Femme Fatale

I think I have such an obsession with Edie Sedgwick because she was beautiful, brilliant and destined to fail. She was weak and easily manipulated. First by Chunk Wein and then by Andy Warhol. Even before that she had bouts of depression, drug abuse, and mental illness. It plagued her family and was only exacerbated by her home life. Two of her brothers committed suicide. Minty was an alcoholic by the age of 15 and dead by 26. Her brother Bobby followed a year after.

Her parents had 8 children although they were advised not to due to her mother's borderline personality disorder. They lived on a ranch and although they were of old money the children wore hand-me-downs and received meager christmas and birthday presents. They were forbidden from public school. It is said that Edie had fought to keep her father out of her bed from the time she was seven.

Movies and books portray her as an innocent society girl lead down the wrong path by Andy Warhol. She was headed there one way or another. She was trusting and weak. Within 6 months of her 21st birthday she squandered her trust fund. It is said that when Andy Warhol heard of her death he wondered aloud if her money would go to her widower. He was curtly corrected by a friend "Edie didn't have any money. She spent it all on you."

She was fragile and eager to trust. She trusted Bob Dylan and fell in love with him only to find out that he had been secretly married months before. She trusted Andy, and he has been quoted as saying when asked "Whatever happened to Edi Sedgwick" as saying "I don't know, we were never that close". The Factory used her up and spit her out. But she let herself be used.

But for some reason it is endearing. She was beautiful and so different looking for the times and even today. Her drug addiction would be the end of her. She was the "it girl" of the sixties and is a style icon even now.

I guess my obsession stems from that in the right circumstances I could be her. She was only looking for someone to care about her. Someone that wouldn't leave. She latched on to anyone she thought would keep her safe. Keep her safe from herself ultimately.