The famous Big Edie and Little Edie Beale were wealthy society girls turned delusional hermits. Cousins of Jackie O, all the family girls always married prominent and wealthy. After Big Edie’s divorce, the mother and daughter lived exclusively in their East Hampton estate, Grey Gardens. The two of them, with very little money, didn’t leave and allowed the mansion to deteriorate to a crumbling, hoarders den with 300 cats and raccoons in the attic. When the Health Dept. threatened to tear it down, Jackie and her sister bailed them out and repaired the home.
The classic documentary Grey Gardens (1975, Albert and David Maysles) is the delicious voyeur’s peep into the bizarre world of the Beales. Although it had only been a few years since the refurbishment, the movie shows Grey Gardens is well on its way back to its former state.
Apparently they are making a movie for 2008 about Grey Gardens, Drew Barrymore stars as Little Edie.
"My mother doesn't believe in kitty litter. She prefers boxes and paper. And she's the cat lover. So you can imagine how I suffer." - Little Edie
"Jackie was twelve years younger than I, and although I was never jealous of her, I never liked her. You know what Jackie wanted? She wanted the house. Yes darling, that's the truth, and she did everything she could to get it. Then Jackie sent her sister Lee, who I've always been absolutely terrified of- I think she's a big criminal. Lee and her boyfriend came around and started to tear the house down with axes. Don't go near any of these people for God's sake, they're all insane!" - Little Edie
"Of course the house isn't perfectly normal. The house has to be done over. You know how hard it is to get plumbers in the autumn." - Little Edie
You think it would look sexier with the bra underneath? I think it would. - Little Edie
