Journalist and Noted Thoroughbred Horse Owner-Breeder. Born in New York City, she was among the first employees of Stuart Scheftel's "Sports Illustrated" magazine and holds the distinction of being the first woman to be hired by the company. During her twenty-six-year tenure with the magazine, she traveled across the globe, experiencing the sports which she was writing about in person. Writing under her maiden name, she composed numerous pieces detailing her experiences with some of the most recognized figures of the day. Breaking with social norms of the day, she embarked on hunting trips with the likes of Spain's dictator, Francisco Franco, Queen Ratna of Nepal, and Jordan's King Hussein. In addition to shooting sports, she participated in a plethora of adventurous activities such as piloting hot air balloons, international fishing competitions, scuba diving, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. As the first woman to compete in the latter of these events, she finished sixteenth out of a field of twenty-two drivers. Following the dissolution of her first marriage, she remarried the industrialist and financier Charles Shipman Payson. Payson's first wife, Joan Whitney had founded Major League Baseball's New York Mets franchise. At the time of her death, he became the majority owner of the team. Following their purchase of a Thoroughbred yearling at auction, the Paysons developed a passion for horse breeding and racing. With her focus transitioned from journalism to the race tracks, she founded the three-hundred-acre Payson Stud Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. In addition, she owned and operated the four-hundred-acre winter training Payson Park Thoroughbred Training Center in Florida. Focusing on breeding mares of noted bloodlines, she found success early in her new career. In 1984 her horse, Carr de Naskra won the prestigious Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs, New York. Upon her husband's death in 1985, she inherited seventy millions dollars which she used to further finance equestrian activities. Over the years, she became one of the most respected owners and breeders in the industry. The Payson Stud Farm produced seventy-eight stakes horses, thirty of which won or placed, and three of which became champions. In 1992 her horse, St Jovite, the descendant of a Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stake's winner, became the European Horse of the Year. Five years later, Payson was named "Breeder of the Year" by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.