November 7, 1917 – January 14, 2002
September 1980, with brother Buddy (Bouvier Beale Sr.) at his son (Bouvier Beale Jr.) wedding.
Born into high society, both Edies were close relatives of First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill — Big Edie was their aunt, Little Edie their first cousin. It was during filming for a planned documentary about Lee’s life that the Maysles brothers first visited the Bouvier Beale estate in the Hamptons. When they arrived at Grey Gardens, the Maysles realized they had discovered two of the most fascinating subjects a documentary maker could possibly hope to find.
