Edith Ewing Beale Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Edith Ewing Beale
BIRTH DATE: October 05, 1895
DEATH DATE: February 05, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH: Nutley, New Jersey
PLACE OF DEATH: Southampton, New York
Nickname: "Big Edie"
Maiden Name: Edith Ewing Bouvier
Full Name: Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
AKA: Edith Ewing Beale
AKA: Edith Beale
AKA: Edie Beale
AKA: Edie Ewing Beale
AKA: Edie Ewing Bouvier
AKA: Edie Bouvier

Best Known For

Edith Ewing Beale, also known as "Big Edie," was aunt to Jackie Kennedy, and resident of the decrepit mansion called Grey Gardens.

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Edith Ewing Beale

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Audiences and most critics took to the story of Big Edie and Little Edie. Additionally, both Beale women adored the film.

In the film, Little Edie, dressed in heels, makeshift dresses and head wraps, freely dances as she talks longingly about her missed opportunities to become a star; Big Edie doesn't share the same regrets, but is careful to remind filmmakers, and her daughter, of her past talent as a singer. Around them are the deteriorated remnants of an aristocratic past. In a very real sense,

the film offered a bit of redemption for the Beales, who had both longed to be in show business. In addition to gaining a cult following, the movie inspired a Broadway musical that went on to earn three 2007 Tony awards. It also inspired the creation of an HBO production starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in 2009.

Death and Legacy

Sadly, Edie Beale didn't get to experience her new fame for long. Shortly after the original film's debut, Big Edie's health began declining. She was injured after falling in July 1976, and, that December, the Beales' furnace went down for three days. According to her daughter, Big Edie never recovered from the cold. On February 5, 1977, Edie Ewing Beale died at the Southampton hospital. She was 81 years old.

Edie was buried in the Bouvier family plot in East Hampton. Her funeral saw the attendance of her nieces, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill. Fittingly, a portion of a recording that Edie had made decades before was played at the service.