A bold and uncensored fictional account of the wild life at Andy Warhol’s world-famous Factory by a real-life superstar who witnessed it all
Author, video artist, underground film actor, and superstar, the incomparable Viva is arguably the most famous of Andy Warhol’s protégés, a mainstay at the enigmatic artist’s Factory. In her riveting, revelatory, totally uncensored, and scandalously entertaining novel, the Factory doors are blown wide open, exposing a world of sex, drugs, and genius.
Based on Viva’s own life, Superstar is the story of Gloria, a repressed, convent-educated aspiring artist who escapes the strictures of her stifling existence and flees to New York City. Falling in with an iconic artist referred to as A. and his coterie of outrageous, beautiful avant-garde acolytes, transvestites, boy toys, and hangers-on, Gloria is reborn, undergoing a remarkable transformation from sheltered young innocent to sexual athlete, film star, and media darling. Over the course of her reawakening, she sheds her every inhibition as she experiences what ordinary people only dream about in their most secret fantasies . . . or worst nightmares.
Though the names have all been changed, the real stars of Warhol’s factory are scandalously recognizable. Viva injects her own unique style and personality into a story at once outrageous and brutally honest: the unforgettable making of a superstar.
Viva Hoffman is one of Andy Warhol’s superstars. He gave her the name Viva before the release of her first motion picture. An early pioneer of video art, she appeared in and cocreated many of the famous Warhol films, among them The Loves of Ondine, Tub Girls, and Nude Restaurant. She has also acted in movies including Cleopatra, Midnight Cowboy, and Play It Again, Sam, and her acting career has been honored by the Cinémathèque Française. She was a frequent guest at the Factory and a resident of the Chelsea Hotel. It was Viva with whom Warhol was on the phone when Valerie Solanas shot him.
Viva is the author of two books: Superstar, an insider’s look at the Factory, and The Baby, a novel incorporating video art. She also wrote for and edited a variety of publications, including Vanity Fair and the Village Voice. She is the mother of two children and lives in Palm Springs, California, where she paints.