Houston's leading lady of philanthropy and the brightest star in our social constellation, Lynn Wyatt makes headlines in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar. "Lynn Wyatt Fights Back" is the lead-in to a lengthy interview that is as much a love song to Wyatt as it is a peek into the grande dame's life which, until her husband's incarceration in 2007, appeared to be a charmed one.

She talks openly about Oscar Wyatt's trial, his stint in federal custody in Beaumont and the stroke that shortly followed his release. "He's got the will of 10 bulls. And, of course, I've got him covered with therapists. He's got a speech therapist, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist . . . "

Writer Anamaria Wilson covers all the bases from Wyatt's close friendship with the likes of Elton John, Karl Lagerfeld and the late Princess Grace to her annual birthday parties in the South of France. Wyatt's fans applaud her generously. "She is divine," says Lagerfeld, "the beautiful American lady par excellence. In addition, she is kindness personified."

The "international social set's most legendary doyenne," as Wilson describes Wyatt, says that she maintains her lithe silhouette, despite some having more than a few decades under her designer belt, with a regimen of yoga, aerobics, pilates, ballet and tae kwon do. The woman admittedly likes to eat, witness her in-house French chef, and exercise, she says, is the only way to keep ahead of that passion for food.

High honors

Applause, applause for philanthropists of Herculean stature Jan and Dan Duncan, who took bows on Wednesday as recipients of the coveted Denton A. Cooley Leadership Award at the annual Texas Heart Insitute award dinner. The ballroom of the Westin Galleria Hotel reverberated with praise for the couple whose support has significantly aided THI's adult stem cell research and aided in development of heart-assist devices, known as LVADs, which have saved thousands of lives.

Praise came not only from Dr. Denton Cooley and THI president Dr. James Willerson but also from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center president Dr. John Mendelsohn and from Dr. Mark Kline of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Special guests included lead dinner underwriter Margaret Williams; THI chairman Meredith Long, who co-chaired the evening with this wife Cornelia Long; and physician chairs Dr. Ali Massumi, Dr. David Ott and Willerson.

Partying in PV

The swine flu scare is over as far as Mexico is concerned so a grand troop of revelers headed to Puerto Vallarta last week to join Melissa Mithoff''s much-belated birthday celebration. (Last spring with H1N1 running rampant, it just didn't seem like a good idea even if her birthday was in May.) The Houston crew, led by the birthday girl's husband Michael Mithoff, took over the luxe Villa Verana estate and unpacked their bags in the casitas scattered across the multi-acre, hillside estate.

Joining the festivities that centered on the private beach club were Susan and Mike Plank, Joyce and Hugh Echols, Elizabeth and Gary Petersen, Monsour Taghdisi, Christopher Mendel, Kara and Aaron Howes and more.

Girl play

More than 700 women turned out for the Ronald McDonald House annual "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" benefit night, held at the Crowne Plaza Reliant Park Hotel. Houston Dynamo players and Houston Firefighter Calendar hunks turned out to spice up the play. A few lucky gals took a spin on the dance floor with the congenial Dynamos.

Helping raise funds for Texas Medical Center entities were Tracy Erwin, Kristen Simi, Debbie Bauer, Marilyn Mogas, Lesha Elsenbrook, Patti Everett, Starlet Hollingsworth, Peggy Hennessey, Emily Crosswell and Stephanie Milam.

Victory lap

That extra-animated table at Tony's on Friday night had reason to celebrate. Members of Mayor Annise Parker's campaign finance team gathered to preen over their candidate's victory and to exchange anecdotes from the campaign. Raising their glasses in toasts to their efforts and to the new mayor were Fiona Dawson, Robin Brown, Alex Martinez, finance chair David Arpin and Karen and Roland Garcia. (The Garcias hosted a fundraiser at their home where a whopping $250,000 came in for the then-candidate.)

Special occasion

Ever the romantic, Jess Moore surprised his wife Beth Sanders Moore on their 27th wedding anniversary with dinner for two at the Rockwood Room. It wasn't so much that the dinner was a surprise as was the delivery of 27 peach-hued roses, presented in massive bouquet style and tied with a ribbon. Jess had asked Cass Davies to call upon her friend Scott McCool, owner of In Bloom, to help come up with the vast amount of peach blossoms for the special presentation.

Other diners witnessing the flower delivery included Maryann and Jodie Hoffer, Laura and Bill Wheless and Candice and Lonnie Schiller.