Rosamund Pike was inspired by her magnetism to embody the heroine of
Gone Girl
(2014).
Advice from David Fincher, the director of the feature film.
"Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy has built a reputation, she has invented a kind of character", underlines the filmmaker in the American edition of
Vanity Fair
.
Very quickly, Rosamund Pike understands that she is dealing with an enigma.
“There are countless photographs of Bessette, but none come directly from her,” explains the actress.
What is behind the Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy myth, a true fashion icon of the 1990s?
What do we really know about this elusive young woman, whose legendary style inspired the recent reissue of her favorite bag, a rectangular Prada from 1995?
"She looked like a queen"
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is first and foremost "wearing a model, a way of her own to make up, to dress and to make the least of her blouses a basic", underlines
Paris Match
in 1999, a month after the death of the thirty-something.
Before continuing: “Carolyn never wore jewelry.
She often walked barefoot or in sandals.
And she looked like a queen.
Its king is none other than John F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late president and his wife Jacqueline.
Their paths crossed in 1992. Some whisper that they met while jogging, in the heart of Central Park.
Others that they exchanged their first look in a Calvin Klein store, the brand for which Carolyn Bessette worked at the time.
Still others, that they met through a mutual friend.
They form, however, an explosive pair.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow18 photos
See the slideshow18 photos
"With her, he was never bored"
One is blond as wheat, “intelligent, mischievous”, and endowed with an unstoppable “sense of humor”, relates her friend Caroline Radziwill.
The other is an ambitious press boss, unaccustomed to being resisted.
This inveterate seducer, seen in turn in the arms of Sarah Jessica Parker and Darryl Hannah, comes up against the indifference of Carolyn Bessette.
He will have to wait two years for this "stubborn" New Yorker, the daughter of an architect and a teacher, to give in to his advances.
Never mind: John F. Kennedy Jr. loves a challenge.
"He was a guy who couldn't stand being bored, and with her, he was never bored," one of his friends told
People magazine.
.
And for good reason: an influential figure in the world of fashion - and the nightlife -, Carolyn Bessette, a free spirit, is at all popular parties.
Beauty queen
And this, since his high school years.
Born on January 7, 1966 in New York, Carolyn Bessette experienced a troubled adolescence.
Her parents, an engineer and teacher, changed her school several times because of her hectic social life.
Its popularity still remains intact.
At Saint Mary, Carolyn Bessette is voted the "most gorgeous person" in high school.
And is already capsizing hearts.
Among his conquests are heir Alessandro Benetton and future ice hockey star John Cullen.
After four years of study at Boston University, and obtaining a teaching diploma, Carolyn Bessette began a modeling career, but without success.
Having become a saleswoman at Calvin Klein, the young woman will soon take her revenge.
Nicknamed "The Look" by the brand's designers, who wonder how she will wear each of their creations, the one who has sold several million dollars worth of clothing becomes responsible for the brand's public relations.
A fishing trip
Her romance with John F. Kennedy Jr. completes to propel her to the front of the stage.
In 1995, the young woman took up residence in the lawyer's apartment in Tribeca.
Together, Carolyn and John-John walk the streets of the Big Apple, walk their dog, play sports and frequent the elite.
During the summer of 1995, they stayed at Martha's Vineyard.
It was during this period that John-John would have asked for his companion in marriage.
"I want you to be my partner," he allegedly told her... during a fishing trip.
He will have to wait three weeks before the young woman accepts his proposal.
The Kennedys' nuptials were celebrated on September 21, in the greatest secrecy, on a beach on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
The bride is wearing a pearl crepe dress by Narciso Rodriguez, the value of which is estimated at $40,000, and Manolo Blahnik pumps.
Always prone to being desired, she arrives at the altar two hours late.
The death of Lady Diana
The return to New York turns out to be abrupt.
Determined that they remain a "normal" couple, John-John refuses Carolyn Bessette any close custody.
Hounded by the paparazzi, the latter struggles to adapt to her new life.
And is forced to leave her home at 7 a.m. to escape the photographers.
In 1997, the death of Lady Diana in a chase with them only accentuates her discomfort.
In private, their relationship deteriorates into endless quarrels.
Their main points of contention?
The 30-year-old refuses for the moment to start a family.
She also took refuge in cocaine.
One evening, John F. Kennedy Jr. finds her lying at the foot of a sofa, sniffing some rails in the company of stylists and other personalities from the world of advertising.
Later, it is the alleged affair of Carolyn and actor Michael Bergin who sets fire to the powder.
The terrible lovers: Carolyn Bessette and John Kennedy Jr. - Photo slideshow
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow14 photos
See the slideshow14 photos
The Missing of Martha's Vineyard
Conflicts during which the couple, who are already sleeping apart, would have come to blows.
Tired of these vehement exchanges, the duo pushes the door of a marriage therapy office.
This does not prevent him from attending charity galas, organized within the White House.
However, in 1999, the relationship came to a standstill.
Carolyn even refuses to attend Rory Kennedy's wedding, which John-John has planned to fly her to.
But Lauren, Carolyn's sister, urges her to take part in the trip, in the hope of a reconciliation.
Carolyn was two hours late - caused by a failed manicure - when she boarded the jet on July 16, 1999. It was already dark and overcast.
During the flight, John F. Kennedy Jr. lost control of the aircraft.
The bodies are found a few days later, floating off Martha's Vineyard.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was 33 years old.
A tragic destiny, the fruit of an idyll so romantic that Ryan Murphy made it the subject of his new series,
American Love Story
.
