“MONUMENTAL.” ( The New Yorker ) • “HEROIC.” ( The New York Times Book Review ) • “THRILLING.” ( Los Angeles Times ) • “PRISMATIC.” ( The Atlantic ) Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography A Finalist for the the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review , NBC New York, Kirkus Reviews , The Brooklyn Public Library A Must-Read: Nylon , The Minnesota Star Tribune , Ms. , San Francisco Chronicle , The Bay Area Reporter , Town & Country , InsideHook, W From the acclaimed biographer Cynthia Carr, the first full portrait of the queer icon and Warhol superstar Candy Darling. You must always be yourself no matter what the price . . . Don’t dare destroy your passion for the sake of others. The Warhol superstar and transgender icon Candy Darling was glamour personified, but she was without a real place in the world. Growing up on Long Island, lonely and quiet and queer, she was enchanted by Hollywood starlets like Kim Novak. She found her turn in New York’s early Off-Off-Broadway theater scene, in Warhol’s films Flesh and Women in Revolt , and at the famed nightclub Max’s Kansas City. She inspired songs by Lou Reed and the Rolling Stones. She became friends with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, borrowed a dress from Lauren Hutton, posed for Richard Avedon, and performed alongside Tennessee Williams in his own play. Yet Candy lived on the edge, relying on the kindness of strangers, friends, and her quietly devoted mother, sleeping on couches and in cheap hotel rooms, keeping a part of herself hidden. She wanted to be a star, but mostly she wanted to be loved. Her last diary entry was: “I shall try to be grateful for life . . . Cannot imagine who would want me.” Candy died at twenty-nine in 1974, just as conversations about gender and identity were beginning to enter the broader culture. She never knew it, but she changed the world. Brimming with all the fizz and wildness of New York in the 1960s and ’70s, this is the first biography of this extraordinary figure―an unintentional pioneer who became an icon. Cynthia Carr’s Candy Darling is packed with tales of luminaries, gossip, and meticulous research, laced with Candy’s words and her friends’ recollections, and signals Candy’s long-overdue return to the spotlight. Includes 16 pages of color photographs “Brought me to tears . . . One of the most amazing biographies I've ever read.” ―Bill Goldstein, NBC New York “A rich portrait of a glittering, communal, and bygone NYC . . . [and] of the glamorous queer icon.” ―Arimeta Diop, Vanity Fair “Monumental. . . Candy Darling is the first full-length biography of the trans star, and I can’t imagine a better or more honest writer for the task.” ―Hilton Als, The New Yorker “Compassionate and meticulous, reconstructing its brittle, gleaming subject as one might a broken Meissen figurine . . . Heroic.” ―Alexandra Jacobs, The New York Times “[An] excellent biography . . . [on] the remarkably short life of the dizzyingly influential trans woman and Warhol superstar.” ―Kaitlyn Greenidge, Harper’s Bazaar “The most compelling and complete portrait of the late Warhol Superstar and LGBTQ+ pioneer to date.” ―Jordan Runtagh, People “The definitive record of [Candy Darling’s] life, shading in the vulnerable, gritty, and deeply soulful individual behind the fabulous façade . . . An essential read for anyone interested in queer culture and New York history . . . Such a gift.” ―Mel Ottenberg, Interview magazine “Enveloping . . . [A] touching, picaresque story told by Carr . . . not with a whip but with a delicate eyeliner.” ―James Wolcott, Air Mail “Compassionate and richly detailed . . . Deftly, without a trace of sanctimony, Carr . . . recounts Candy’s life in a way that most honors and respects who she was.” ―Melissa Anderson, Bookforum “[A] poignant biography . . . A fascinating―if tragic―portrait of one of Warhol’s most enigmatic superstars.” ― W magazine “Candy Darling cannot raise the dead, at least not literally. But [Carr] restores humanity and nuance to a woman who we know as only an image.” ―Annie Howard, The Baffler “Finally, trans icon and Warhol muse Candy Darling gets the full treatment she deserves in this well-researched and richly told biography . . . [Carr] illuminates Darling’s life in all its kaleidoscopic complexity.” ―Karla J. Strand, Ms. “The biography [Candy Darling] deserves . . . A rich and nuanced portrait of what it took to fly in the face of that society, and to do so with great style and flourish.” ―Alexis Clements, Hyperallergic “Juicy detail and stunning prose.” ―Grace Byron, Document “[A] dynamic biography . . . [Candy Darling’s] inspirational life and work resonate throughout this fascinating and bittersweet tribute.” ―Jim Piechota, The Bay Area Reporter “A heartbreaking and beautiful book, and an important resurrection of an important figure in trans a