Edith Ewing Bouvier
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Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ( Bouvier; October 5, 1895 – February 5, 1977) was an American socialite and singer known for her reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. Known as Big Edie, she was a sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and an aunt of First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
and socialite Princess
Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Radziwill (; March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady of the ...
. Her life and relationship with her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale was highlighted in the 1975 documentary '' Grey Gardens''.


Biography

Beale's parents were Maude Frances Sergeant and John Vernou Bouvier Jr., the paternal grandparents of
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
. Her siblings were John Vernou Bouvier III; William Sergeant "Bud" Bouvier (1893–1929), who died from alcoholism; and twin sisters Maude Reppelin Bouvier Davis (1905–1999) and Michelle Caroline Bouvier Scott Putnam (1905–1987). Beale was engaged to Horace R. Bigelow Allen. However they broke off their engagement in 1916. Horace immediately joined the Red Cross and left for France to drive ambulances during World War I. There, he married another socialite named Kiki Gwynne. Kiki went on to become known as "the girl with the silver syringe" and was the alleged mother of a child born out of wedlock with
Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...
, fourth son of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
. That child, Michael Temple Canfield, became Beale's niece
Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Radziwill (; March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady of the ...
’s first husband. Beale pursued an amateur singing career and in 1917 married lawyer/financier Phelan Beale (who worked at her father's law firm Bouvier and Beale) in a lavish Catholic ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The couple lived at 987 Madison Avenue (now the site of the Carlyle Hotel). They had three children: daughter
Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...
(who was referred to as "Little Edie", 1917–2002) and two sons ( Phelan Beale, Jr., 1920–1993, and Bouvier Beale, 1922–1994). In 1923, Phelan Beale purchased the Grey Gardens mansion in the Georgica neighborhood of East Hampton, a block from the Atlantic Ocean. The Beales separated in 1931, with Edith retaining the Grey Gardens house. Edith received child support, but no form of alimony. She continued to pursue her singing career, giving recitals in her home and at local functions. Her sons went to college and World War II duty and had families of their own. In 1946, Phelan Beale notified her of their divorce via telegram from Mexico. In July 1952, Beale's daughter Edith (known as "Little Edie") returned after five years in Manhattan to live permanently at Grey Gardens. 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". The
Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...
, Board of Health prepared to evict Beale and "Little 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 "Little Edie" a stipend (the two women's trust fund income had run out some years before). The eviction proceedings were dropped. Beale's niece,
Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Radziwill (; March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady of the ...
, hired documentary filmmakers
Albert and David Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films in ...
in 1972 to work on a film about the Bouvier family. At the outset, the brothers filmed Beale and "Little Edie". The original film project was not completed, and Radziwill kept the footage that had been shot of the Beales. The Maysles brothers were fascinated by the unique 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 "Little Edie". The resulting 1975 film '' Grey Gardens'' is widely considered a masterpiece of the documentary genre. Beale died of pneumonia at Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York on February 5, 1977. Her body is buried in the Bouvier family plot at
Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery is a cemetery in East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, New York, that is the burial ground for the paternal ancestors and relatives of First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The ceme ...
in East Hampton. As Beale neared her death, "Little Edie" reportedly asked if she had any final thoughts. Beale replied: "There's nothing more to say. It's all in the film."


Legacy

The notoriety of the 1975 ''Grey Gardens'' documentary prompted various other works. The documentary was adapted as a 2006 musical of the same name, including the characters Lee and Jackie Bouvier appearing as visiting children in retrospect. The documentary film and the story surrounding the Beales' lives was the basis of the 2009 HBO television movie ''Grey Gardens'' with Beale portrayed by
Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...
. The original 1972 footage featuring Radziwill visiting the Beales was released in 2017 as ''That Summer''.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beale, Edith Ewing Bouvier 1895 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American Roman Catholics American socialites Beale family Bouvier family Burials at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) People from East Hampton (town), New York People from Nutley, New Jersey People from the Upper East Side Singers from New York City Grey Gardens (estate)