FashionState.Com salutes...

Socialite Superstar Muse

Edie Sedgwick

1943-1971

Edie Sedgwick, the leggy lady with the cropped, silver-streaked
hair and big, snake-black eyes who jokingly called herself
"Mrs. Warhol" and became the fabled pop artist's most beautiful and
best-known "superstar" was not your average counterculture
thrill-seeking kid bored with school and the middle-class tradition.

Edith Minturn Sedgwick was the seventh child of a brood of eight from
a family known in the best social circles in New England (and later,
California) for the "eccentric" ways that landed so many of them in
hospitals, psychiatric wards, reclusive twilight years, or early graves.
The obsession of Edie's emotionally unstable and insecure father to
instill his views of perfection and his will upon his children severely
tested all of them and they rebelled in various ways.

But their family's more fabled compulsions and self-destructive
behavior patterns manifested themselves most distinctly in Edie and her
two oldest brothers, both who died tragically and young as their
sister continued her own excursions into mental hospitals in between
the times she took a walk on the wild side.

Whether she was studying sculpture in Cambridge, reigning supreme
as the prima donna of the New York pop art scene, modeling, hanging
out with bikers, or working on movies, Edie coped with her demons
by throwing herself into life in the same manner as a man playing
chicken (or possessing a death wish) throws himself in front of
an on-coming train. No matter who she managed to attract, her
hyperactivity and excesses tended to surprise even the most
hard-bitten and worldly of her circle.

She met her match in 1965 when she was introduced to Andy Warhol,
who was keen on making this glittering socialite his superstar, and
this oddly-matched couple became the sensation of the pop culture
movement in New York. She became the muse of her mentor as well
as Bob Dylan, among others who moved in Warhol's circle. In return,
she became queen of Warhol's Factory, where she received plenty
of attention, opportunities for sex, and a variety of drugs upon
which she was to become fatally dependent.

After a falling-out with Warhol, a stint modeling for Diana Vreeland of
"Vogue" and Betsey Johnson, her famed penchant for setting fire to her
living quarters, and going in and out of psychiatric hospitals, Edie left
New York to return to her home in Santa Barbara, where her past caught up
with her when she was approached to finish a film project started a few
years earlier which later became the cult film "Ciao! Manhattan".

Edie's drug problem could not be contained despite the efforts of her
new husband, a recovering addict himself, to coax her to give up the dope
and the cigarettes which she chain-smoked and which contributed to her
increasingly failing health. It was not long after "Ciao! Manhattan" wrapped
its shooting that Edie died of acute barbiturate intoxication in November of
1971. She was buried in a cemetery in San Marcos Pass, California, the
obituaries announced the passing of a pop culture princess, and Edie
seemed all but forgotten by a media that once tracked her every movement.

Interest in the life of this most unusual debutante was revitalized in 1982
when "Edie: An American Biography" was released. The compilation and
editing of many years of interviews conducted by Jean Stein of Edie's family,
friends, and acquaintances gave as close as a true history behind the enigma
that was Edie Sedgwick as could be hoped for, although none of the
subjects interrogated in the book could ever give a real reason why the
"girl on fire" was driven by the self-destructive madness that at the same time
attracted and appalled those who admired her so greatly.

But with the advent of the Internet and our current pop culture's inability
to resist a glamorous and tragic muse, songs, poems, plays, and movies
continue to this day about the legend and fashionable style of the tormented
icon of the sixties even more than thirty years after her death.

FashionState.Com's Portfolio of Edie

EDIE: WARHOL SUPERSTAR
EDIE: A PAPARAZZI'S DREAM
EDIE IN "CIAO! MANHATTAN"

LINKS - WEBSITES & FANSITES

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Austin Chronicle
A reprint of an interview with Ondine (another Factory production) about his years with Warhol. Some great personal memories of Edie.

Betsey Johnson
The official site of Betsey Johnson, top pop fashion designer whose clothes Edie modeled and wore. Betsey is also featured on the commentary track of the DVD release of "Ciao! Manhattan".

Ciao Manhattan - The Edie Sedgwick Fanlisting
A small but recently-developed fanlist which includes a choice of cyber-buttons, photos, and a bio. Unfortunately, Brinkster's ad covers a portion of the text on the right-hand side of the screen, but perhaps new members to the fanlist could encourage the owners to find a freebie hosting site that doesn't impede with their work!

Daily Mail - U.K.
Article from September 2004 describing a new film being planned about the life of Edie entitled "Factory Girl".

The Edie Sedgwick Internet Site
Stark, stunning website with many good photos and a detailed biography.

Off Off Online
A review by Deidre McFadyen from June, 2004 of Peter Braunstein's off-Broadway play "Andy and Edie".

The Oscar Site
Very comprehensive site on Academy Award winners, with a bio on David Weisman, co-writer and co-director of "Ciao!", which also mentions his "Girl on Fire" project, a movie he intended to make about his experiences working with Edie.

PlanetOut.Com
Scroll down to read about "Ciao! Manhattan" creator David Weisman's brainchild to create an original screenplay about Edie.

Rondo Theatre: Fringe Festival 1998
A blurb about a multimedia stage production of a play entitled "Andy and Edie - Inside Warhol's Factory", which was written and directed by the stars Anton Binder and Polly Wiseman.

Sedgwick.Org - Sedgwick Genealogy Worldwide
The prestigious and far-flung Sedgwick clan has its own lineage website, with a short entry on Edie.

Sedgwick Reserve
Official website of the University of California Santa Barbara's Sedgwick Reserve - formerly Rancho La Laguna, where Edie and her family once lived.

Swingin' Chicks
Edie was a swingin' chick of the sixties like no other, so naturally there's a section on her at the renowned "Swingin' Chicks" site!

Ultrafab Edie Sedgwick
Want to talk about the lady with fellow Edie-maniacs? Catherine has come up with a message board, courtesy of ProBoards - which is rapidly becoming a hotbed of excellent fansites!

Warhol Stars
Awesome Warhol site - you can start browsing in this section on Edie, which has a comprehensive biography! Also has features on Edie's works with Warhol: "Kitchen", "Space", and "The Andy Warhol Story".

YouTube
This portion of the on-line home movie website features a mini-music video collage of Edie, plus links to other short clips featuring Andy Warhol's favorite "Poor Little Rich Girl".

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