Vanessa Getty

Vanessa Getty is a San Francisco philanthropist, animal welfare advocate, arts patron, and civic leader whose work has shaped Bay Area charitable giving for more than two decades. Known for her ability to mobilize social and cultural networks in service of meaningful causes, she has built a body of philanthropic work that is as substantive as it is wide-ranging.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Getty comes from a family defined by cultural achievement and a deep sense of civic responsibility. Her father, Claude Jarman Jr., was the Oscar-winning child actor from The Yearling who later became one of the city's most celebrated cultural figures, directing the San Francisco International Film Festival for many years. Her mother, Maryann Opperman, was a professional ballerina with the Royal Ballet. Both parents instilled in her a strong work ethic and an unwavering commitment to giving back — values she has carried forward into every aspect of her public life.

Getty graduated from UCLA and married Billy Getty in 1999. Their wedding, held in Napa Valley, was widely covered in society pages; she arrived on horseback wearing a custom Narciso Rodriguez gown, which was his first bridal commission since Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. The couple have three children and remain deeply rooted in San Francisco, living across the street from where they first met as children.

Her most sustained philanthropic work centers on animal welfare. Getty founded San Francisco Bay Humane Friends in 2005, after recognizing that the cost of spaying and neutering animals was out of reach for many Bay Area families and that no mobile outreach existed to address the gap. She raised money to purchase and outfit a mobile veterinary vehicle, deploying it across Bay Area communities at a time when a single spay or neuter procedure could cost $400 or more. The results were measurable: shelter intake of pit bulls in San Francisco declined, and the program continued to serve low-income communities for years. Getty currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA and is working with the SPCA to raise funds for animal shelters in California's Central Valley, many of which lack on-site veterinary care. She also serves on the board of the Orangutan Foundation International, reflecting a commitment to animal welfare that extends well beyond the Bay Area.

Her approach to commercial partnerships is guided by the same values. Getty completed four advertising campaigns for Judith Leiber — but only after ensuring that all proceeds would benefit her animal welfare charity. It is a standard she applies consistently: she does not lend her name or platform to any project unless there is a direct charitable benefit attached.

Her PURR fundraising sales — luxury clothing events at which she rallied donations from designers, brands, and celebrities and priced everything to sell — raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animal welfare causes and foreshadowed the mainstream luxury resale model that followed.

Beyond animal welfare, Getty has built a meaningful presence in arts and culture philanthropy. She served as a Trustee of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and has been a visible force in the city's museum and gala circuit. She is a longtime supporter of amfAR, has co-chaired multiple major fundraising events, and received the organization's Award of Courage for her sustained commitment to AIDS research.

Together with her husband Billy Getty, she co-founded GettyLab, a private fund that makes direct investments in applied sciences — including seed-round financing for incubators at institutions such as MIT and Harvard. The venture reflects a broader worldview: that smart, targeted investment, whether philanthropic or commercial, can create outsized impact.

Named to Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed List, Getty has been recognized across more than two decades by publications including Harper's Bazaar and leading San Francisco outlets for a personal style that blends vintage couture, modern glamour, and effortless ease. But for Getty, fashion has always been a means to an end — a way to open rooms, build relationships, and direct resources toward the causes she cares about most.

Her guiding philosophy is simple, and she has applied it with remarkable consistency across causes and decades: find where the need is greatest, build something to meet it, and make sure the impact outlasts the attention.