The Bravo matriarch, and apparent inspiration for Parker Posey’s character on this season of HBO’s hit show, chats with Glamour about how to spot new money, why Victoria Ratliff wouldn’t actually carry a Louis Vuitton bag, and her theories on Victoria’s true motives.
Patricia Altschul thinks Parker Posey’s portrayal of an old money Southern matriarch on the new season of The White Lotus is pretty spot on, except for one small detail. Posey’s character, Victoria Ratliff, carries her plethora of anxiety medications in a vintage circular Louis Vuitton purse. According to Altschul, her character would not carry a bag covered in logos.
Altschul, 83, has become the ultimate example of a Southern matriarch through her 10 seasons on the show, which was created by her son and costar Whitney Sudler Smith. So her son wasn’t surprised, she says, when news broke last week that White Lotus creator and showrunner Mike White instructed the actors playing the Ratliff family on season three of the HBO series to watch Southern Charm to prepare.
Immediately after the story went viral, fans of both shows pegged Posey’s character as being inspired by Altschul, a comparison, she says is pretty accurate. In fact, she finds Victoria relatable.
“I think there are occasions when—and you have to remember that I’m typical of my age group—I have some definite opinions about things, especially socially,” she says. “Like when she said, ‘All actresses are prostitutes.’ Yeah, that sounds like something I’d say. So I can relate to her.”
Sam Nivola and Parker Posey in The White Lotus
Patricia Altschul: I am riveted.
I mean, same.
Especially this last season. Yeah, I think this is the best one of the three.
I really like it too, but some fans are saying it’s too slow. Why do you like it?
I like the interactions and the suspense and the possibilities of something horrendous happening at any moment. The snake episode [episode 3] set me back. I mean, I couldn’t deal with the snake episode…I kind of knew something terrible was going to happen by the music, but I wasn’t prepared for him. He’s actually a friend of Whitney’s.
Walton Goggins? No way.
Yeah, he’s been over at the house quite a few times. The whole cast [of The Righteous Gemstones] comes over when they’re filming [in Charleston]; they come over and eat.
He’s the breakout heartthrob of the season. Everyone’s thirsting for him.
It is funny because I’m used to seeing him as his character, Baby Billy, on Gemstones. It’s kind of hard for me to see him as a heartthrob, especially since he looks so unkempt. But yeah, I mean for sure, he is getting a lot of attention as well. He should. I think he’s fantastic.
So when did you first see the interview where Sam Nivola said that Mike White had told them to watch Southern Charm to develop their characters?
Well, I kept getting messages and DMs. I will admit that I’m addicted to TikTok. It’s an unguilty pleasure. I think you can see more of mankind on TikTok, a lot of it unnecessary. So it was all over TikTok and there were pictures of Thomas [Ravenel] and I being the main culprits for prototypes. So I thought it was fun, and I think the actors are incredible.
Do you think Parker Posey is doing a good job with portraying a character inspired by you? How’s her accent?
It’s more of an attitude. I mean, my accent is watered down because I went to boarding school in other places, but I did grow up in Virginia, and they have a distinctive accent. But I’ve lived in the South all my life, and to me, I think she had a Southern accent. It could be North Carolina, it could be South Carolina. It’s Southern drawl because she draws out her sentences. I think her attitude is kind of that of a snobby, Southern upper-class woman.
What about her outfits, are they accurate?
I think they’re very Southern upper class. They’re prints. They’re not showy. They’re not screaming new money. They’re screaming old guard because they’re understated. She obviously considers trends beneath her. She goes for the classics.
I noticed that she had on some kind of a rubber band around a very expensive gold watch instead of having a whole series of bangles like a lot of these new-money people do.
What do you think of the show’s portrayal of Southern families in general?
I think that it’s a class distinction that he [White] is going for. I don’t think it’s Southerners in general. I think that it’s a type of Southerner, and it’s a class distinction that he’s making with this family.
I notice that they get their cabana shirts from the same place as the staff. I looked it up because I wanted a monkey shirt, and it’s very understated in a very—I don't like the word classy, but it’s a very distinctive look. I think that their mannerisms, their attitudes in general, the wife is, obviously, a stay-at-home housewife. The father is a well-to-do businessman. All of their pursuits are those of people who have money and expect, they expect things. The son couldn’t believe there wasn’t a blender for him for shakes.
I feel like if you put out into the universe in this article you want a White Lotus monkey shirt, you can get one. I can try and make that happen for you.
Oh no, I got one. I found the company that makes them, they’re like $120.
That’s so meta.
Anyway, I think that, for example, the family’s polo shirts are not Ralph Lauren or, like, I dunno, whatever the little whale is. It is like reverse trendy. It’s no labels.
I also think that Patrick Schwarzenegger’s character, the Ratliff son Saxon, is inspired by Shep Rose. Do you agree?
Well, every once in a while when he smiles, he’s got a very toothy grin and he smiles at the most inappropriate things that he says, and Shep does do that. It reminds me a little bit of Shep.
I feel like Whitney should be jealous that you have a whole character inspired by you. I haven’t picked out one of the Ratliffs as a Whitney character yet.
Please don’t [laughs]. Well, thankfully, people think they’re a composite of Shep, Austen, and Craig—early Craig. So they’ve kind of left Whitney out of the mix, for which I’m very happy.
Any other thoughts on Victoria’s character?
Well, she could be a villain because she was speaking Thai [in episode 2].
Yeah. What was up with that?
I don’t know. I’m just wondering. And she was uncomfortable when the woman knew who she was from years ago…I’m just wondering if it wasn’t just being snobby and rude but if she just didn’t want to be recognized for some reason.
I clocked the Thai thing as well and did think that was weird, but then they just kind of glossed over it. So who knows? Maybe she could be the villain of the entire season. That would be kind of iconic.
What’s interesting about the show is that there are so many things that are symbolic, and maybe they’re meaningless and maybe they aren’t. I keep seeing images that reappear and that maybe they’re just thrown in there because they’re representative of the culture and don’t have any underlying meaning. But that’s an interesting thing about the show, is that everybody’s looking for all of these symbols and what it could possibly mean.
The White Lotus and season 10 of Southern Charm are both airing at the same time. Are you enjoying the rollout of this season so far?
I always have fun in every season because not much is expected from me except to provide alcohol and food and a place over their heads. So I just sit back and watch it all and have a good time. I think it’s very interesting, all of the dynamics between all of the cast members, it doesn’t change. And it’s really a male version of Housewives. The women come and go, except for me, but the guys are the mainstays of the show, and they’re more dramatic than women in real life, I think.
It is funny. They aren’t like that so much in everyday encounters. They all meet up for lunch or dinner or drinks or parties or whatever. But there’s something about being on the show that inspires them to create all these dramatic situations, but they are, by nature anyway, they’re not shrinking violets, and they all have distinctive personalities. I always find it interesting to see what’s going to happen. I always enjoy waiting for the episode to come on, so I could see what dastardly things they’ve said or done.
You’re also working on a new memoir. Can you tell us anything about it?
I just finished. I think it’s 60,000 words, and I’m now picking out photographs, and not to brag, but the publisher said it was one of the best memoirs he’s ever read. I was very heartened by that. And going through everything, going over these events in my life, I was kind of struck by what an interesting life I’ve led. It’ll be ready right before BravoCon.
Perfect timing. One of my favorite parts of this whole thing is how many people are clearly watching both Bravo and The White Lotus, because they clocked the similarities in you and the Ratliffs right away. It wasn’t even subtle.
I think probably not, but it is interesting. Four or five years ago, we took some friends to a finale. It was Craig’s business dinner when he threw Leva out.
Yeah, I remember that episode.
We took these friends with us, and they’re billionaire investors from New York. Anyway, they were just seen coming in with us. They were seen in the background. After the show aired, one of them called me and said, “I just got a call from the chairman of the Federal Reserve who saw me on Southern Charm.” So you never can tell what kind of person is watching.
I mean, they can try over on HBO to match the drama and the fun of Bravo, but I don’t know if they can match a Bravo reunion. We’ll see.
I mean, all we need is a murder.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
