Muse of the Month: Edie Sedgwick

Edie Sedgwick is probably best know for being one of Andy Warhol's Superstars during the 1960's and after featuring in a number of his short films, she became a global It Girl with Vogue naming her a 'Youthquaker'.

Born, April 20th 1943 in California, Edith Minturn Sedgwick grew up surrounded by wealth and family power however, despite this, Edie had a very troubled upbringing. All of the Sedgwick children had an uneasy relationship with their father resulting in many of them dying prematurely or suffering from mental illnesses. As a result, Edie developed anorexia in her teens, something which affected her for the rest of her life.

Her life changed in March 1965 when she first met Warhol at Lester Persky's apartment and from that moment on, Sedgwick began attending The Factory. Warhol decided to film many of his short films at The Factory, often casting Sedgwick for small roles within the films. So much excitement and hype was created around Sedgwick acting in the films that Warhol decided to create more films featuring Sedgwick as a protagonist. Prison, Lupe and Chelsea Girls are some of the most memorable Warhol/Sedgwick films.

By late 1965, Sedgwick had decided to part ways with Warhol and no more films were made by the pair. Edie started living at the Chelsea Hotel where she became good friends with Bob Dylan, eventually becoming a key member in his group of friends. Many tumultuous relationships later, Edie developed a severe drug addiction.

In 1971 Edie's dependency on alcohol and barbiturates worsened and on the 16th November she passed away in her sleep. She was 28.