Betsey Johnson

Mini-Bio
- Betsey was born August 10th, 1942 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
- Took dance classes as a child and teen, inspiring a love of costume design, which was fueled by her mother.
- After high school, she studied at the Pratt Institute and then later graduated from Syracuse University.
- In 1968, she married Velvet Underground's, John Cale, but later divorced him in 1971.
- Has a daughter, Lulu, born in 1975, who now works with her.
- She is a survivor of breast cancer and a breast cancer awareness advocate.
- Daughter, Lulu, gave birth to her own daughter, Layla, in 2006.
Career
- Fashion career began when she entered and won the Mademoiselle Guest Editor contest.
- Within a year, she was the in-house designer for the Manhattan boutique, Paraphernalia.
- Considered one of the top designers of the "youthquake" movement of the 1960's.
- Was part of Andy Warhol's underground scene, along with The Velvet Underground, Edie Sedgwick and Lou Reed.
- In 1969, she opened up her very own boutique called Betsey Bunki Nini in New York's Upper East Side.
- Edie Sedgwick was her house model, and she designed the clothing Sedgwick wore on her last film, Ciao! Manhattan.
- In the 1970s, she took control of the fashion label Alley Cat which was popular with the rock 'n roll musicians of the day.
- In 1972, she won the Coty Award.
- In 1978, she started her own fashion line, and the same year, she opened up her first retail store in Soho.
- In 1999, the CFDA created the Timeless Talent Award just for her.
- In 2002, she was inducted into the Fashion Walk of Fame.
- In 2003 and 2004, she expanded her line to include shoes, lingerie, jeans, handbags, accessories, hats, scarves and much more.
- Famous for doing cartwheels at the end of her shows.