Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale

Edith Bouvier Beale known as "Big Edie" was born on October 5, 1895, in New York City, the daughter of John Vernou Bouvier Jr., a prominent lawyer and stockbroker, and Maude Sergeant Bouvier. She belonged to a socially elite family and was the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Bouvier Radziwill.

Edith Bouvier wedding photo

In 1917 she married Phelan Beale, a lawyer and sportsman associated with her father's law firm. The couple lived first in Manhattan and later maintained a home on West End Avenue, participating in New York society and raising three children, including Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, as well as sons Phelan Beale Jr. and Bouvier Beale. The marriage, once socially prominent, became strained over time and Phelan Beale obtained a divorce by telegram from Mexico in 1946, leaving Edith with the East Hampton estate.

In 1923 the Beales purchased Grey Gardens, a 28-room shingle-style mansion in East Hampton, New York, designed in 1897 by architect Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe.

Vintage view of Grey Gardens

The house became Edith’s beloved home and social retreat, where she entertained with music and gatherings in the early years. After her divorce she remained at Grey Gardens with her daughter Edith, while her two sons established professional careers elsewhere. Financial support dwindled and the property fell into disrepair as Edith devoted herself to her daughter and an increasingly private life. By the 1950s and 1960s mother and daughter were living largely in isolation with limited means. Their eccentric domestic world, filled with cats and raccoons and crumbling grandeur, eventually drew the attention of local authorities and the press.

Edith with her portrait at Grey Gardens

In the early 1970s public curiosity about the once grand estate grew after health inspectors intervened, prompting relatives, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill, to help fund repairs to make the house habitable. In 1975 the documentary film Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles was released, focusing on the daily lives and bond between Edith and her daughter. The film brought them national attention and became a landmark in American documentary storytelling, preserving an intimate portrait of family, independence, and resilience.

Edith Bouvier Beale died on February 5, 1977, at the age of 81, in Southampton Hospital and was remembered for her wit, her music, and her singular presence in one of the most famous family stories of the twentieth century.