Getty, who modeled in a babyGap ad when she was a toddler and has since been a canopy girl for Town & Country (39 years after her grandmother), L’Officiel and Von, photographer Ellen von Unwerth’s magazine. “My mom would make all my [dance] costumes for me, and my grandmother loved making my custom Halloween costumes. I believe over time I’ve just understood the art behind it.”
“I used to be someone who went through a number of phases,” continues Getty with a smile. “For those who have a look at my prom dresses, it is nearly illegal how hideous my outfits were for all 4 years.”
Around the identical time that she was experimenting with questionable styles, Getty rolled up her sleeves and began volunteering with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and at local rescue shelters. She then adopted Blue from Best Friends Animal Society while studying at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she earned a effective arts degree.
She named her sweetie after Blue Ivy Carter (Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter) and Naomi Campbell, and brought her to class. “The professors weren’t really OK with it, but she had broken her arm falling off a chair and was in a solid. She’s very easy and didn’t make a single noise.”
Getty, who now lives in Latest York together with her husband and their fur babies (and sometimes officiates friends’ weddings), found Martini on Adopt-A-Dog.org and brought him home in November. “He was the one survivor of 5, and he was rescued from a hoarder’s home in Texas that was mistreating dogs,” she says. “We got along immediately. A puppy tends to forget bad experiences and most issues may be solved with the appropriate love and care.”
“Knowing that they’re rescue is admittedly essential to me because after being so involved with different shelters and understanding the method, I believe a number of people don’t realize what number of dogs need a house,” she adds.
Getty recently did Embark dog DNA testing and located Blue’s half-brother in Colorado and Martini’s dad in Latest Jersey.
She and her husband contacted the Garden State owners — “they were very excited as well” — and intend to drive down and meet the four-legged father and his human parents some day.
When she’s in Latest York, Getty often helps out at Muddy Paws Rescue events when recent animals are bused in from out of town. “I’ll clean their cages, prepare them to take a walk and meet possible owners.” She also works with Best Friends Animal Society. “We’re talking about how we will help gather a bigger audience of younger people to adopt. We’re coming up with other ways to unravel that issue, and I believe being a younger voice for them helps.”
Creative by nature, Getty also desires to get back into acting and has an idea for a coffee table book. She’s also trying her hand at gardening.
Recently, she planted seeds for herbs and varieties of flowers that attract butterflies in her backyard. Under her expert care — and the careful supervision of Blue and Martini — sunflowers are already reaching for the sky.
Editor: Serena French; Stylist: Anahita Moussavian; Photo Editor: Jessica Hober; Fashion Assistants: Madeleine Shepherd, Alycen Humphrey-Case; Hair: Yukiko Tajima at See Management using Amika; Makeup: Ayami Nishimura at Forward Artists using Lancôme; Manicure: Mo Qin at The Wall Group using Aprés Nail Official; Prop Stylist: Gregory Andrew Powell; Dog Art Graphic Design: Dylan Eastman