Cyrinda Foxe was an American actress, model, and publicist who rose to fame in the 1970s as a muse of David Bowie and a star of Andy Warhol’s film Bad. She was also married to two rock legends: David Johansen of the New York Dolls and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. She had a tumultuous and glamorous life, but it ended tragically when she died of brain cancer at the age of 50. Here is her story.
Early Life and Career
Cyrinda Foxe was born as Kathleen Victoria Hetzekian on February 22, 1952, in Santa Monica, California, to an Armenian family. She grew up as an army brat in an abusive household. After graduating from high school, she lived in Texas briefly before settling in New York City, where she got a job working as an assistant to Greta Garbo. She later changed her name and began frequenting Max’s Kansas City, a popular Manhattan nightclub, and appeared in Andy Warhol’s film Bad (1977).
Foxe had relationships with David Bowie and James Williamson of The Stooges while working under Tony Defries as a publicist for MainMan, Bowie’s management company. She also appeared in the music video for Bowie’s 1973 single, “The Jean Genie”. Bowie wanted the video to depict “Ziggy as a kind of Hollywood street-rat” with a “consort of the Marilyn brand”. This led to Foxe’s casting, and she flew from New York to San Francisco especially for the shoot. According to Wikipedia, Bowie said of the song “I wrote it for her amusement in her apartment. Sexy girl.” Foxe records in her memoir that Bowie said to her “I want to write you a song. What do you want?”, to which Foxe replied “something like the Yardbirds”. Foxe in later years maintained a fondness for Bowie referring to him as a “great lover” and stating that she “really cherish [ed her] time” with Bowie.
In his memoir, Arthur Kane characterized Foxe as being “bright [and] very magnetic” and having “an effervescence about her” as “[she was] very much a character of her own creation.” Having grown up idolizing the Rolling Stones, Foxe became closely associated with the New York Dolls. In 1977, after years of dating, she married David Johansen, the band’s lead singer.
Marriage to Steven Tyler and Divorce
After less than a year of marriage to Johansen, she began dating Steven Tyler. Foxe and Tyler married and had a daughter, Mia. Foxe and Tyler divorced shortly before Aerosmith made a comeback in the late 1980s. Their marriage was marked by drug addiction, extramarital affairs, and physical and emotional abuse. Foxe once claimed that Tyler forced her to have an abortion when she was pregnant with his second child.
In 1997, Foxe’s memoir, Dream On: Livin’ on the Edge with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith, co-written with Danny Fields, was published. The book revealed many details about their relationship and Tyler’s drug use and infidelity. Not long after the book was released, Foxe announced that the paperback edition of Dream On would include nude photos of Steven Tyler, but Tyler won a lawsuit in 1999, preventing Foxe from publishing the photos.
Final Years and Death
The later years of Foxe’s life were fraught with health and financial problems. She suffered from hepatitis C and diabetes. She also had trouble paying her rent and medical bills. In 2001, she suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. Tyler helped pay for her hospital bills and donated an Aerosmith guitar that sold for $5,000 at a benefit in her honor.
In 2002, Foxe married Keith Waa, a musician who had been caring for her since her stroke. However, their marriage was short-lived as Foxe died on September 7, 2002, at the Gramercy Park Hotel from an inoperable brain tumor. Tyler covered her funeral costs and remaining medical bills.
Cyrinda Foxe was a beautiful and talented woman who lived a life full of passion and drama. She was a muse for some of the most influential artists of her time and left behind a legacy of glamour and rock ‘n’ roll. She also faced many challenges and hardships that ultimately took a toll on her health and happiness. She died too young, but she will always be remembered as a star who shone brightly in the world of music and cinema.
