Viva

Viva (born Janet Susan Mary Hoffman, August 23, 1938 – ) is an American actress, writer, and artist, best known as one of Andy Warhol’s Superstars. The eldest of nine children, she grew up in a strict Roman Catholic family and once considered becoming a nun. Gaining fame for her sharp and witty performances in Andy Warhol’s and Paul Morrissey’s films, including “Bike Boy,” “Nude Restaurant,” and “Lonesome Cowboys.” Viva and Louis Waldon famously performed sex on camera in “Blue Movie,” a film later withdrawn on obscenity charges. After the Factory years, Viva appeared in “Lions Love“, “Midnight Cowboy“, and “Cisco Pike“. While living at the Chelsea Hotel, she became a writer, contributing to The Village Voice, New York Woman, and The Realist. Viva also wrote two autobiographies, Superstar and The Baby. She has been romantically linked to photographer Louis Faurer, filmmaker Michel Auder, and photographer William Eggleston. Viva has two daughters: actress Gaby Hoffman and memoirist Alexandra Auder. She continues to paint landscapes.

In this Artifacts bonus: Silver Factory regular Louis Waldon describes co-starring with Viva in Blue Movie, the 1969 sexually explicit film depicting a couple making love and breaking up.