How Jackie Kennedy’s Cousins Became America’s Most Famous Recluses

Some locals swore they had seen the Beales sunbathing topless in their sprawling but overgrown garden. Hidden from the road by high hedges, the women treated the tangled property as a private sanctuary, oblivious to what rumors might follow.

The spectacle only fueled the myth of Grey Gardens. Neighbors talked of glimpses caught through gaps in the greenery, a flash of pale skin, a scarf fluttering in the summer air. For the Beales, it was life as usual. For East Hampton, it was one more story to pass around.