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The story of Edie Sedgwick is one that inspires pity. The events that took place in the life of the model and actress postulates the damning effects of growing up in a toxic environment. She made a name for herself with her bold and unique fashion choices, especially with the “Bambi-doll” eye makeup she usually sported. Let’s take you through the journey of her eventful life as well as the circumstances that would eventually lead to her death.
Things You Didn’t Know About Edie Sedgwick
1. She Suffered A Eating Disorder
Edie Sedgwick had a difficult life as a child which continued even when she became an adult. One of the things she struggled with the most was an eating disorder. This started when she was in her early teens, and for most of her teenage years, she found a way a binge on food and then induce purging. By the time Edie Sedgwick was fifteen, she had been diagnosed with anorexia. It was never known if she ever got cured of this disorder, she, however, got significantly better after spending some time at a New York Hospital.
2. Sedgwick Has Been Referenced Many Times In Pop Culture
Edie Sedgwick was often the inspiration or muse behind the creative process of a number of musicians and bands in the late 60s when she was a New York socialite, model, and actress. This continued even after death because of the type of life she led and the downward spiral she suffered.
3. She Suffered Psychological Imbalance
In the course of her short twenty-eight years on earth, Edie Sedgwick found herself in and out of psychiatry hospitals. The visits started off with her eating disorder, but she was not the only member of her family who had issues with their mental health. Her eating disorder was not the only manifestation of a deficit in her mental health, her drinking and drug abuse also stemmed from this issue.
4. She Was Partly Home-schooled
Her earliest education occurred in her house as she was home-schooled, but as she grew older, Edie was shipped off to a boarding school. But like most things in her life, her mental illness and eating disorder disrupted the time she spent at such schools.
5. She Kept Rocky Relationships And Had Abortions
Edie Sedgwick had two abortions before her marriage and death. The first abortion was for the baby she conceived with a Harvard student. This abortion took place circa 1961 when abortions were still illegal. She was able to procure one by citing her mental illness as a hindrance to giving her child the life it deserved.
Bob Dylan and Bob Neuwirth were the two other men she dated. The former would later deny that they ever had anything going on between them. Neuwirth, on the other hand, could not deal with her problems with addictions. According to him, she was always erratic.
6. Edie Sedgwick Was Part Of The Troupe Known As The Factory
Andy Warhol was someone Edie Sedgwick always had collaborations with, as she was part of the troupe of models and actresses that he worked with. This troupe was referred to as The Factory and she worked with them for a year, which was an opportunity for her to break into the acting scene.
7. Edie Sedgwick Hailed From An Affluent Family
The actress came from a long line of people who have been influential in the creation and growth of America as a country. One of her relations was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, another helped in the settlement of New Amsterdam and another was a Civil War Colonel.
When And How Did Edie Sedgwick Die?
For most of her life, Edie Sedgwick had issues with drug and alcohol addiction. Her dependence on drugs began as a reaction to the issues she had with her family. By the time she was twenty-eight, she was finding a way to live a life free of addiction but she fell ill and needed to take painkillers which in turn led to a relapse. She died in 1971, which was the same year she got married to Michael Post.
Sedgwick had gone to a party where she got drunk and requested that Post come pick her up, on their ride back, the model expressed the fears she had about their relationship. Upon getting home, her husband gave her the drugs that had been prescribed for her. By the following morning, she had died.
When he was giving his version of what had happened, Michael Post said that sometime during the night, Sedgwick struggled with breathing properly for a while. The autopsy revealed that she died as a result of alcohol and barbiturate overdose as she had high levels of those in her blood.
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.