Marisa Berenson

Marisa Berenson is a recurring, though briefly recorded, presence in Andy Warhol’s diaries. The entries place her at the intersection of travel, weddings, museum events, and private parties, while offering only limited information about her life beyond those appearances. They identify Jim Randall as her husband in 1976 and later report unconfirmed gossip about a rupture in their marriage.

Travel and Wedding

In November 1976, Warhol described a trip that took him to Seattle for an opening at the Seattle Art Museum, then to Los Angeles for Marisa Berenson’s wedding to Jim Randall, and on to Vancouver for an opening at Ace Gallery. The wedding was one stop in a sequence of art events and travel; the diary does not describe the ceremony itself. After returning to New York, Warhol had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Jed Johnson.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art

At a large opening for Diana Vreeland’s Russian-themed exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Warhol and the other guests were waiting for Marisa and her new husband. When she arrived, he noted her hair piled to one side in a style he likened to that of an old-time star. The entry places the couple within a formal evening of museum festivities and describes their arrival, rather than giving further detail about their role at the event.

Social Appearances and Marital Gossip

At a dinner party in Bel Air, Marisa was present with her husband. The diary recorded gossip that the two had had a serious fight and broken up, but it offered no confirmation that they had separated. The distinction matters: the entry documents what guests were saying, not a verified change in the marriage. Across these appearances, Marisa is glimpsed through Warhol’s event-centered record—as a wedding subject, a guest arriving with her husband, and the focus of circulating social speculation—without a fuller account of her perspective or circumstances.