Edith Sedgwick (1943 – 1971)

“Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress and fashion model. She is best known for being one of Andy Warhol’s superstars. Sedgwick became known as ‘The Girl of the Year’ in 1965 after starring in several of Warhol’s short films in the 1960s. … Despite her family’s wealth and high social status, Sedgwick’s early life was troubled. … In the fall of 1962, at her father’s insistence, Sedgwick was committed to the private Silver Hill psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. As the regime was very lax, Sedgwick easily manipulated the situation at Silver Hill, and her weight kept dropping. She was later sent to Bloomingdale, the Westchester County, New York division of the New York Hospital, where her anorexia improved markedly. Around the time she left the hospital, she had a brief relationship with a Harvard student, became pregnant, and procured an abortion, citing her present psychological issues. … On her twenty-first birthday in April 1964, Sedgwick received an $80,000 trust fund from her maternal grandmother. Soon after, she relocated to New York City to pursue a career in modeling. In March 1965, she met artist and avant-garde filmmaker Andy Warhol at a party at Lester Persky‘s apartment, and began frequently visiting The Factory, Warhol’s art studio in Midtown Manhattan. During one of her subsequent visits, Warhol was filming Vinyl (1965), his interpretation of Anthony Burgess‘ novel A Clockwork Orange. Despite Vinyl‘s all-male cast, Warhol put Sedgwick in the movie. … Following her estrangement from Warhol’s inner circle, Sedgwick began living at the Chelsea Hotel, where she became close to Bob Dylan. Dylan and his friends eventually convinced Sedgwick to sign up with Albert Grossman, Dylan’s manager. According to Paul Morrissey, Sedgwick had developed a crush on Dylan that she thought he reciprocated as the start of a romantic relationship. … During this time, she reportedly stopped abusing alcohol and other drugs for a short time. Her sobriety lasted until October 1971, when she was prescribed pain medication to treat a physical illness. Sedgwick soon began abusing barbiturates and alcohol. … When Post awoke the following morning at 7:30 am, Sedgwick was dead. The coroner ruled her death as ‘undetermined/accident/suicide’. Her death certificate states the immediate cause was ‘probable acute barbiturate intoxication’ due to ethanol intoxication. …”
Wikipedia
Vanity Fair – Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick: A Brief, White-Hot, and Totally Doomed Romance
42 Cool Facts About Edie Sedgwick, The Tragic It Girl Of The 60s
amazon: Edie: An American Biography by Jean Stein
YouTube: Edie Sedgwick Excerpt Andy Warhol Documentary, Edie Girl On Fire Video 27:10