Plot

Based on the rise and fall of socialite Edie Sedgwick, concentrating on her relationships with Andy Warhol and a folk singer.

A beautiful, wealthy young party girl drops out of Radcliffe in 1965 and heads to New York to become Holly Golightly. When she meets a hungry young artist named Andy Warhol, he promises to make her the star she always wanted to be. And like a super nova she explodes on the New York scene only to find herself slowly lose grip on reality...—Richard Golub

Believing it the place to start her art career, twenty-something socialite Edie Sedgwick moves from Cambridge to New York City in the mid 1960's. She is happy to get away from her parents, with who she has a dysfunctional but still dependent relationship. Early on after her move, the art goes by the wayside when she meets underground artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol. Warhol is infatuated with Edie, who in turn loves the attention he lavishes on her. She soon becomes the star of many of his movies, which often consist of her doing daily mundane activities, or answering questions from off-screen questioners. However, as a result of these movies and her association with Warhol, she becomes a media darling. Her relationship with Warhol begins to deteriorate when she meets iconic folk singer Tommy Quinn, who she characterizes as the antithesis of Warhol. The two men, who love Edie in their own way, make gestures to appear superior in front of Edie. Throughout this period, Edie's life was one of excess. The struggle between Warhol and Quinn in part led to the downfall for Edie, who ultimately had no one to turn to in her times of trouble.—Huggo

Edie Sedgwick, (Sienna Miller) is a waif-like rich girl who found favor with the celebrity media in the 1960s through her association with pop artist & film maker, Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce). The pair of them form the core of a bunch of self-indulgent, unfettered sixties socialites that cling to Warhol, as he holds court at his studio (known as the factory) as they live lives of excess and denial. Sedgwick's family is shown in a horrible light and Warhol is portrayed as an immature, narcissistic leech, constantly looking for rich people to exploit. The film is framed by Edie Sedgwick being interviewed in a hospital several years after her time as an Andy Warhol superstar.

In the mid 1960s, Edie is a young heiress studying art in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She moves to New York City with her friend, Chuck Wein (Jimmy Fallon). Edie is an aspiring artist, inspired by Andy's work. Andy is interested in her as comes from old money (Edie's dad stuck oil in the west). Andy is known for creating almost porno films involving weirdo concepts on human-animal fornication & sex. Edie has a mental background & spent time in an asylum. Andy is intrigued by the beautiful, clearly troubled socialite. He asks her to perform in one of his underground experimental films. She agrees and goes on to star in several of Andy's projects, becoming his muse. Edie helps finance some of Andy's excesses & even funds his trips to Paris, all of dear dad's account.

She and Chuck become part of the tightly knit bohemian social scene at Andy's art studio, the Silver Factory. Edie's status as a Warhol superstar and rising youth-quake fashion model earn her fame and international attention. The success fails to ease her psychological issues. Although descended from a prestigious family lineage and raised on an idyllic California ranch, Edie was sexually abused by her father during childhood. She has been further shaken by the fairly recent death of her favorite brother, Minty. Her trauma manifests itself in uncontrolled spending, poor money management and a burgeoning drug habit.

Andy's work is appreciated in Paris & Edie also tags onto the bandwagon & becomes famous in her own right & gets modeling assignments. Edie's dad insults Andy by calling him queer. Edie gets in cocaine in Andy's parties. Edie's Cambridge friend, Syd (Shawn Hatosy) visits her in New York and introduces her to famous singer Billy Quinn (Hayden Christensen) & has a connection, which the media rumors to be romance. Her accountant tells her soon she will be bankrupt as her trust fund has been losing money & whatever she earns she spends more. Father is threatening to cut her off as well. She asks Andy to pay her for her work & he refuses saying that movies haven't made any money yet.

Andy is angry at Edie's relationship with Billy, even though Edie denies it. This causes Andy to become jealous. He lures Edie into a near porno movie & plays on her deepest insecurities & almost has her sexually assaulted on live camera when she resists. Edie feels betrayed & goes to Billy & they have sex. Andy misses Edie & invites her to meet his mother.

Edie tries to get Billy to star in an Andy movie. Billy arrives & is informed that he will not be paid & he will have to do a screen test. When Billy and his posse arrive, they act disrespectfully towards Andy. Billy insults Andy by saying that he is not a director and doesn't take care of his people. Billy and Edie fight and he tells her that Andy is a "bloodsucker" who will "kill" her. She tearfully responds that she "can't hate him." Realizing that she has chosen Andy over him, Billy leaves her.

As Edie's financial problems deepen, she finds Andy has replaced her with another rich bimbo just like herself. The new girl is the new superstar. Edie has to beg & even sell herself to keep her drug addiction going. Eventually she is cut off from family & has nowhere to go.

Edie's worsening drug addiction begins taking its toll. Her relationship with Andy deteriorates and she becomes a pariah among the Factory crowd. One night, while in a drug-induced stupor, she falls asleep with a lit cigarette and nearly dies in the ensuing apartment fire. Vogue, which once championed her as the newest "it" girl, now refuses to hire her; editor Diana Vreeland (Illeana Douglas) explains that Edie is considered "vulgar" due to her current lifestyle.

When Syd visits Edie again, she is barely conscious and is being filmed naked by three strangers in her apartment. Syd kicks the men out and looks after Edie. He gets them a taxi and shows her a photo of herself back in Cambridge. He says she inspired him back then and she can be an artist once more. Edie, deeply upset at how far she's fallen, gets out of their cab and runs frantically down the street.

The scene transitions to the film's opening framing device of the hospital interview several years later. Edie tells the interviewer that to "stay off the drugs" is going to be a battle every day, that she is pursuing art again and is glad to be home in Santa Barbara, California. The closing captions explain that in her last few years Edie continued in her struggle with dependency. Her short marriage to a fellow patient ended when she died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 28.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Andy is interviewed the day after Edie died in 1971. When the interviewer asks about her and Andy's "breakup," Andy becomes visibly uncomfortable but manages to complete his thought that it was just so long ago and he hardly knew her at all.