3. Big Edie’s Father Cut Her Inheritance
After Big Edie’s divorce from Phelan Beale, she no longer had a demanding husband dragging her along to socialite parties and governing how she tended their children. This newfound freedom allowed her artistic aspirations to flourish. She began attending clubs and even recording several songs. While Big Edie received child support and the ownership of Grey Gardens, she received no alimony from the destitute Beale.
The lack of alimony and little child support forced Big Edie to rely on her father for the bulk of her financial aid. Her father strongly disapproved of his daughter’s interest in the arts and encouraged her to sell Grey Gardens and re-marry. He also wanted her to completely quit her singing career, as he found it unseemly.
The breaking point between Big Edie and her father came when she arrived at the wedding of her son dressed as an opera singer. A furious Major Bouvier, Big Edie’s father, drastically cut the amount of her inheritance in his will from over $800,000 to a relatively meager $65,000. This reduction led Edie to become extremely depressed and stopped her from being able to afford Little Edie’s out-of-state education at a private institution in New York.