Edith Bouvier Beale | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bealec. 1975, in front of theGrey Gardens estate. Photo by Herb Goro during the filming ofGrey Gardens (1976) | |
| Born | (1917-11-07)November 7, 1917 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | c. January 14, 2002(2002-01-14) (aged 84)[a] Bal Harbour, Florida, U.S. |
| Burial place | Locust Valley Cemetery,Locust Valley, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Little Edie |
| Occupations |
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| Parent(s) | Phelan Beale Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale |
| Family | Bouvier family |
Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 –c. January 14, 2002), nicknamedLittle Edie, was an American socialite, fashion model, andcabaret performer. She was a first cousin of former U.S. First LadyJacqueline Kennedy andPrincess Lee Radziwill. Beale is known for participating along with her motherEdith Ewing Bouvier Beale in the 1975 documentary filmGrey Gardens, byAlbert and David Maysles.[1]
Beale was born in New York City, the only daughter ofPhelan Beale, a lawyer, andEdith Ewing Bouvier. Her mother (known as "Big Edie") was a daughter of Phelan's law partner,John Vernou Bouvier Jr. She was born at 987 Madison Avenue, New York City (now the site of theCarlyle Hotel). Beale had two younger brothers,Phelan Beale Jr. andBouvier Beale, and a lavish upbringing as part of America's "Catholic aristocracy."[2] She attendedThe Spence School and graduated fromMiss Porter's School in 1935.[3]
Known as "Little Edie," Beale was a member of theMaidstone Country Club of East Hampton. Adebutante, she was presented to society during a ball at thePierre Hotel on New Year's Day 1936.The New York Times reported on the event, where she wore a gown of white netappliqued in silver, with a wreath of gardenias in her hair.[1]
While Beale was young, her mother pursued a singing career, hiring an accompanist and playing at small venues and private parties. In the summer of 1931, Phelan Beale separated from his wife, then 35 years old. In 1946 he finally obtained a divorce, notifying his family by telegram from Mexico.[4]
In her youth, Little Edie was a clothes model atMacy's in New York[3] andPalm Beach, Florida. She later claimed to have datedJ. Paul Getty and to have once been engaged toJoseph P. Kennedy Jr. (although in reality she met him only once).[5] During the 1961 inauguration ofJohn F. Kennedy, she toldJoseph P. Kennedy Sr. that ifJoseph P. Kennedy Jr. had lived, she would have beenFirst Lady instead of Jackie. Once, Beale ran away to Palm Beach, where she was found by her father and brought home.[3]
From 1947 to 1952, she lived in an apartment and later theBarbizon Hotel for Women. She worked as a model, dancer, and actress.[1] During her late 30s, Beale developedalopecia totalis[5] which caused her body hair to fall out and prompted her to wear her signature headscarves.
On July 29, 1952, Beale returned to live with her mother in theEast Hampton estateGrey Gardens.[6]
In October 1971, police raided Grey Gardens and found the house "full of litter, rife with the odor of cats, and in violation of various local ordinances." TheSuffolk County, New York Board of Health prepared to evict Beale and "Big Edie" due to the unsafe condition of the property. Following the publicity, Beale's family paid a reported $30,000 to refurbish the property, settle back taxes, and give Beale and "Big Edie" a stipend (the two women's trust fund income had run out some years before). The eviction proceedings were dropped.[7]
Beale's cousinLee Radziwill hired documentary filmmakersAlbert and David Maysles in 1972 to work on a film about the Bouvier family. At the outset, the brothers filmed Beale and "Big Edie."[8] The original film project was not completed, and Radziwill kept the footage that had been shot of the Beales. However, the Maysles brothers were fascinated by the strange life the two women led. After raising funds for film and equipment on their own, they returned and filmed 70 more hours of footage with Beale and Big Edie. The resulting 1975 film,Grey Gardens, is widely considered a masterpiece of the documentary genre. It was later adapted as a 2006musical of the same name, where the characters Jackie and Lee Bouvier appear in retrospect as visiting children. AnHBO television movie based upon the documentary and surrounding story of the Beales' lives, also calledGrey Gardens, appeared in 2009.[9]
The original 1972 footage, featuring Radziwill visiting the Beales, was released in 2017 asThat Summer.[10]
In 1979, two years after the death of her mother, Beale sold the mansion for $220,000 toSally Quinn and her husbandBen Bradlee, the former being the writer and the latter the executive editor ofThe Washington Post.[11]
Beale then moved to the coach home of a friend inSouthampton, and then a year later toManhattan. In both cities, she enjoyed a flourishing social life, though was at times reprimanded by her cousin, Jackie, for being too public with their family's intimate life. She then moved toOrmond Beach, and thenMiami, where she would frequent Torpedo, a gay bar on the beach, due to the admiration she received from the patrons. Some nights, the bar would organize screenings of Grey Gardens, after which Beale would give a live performance. Though both Beale and patrons alike enjoyed these performances, Beale discontinued them at the instruction of an unnamed relative. She would then move to Montreal after the deaths of Jackie and her brothers due to fear of a conspiracy she perceived against her family, claiming that theKennedys were responsible. Beale later moved to live with friends inOakland before finally settling inBal Harbor.[12]
When friends did not hear from Beale around theNew Year, they called the complex she had been living in, who then sent somebody to check on her. Beale was found dead in her apartment on January 14, 2002, aged 84. It is believed she had died about five days earlier, either from a stroke or heart attack.[1] The inscription on her grave marker reads: "I came from God. I belong to God. In the end, I shall return to God."[13][14]
Interest in the Beales' story resulted in a variety of publishing and media projects, as well as various mentions in popular culture.
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