Ingrid von Scheven, known professionally as Ingrid Superstar, was an American actress and poet best known for being a
Warhol superstar
Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and 1970s. These personalities hung out at Warhol's studio, the Factory, appeared in his films, and accompanied him to his New ...
in the 1960s. Described as the
Eve Arden
Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades.
Beginning her film career in 1929 an ...
of
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's
underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.
Notable examples include
John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'',
David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'',
Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'',
Rosa von Praunheim's ''Tal ...
s, she appeared in several films between 1965 and 1968, including ''
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
I, a Man
''I, a Man'' is a 1967 American erotic drama film written, directed and filmed by Andy Warhol. It debuted at the Hudson Theatre in New York City on August 25, 1967. The film depicts the main character, played by Tom Baker, in a series of sexual ...
'' (1967), and '' San Diego Surf'' (1968). She later fell on hard times and disappeared in December 1986.
Biography
Early life
Ingrid Superstar was born Ingrid von Scheven on
Armistice Day
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...
, November 11, 1945 in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. She was the only child of German immigrants Ewald von Scheven and Annegret von Scheven. Her family moved to
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff ( ) is an affluent township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16,585, a decrease of 111 (−0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 16,696, which in turn ...
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,079, an increase of 489 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected ...
after completing business courses.
After leaving home at the age of 18, she lived in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...
before moving into a rooming house in
Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
. She would frequent New York City nightclubs like the Peppermint Lounge when she was employed as a secretary.
Warhol years
In the fall of 1965, von Scheven met filmmaker
Chuck Wein
Chuck Wein (March 24, 1939March 18, 2008) was an American promoter and manager of entertainment acts whose celebrity stemmed from his five-year (1964–1969) association with Andy Warhol and from his discovery of Edie Sedgwick who became a ...
at a pub on 42nd Street in Manhattan and he asked her if she wanted to be in a film. Wein brought her to pop artist
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's
Factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
to film reels of ''My Hustler''. She told ''The Record'' in 1969: "I'd never even heard of Andy Warhol then. After the scene I was in was shot, I asked someone who was the man with the silver hair behind the camera was. They told me it was Andy Warhol."
Reportedly, von Scheven was chosen to "teach Edie a lesson," who had grown challenging to work with. She was considered an "ugly duckling" and a "poor man's" version of well-known Warhol superstar
Edie Sedgwick
Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...
. Warhol superstar
Gerard Malanga
Gerard Joseph Malanga (born March 20, 1943) is an American poet, photographer, filmmaker, actor, curator and archivist.
Malanga worked with pop artist Andy Warhol from 1963 to 1970. The New York Times referred to him as "Andy Warhol's most import ...
said, "Ingrid Superstar was a sweet girl, terribly misunderstood, made fun of, joked at, but a sincere good-hearted person, who thought of herself as a Superstar." Despite the difficulty of becoming Sedgwick's successor and the initial ridicule she received, von Scheven made a valiant effort to blend in. She would do things that the other girls wouldn't do, like give blow jobs on video, generally while nude. She embraced her new status as "Superstar" and gained popularity for her straightforward demeanor and her lighthearted sense of humor. As Warhol recalled in his memoir '' Popism'' (1980):
Ingrid was just an ordinarily nice-looking girl from Jersey with big, wide bone structure posing as a glamour figure and a party girl, and what was great was that somehow it worked. She was a riot . . . It was so funny to see her sitting there on the couch next to Edie or, later,
Nico
Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model.
Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...
and International Velvet, putting on makeup or eyelashes exactly the way they did, trading earrings and things and beauty tips with them. It was like watching
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian, and singer.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', June 9, 1965, p. 71.
She began her career as part of a nightclub act before working in Bro ...
In early 1966, von Scheven played a shopgirl who Mario Montez poisoned in ''Hedy'', and she played Kathy in ''Withering Sights''. With parts in six of the twelve reels of the ''
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
'' and stage performances as part of the
Exploding Plastic Inevitable
The ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'', sometimes simply called ''Plastic Inevitable'' or ''EPI'', was a series of multimedia gesamtkunstwerk events organized by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey in 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by th ...
, von Scheven had gained recognition in Warhol's repertoire of superstars by the summer of 1966. She also appeared in the unreleased film ''The Velvet Underground Tarot Cards''. In the fall of 1966, she portrayed
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
in ''Since''. She had roles in the 1967 films ''**** (Four Stars)'', ''I, a Man'', ''The Loves of Ondine'', and ''Bike Boy''.
In 1968, she traveled to California with Warhol and the Factory entourage to film '' San Diego Surf''.
Along with her skills as a
comedienne
A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...
in films, von Scheven also penned short prose and poetry pieces. Warhol attended her reading at the Masque nightclub on Christopher Street. Warhol regarded her poems as "good, really good, half comedy and half poetry." Her unpublished manuscript, ''Movie Party at the Factory: A Trip & Half'', details a late-night gathering on the evening of March 26, 1966, during which several movies were screened at the Factory: "They also showed a 'stillie' of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
in color with violet coloring over the screen. This trippy illusion is achieved by swaying a thin block of colored plastic in front of the projector. This technique is is (sic) used quite alot (sic) in Andy's underground uptight movies."
Warhol's film collaborator
Paul Morrissey
Paul Joseph Morrissey (February 23, 1938 – October 28, 2024) was an American film director, known for his early association with Andy Warhol. His most famous films include ''Flesh (1968 film), Flesh'' (1968), ''Trash (1970 film), Trash'' (197 ...
stated in the January 1969 issue of '' After Dark'' magazine:
The one Andy loves is Ingrid Superstar. Because Ingrid can't dissimulate. She couldn't be not Ingrid. She could be marvellous if somebody knew how to use her. She could be marvellous on the
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
show ... Well, no she couldn't either, because she'd freeze up. She can do her thing for us because she thinks we're trash. For important people—people she thinks are important—she tries to be well behaved, and comes on like she's retarded".
In 1969, von Scheven modeled clothes for buyers at luncheons and in showrooms. She also appeared in the film ''The Mind Blowers'', directed by Harlan Renvok. They wanted her to take her clothes off for an orgy scene but she refused. "I think total nudity is a disgrace to a woman because a woman is more mysterious with her clothes on than off," said von Scheven. She added that she was comfortable being topless in Warhol's films because everyone on set knew each other and she liked to "mix nudity with comedy." In the film
Midnight Cowboy
''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...
, she made an appearance as an extra in a party scene with Factory members.
She hoped to have her poetry published. In 1969, she gave reading at Manhattan's St. Mark's Church,
Katherine Hepburn and
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...
were her favorite movie stars.
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
,
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...
, and
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
were her favorite bands.
She lived in an apartment on East 17th Street in the
Gramercy Park
Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park, and the surrounding neighborhood (which is also referred to as Gramercy), in Manhattan in New York City.
The approximately park, located ...
neighborhood of Manhattan.
Later years and disappearance
After leaving the Factory, von Scheven struggled with a heroin addiction and eventually ended up working in a sweater factory in
Kingston, New York
Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...
. According to Warhol superstar Ultra Violet, she "ballooned up to nearly two hundred pounds, floated in and out of prostitution and drug dealing, and was at one point judged mentally disabled."
On December 7, 1986, she went out to buy cigarettes and a newspaper and vanished. "There's a clear possibility of foul play, and we are intensifying our investigation," the Kingston police said, but she was never located. She was 42 years old at the time of her disappearance.{{Cite book , last1=Niermann , first1=Ingo , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CtwspL4cg6kC&q=December%207,%201986 , title=The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends: A Very Trippy Miscellany , last2=Sack , first2=Adriano , date=2008-08-26 , publisher=Penguin , isbn=978-1-4406-5118-2 , pages=134 , language=en
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
I, a Man
''I, a Man'' is a 1967 American erotic drama film written, directed and filmed by Andy Warhol. It debuted at the Hudson Theatre in New York City on August 25, 1967. The film depicts the main character, played by Tom Baker, in a series of sexual ...
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...