'Rags to riches' is not appropriate, as she did not end up rich, only pretend-rich. Even her jewelry and fur coats (by no means items of wealth) were sold to cover debts.
The article implies that she was a successful professional. Sure, she was social-engineering her way in at the beginning, but her achievements were real. She only ended up in real debt quite a bit later, as her whole industry sector went bad.