Grey Gardens could've very well been America's first jab at reality t.v., however it was far from it. It was infact the very sad story of mother and daughter duo Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale("Big Edie") and Edith Bouvier Beale("Little Edie"),caught on camera for the world to see and pass judgement on. For those of you not in the know, the Beales of Grey Gardens were an affluent New York City family that had an estate in East Hampton, called the "Grey Gardens". After Big Edie's husband abandoned her and Little Edie underwent heartbreak, both professionally and personally, the duo continued to live there and slipped into a life of seclusion and insanity as they ran out of money and lived in abject poverty. In 1975, their dysfunctional lifestyle was thrown into the media juggernaut, when a film crew decided to turn their eccentric way of being, into a documentary.
A STILL FROM THE MOVIE
LITTLE EDIE IN THE 70's
The Beales have been referenced and depicted many a time in pop culture. Little Edie was cousin to iconic first lady Jacky Onassis Kennedy, along with playing muse to John Galliano's spring summer 2008 show. Their life was also immortalised by Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore in the HBO original movie 'Grey Gardens'.
JOHN GALLIANO SPRING-SUMMER 2008
On the surface, their life is one that not many would identify with. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll realise that what happened to the Beales, could very well happen to any of us. For can we really predict whether we'll be able to hold it together in the face of adversity, or will we also wither away like the Beales, when life doesn't quite turn out the way we had imagined it!
LITTLE EDIE IN HER YOUTH
A POSTER FOR THE HBO ORIGINAL
A few videos adapted from the documentary "The Beales of Grey Gardens",that offer us a rare insight into "Little Edie".
