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Edith Minturn Sedgwick (April 20, 1943 - November
15 1971) was a delicately beautiful American
socialite best known as a star of underground
films made by Andy Warhol in the 1960s. 


In 1964, Sedgwick moved to New York to pursue a
career in modelling. She appeared in Time, LIFE
and Vogue magazine|Vogue between 1963 and 1965.
The editor in chief of Vogue, Diana Vreeland,
called her an exemplar of the era's youth culture.
In 1965 Sedgwick met Andy Warhol and quickly
became his favourite "Warhol superstar", featuring
in many of his underground films including Poor
Little Rich Girl, Vinyl, Beauty No.2|Beauty #2,
and Chelsea Girls. It was during this period that
Sedgwick began using drugs, particularly
amphetamines.

She became Warhol's Girl of the Year during 1965
when she accompanied him everywhere in the New
York social scene. During this period the pair
would often dress alike, and Sedgwick frequently
called herself Mrs. Warhol. The friendship did not
last beyond 1966 when Warhol and Sedgwick made an
acrimonious public split. 

Following her departure from Warhol’s circles,
Sedgwick began living at Hotel Chelsea where she
became involved with Bob Dylan. Dylan’s friends
convinced Sedgwick to sign up with Albert
Grossman, Dylan's manager.  While involved with
Dylan, Sedgwick was introduced to LSD.  She is
rumoured to be one of the main inspirations behind
Dylan's seminal 1966 opus Blonde on Blonde and
songs as famous and diverse as the tender ballad
"Just Like a Woman" and the raucous stomper
"Leopardskin Pillbox Hat." She also inspired "Lay
Lady Lay."

In 1966, Sedgwick began a tumultuous relationship
with Dylan's longtime sidekick Bob Neuwirth. 
During this relationship she became dependent on
heroin and barbituates. The relationship ended in
1967. In April 1967 Sedgwick began shooting on
Ciao! Manhattan an underground movie in which she
was to star. After some footage was shot in New
York, work on the film was abandoned due to budget
and legal problems.

Sedgwick’s rapidly degenerating health saw her
return to her family in California and spend time
in several different psychiatric institutions. In
August 1969, she was admitted to the Cottage
Hospital in Santa Barbara, California|Santa
Barbara, where she met Michael Post, whom she
married on July 24, 1971. Electroconvulsive
therapy treatments were administered extensively
and several efforts at drug rehabilitation were
made.

Shooting resumed on Ciao! Manhattan in 1970 and
was completed in 1971.

Sedgwick died in November 1971 from barbiturate
poisoning; her husband of four months woke to find
her dead in bed beside him. Her death was ruled a
suicide/ drug overdose. A young woman with an
undoubted talent for inspiring the talents in
others, Sedgwick has been immortalized in a number
of rock songs and continues to be an icon far
beyond what her actual achievements might suggest.

The Cult wrote a song about her life called "Edie
(Ciao Baby)" which was on their Sonic Temple album
released in 1989. 

Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians wrote a song
about her called "Little Miss S" which was on
their Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars album
released in 1988.

The Velvet Underground song "Femme Fatale" (on the
album The Velvet Underground and Nico) is also
reported to be about Sedgwick.

The alternative rock band Dramarama wrote a song
about Edie entitled "Anything, Anything (I'll Give
You)" and a photograph of Edie appeared on the
subsequent album Cinéma Vérité.

Just as Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" and
"Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat" were purportedly
written about Sedgwick, some believe that the song
commonly accepted as the greatest rock number
"Like a Rolling Stone" was also inspired by her,
with "Napoleon in Rags" being Andy Warhol.

Sedgwick is to be portrayed in Factory Girl, a
feature film about her life, which is supposed to
begin filming in 2005; it was originally to star
Sienna Miller, but as of May 2005 she has been
dropped from the lead role and ex-Dawson's Creek
star Katie Holmes was cast in her place.  Holmes
is no longer attached to the project (possibly
dropping out when she began her relationship with
Tom Cruise, who was said to have disapproved of
the drug content), and the lead role has been
re-casted to Miller.  The cast currently includes
Gwen Stefani (as Richie Berlin), her husband Gavin
Rossdale (as Gerard Melanga), Guy Pearce (as
Warhol), and Peter Bogdanovich. 

==Filmography==

* Space 1965
* Screen Test No.2|Screen Test #2 (1965)
* Vinyl (1965)
* Restaurant (1965)
* Poor Little Rich Girl (1965)
* Beauty No.2|Beauty #2 (1965)
* Outer and Inner Space (1965)
* ****  aka the Four Star Movie (1965)
* The Chelsea Girls (1967)
* Diaries, Notes and Sketches (1970)
* Ciao! Manhattan (1972)

==Links==

* http://www.rams.demon.co.uk/esmain.htm/ Edie
Sedgwick fan site
* http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll/ All Movie
Guide

==Bibliography==

*Victor Bockris: Andy Warhol
*Michael Opray: Andy Warhol. Film Factory.
*Jean Stein: Edie an America Biography.
*Jean Stein: Edie. American Girl
*Andy Warhol. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol