Jane Holzer (néeBrukenfeld; born October 23, 1940), is an American art collector and real estate investor. She is best known as a Warhol superstar, and she also worked as a model, actress, and film producer. Nicknamed Baby Jane Holzer, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue in 1964, and she was referred to as one of the "fashion revolutionaries" by Women's Wear Daily in 1966.[1]
Life and career
Jane Brukenfeld grew up in Palm Beach, the daughter of real estate investor Carl Brukenfeld. His wealth came from Florida real estate, particularly in Miami and West Palm Beach.[2] She grew up in a Jewish household and attended Palm Beach High School.[3]
She attended Finch Junior College in Manhattan but "flunked out of college on purpose to become a model," she recounted.[2] In 1962, she married real estate investor, Leonard Holzer.[4] In 1963, her modeling career began to take off in London where she was photographed by David Bailey.[4] In 1964, Holzer told journalist Tom Wolfe: "Bailey created four girls that summer. He created Jean Shrimpton, he created me, he created Angela Howard and Susan Murray. There’s no photographer like that in America. Avedon hasn’t done that for a girl, Penn hasn't, and Bailey created four girls in one summer. He did some pictures of me for the English Vogue, and that was all it took."[4]
She was nicknamed "Baby Jane" Holzer by a newspaper columnist as a reference to the film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Holzer was is considered to be one of the first Warhol superstars.[5] She was a young society wife when she was introduced to artist Andy Warhol in 1964.[2] British interior designer Nicky Haslam brought Warhol to a dinner party at Holzer's Park Avenue apartment in New York, where he also met Rolling Stones musician Mick Jagger for the first time.[6] Holzer later ran into Warhol on Madison Avenue and he asked to make films with him.[6] Warhol recalled in his memoir Popism (1980): "She was such a gorgeous girl—great skin and hair. And so much enthusiasm—she wanted to do everything. I asked her if she wanted to be in a movie and she got excited: 'Sure! Anything beats being a Park Avenue housewife!"[6]
In 1964, Holzer created a stir by attending the couture fashion shows in Paris.[7] Known for her mane of teased hair, she was highlighted in Vogue magazine's October 1964 issue.[7] As Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue, put it, she was "the most contemporary girl I know."[2] The November 1964 edition of British Vogue featured her on the cover.[8]
Holzer became a prominent modern art collector and a real estate tycoon.[11][2] She lived in a six-story townhouse in New York, surrounded by her collection of art which includes Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.[2]
She now resides in Palm Beach, Florida.[12] Holzer also owns a significant amount of Palm Beach real estate, notably the restaurant Le Bilboquet, where she and Philippe Delgrange are business partners.[13][14]
In 2014, Holzer was the subject of an exhibition titled "To Jane, Love Andy" at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.[3][15]
Personal life
In 1962, she married Leonard Holzer, an heir to a New York real estate fortune. Holzer was noted for including art projects in his developments, particularly at the Smith Haven Mall.[16]
She was one of the attendants at the wedding of Mary McFadden and Philip Harari in 1964.[17]
^Charlotte Curtis, "Mary McFadden Married to Philip Harari at St. Bartholomew's; Former Dior Aide is Wed to Director in De Beers Group", The New York Times, September 26, 1964.
