Liz Goldwyn (born December 25, 1976) is an American filmmaker, artist, and writer.

Personal life

Goldwyn was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of writer Peggy Elliott Goldwyn and film producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Goldwyn's paternal grandparents were movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and film actress Frances Howard. She is the sister of actor Tony Goldwyn and producer John Goldwyn. Goldwyn attended School of Visual Arts in New York City where she received a B.F.A degree in Photography with a minor in Art History.

Career

In 1997 while attending college, Goldwyn helped to found Sotheby’s New York fashion department alongside its director Tiffany Dubin. Goldwyn produced the photographing and cataloging of the clothing for several renowned auctions including the Marlene Dietrich Estate auction and mounted the costume exhibition for the Duke & Duchess of Windsor sale. Later as an Associate of Sotheby’s she conceptualized and produced several exhibitions in Los Angeles including a costume exhibition with Chanel in September 1999, and an installation of video art by Mariko Mori in conjunction with Deitch Projects, which was sponsored by Costume National. Following her time at Sotheby’s Goldwyn worked as a global consultant for the cosmetics company Shiseido, where she founded and directed a fashion sponsorship and arts installation program for the company. In 2000, Goldwyn started writing a monthly two-page column, titled “Liz Goldwyn: EYE,” for the Japanese magazine, Hanatsubaki. Her column has appeared in the magazine between 2000-2010.

In 2001-2002 Goldwyn was named New York editor of French Vogue, by editor Carine Roitfeld. Goldwyn’s freelance writing continues to appear in publications and blogs including The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times, C Magazine, The Huffington Post, British Vogue and The Daily Beast.

In 2005, Goldwyn’s first film, Pretty Things, a documentary on 20th century burlesque queens premiered on HBO and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2006. Following the documentary, Goldwyn’s first book, Pretty Things: the Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens, was published worldwide by HarperCollins (2006). The project encompassed ten years of research.

In 2009, Goldwyn's short film Underwater Ballet, was launched through a public art collaboration with Clear Channel Communications. Stills from Underwater Ballet were featured on over 86 billboards across Los Angeles in April–May 2009 and the film in its entirety was screened on a digital billboard in Times Square twice an hour from May 1-6th, 2009.

In 2002 Goldwyn launched an eponymous line of one of a kind jewelry, sold at Barney's New York, Japan and Los Angeles, Kaviar & Kind in Los Angeles, Ikram in Chicago, Kabiri in London, Joyce in Hong Kong and Colette in Paris. Goldwyn has made jewelry on commission for feature films such as Running with Scissors (2006) Goldwyn continues to create jewelry for exhibition. Her “Spinal Cord” necklace, shown on a live nude model, was included in the show “God Is In The Details” as part of the 2008 New Orleans Biennale.

In October 2008 Goldwyn curated a documentary program for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Her “anti-glamour” film series was held in conjunction with the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibition at the museum from October 2008 to February 2009. The series opened with Goldwyn's film Pretty Things.

In August–October 2009 Goldwyn was commissioned by Le Bon Marché in Paris to create a Los Angeles themed multimedia installation. The exhibition included ten storefront display windows installed with a photographic work titled “Musical Palm Trees” and featured an original score by musician Money Mark. Inside Le Bon Marché Goldwyn premiered five short films entitled LA at Night, which were screened in a custom-built installation cube. The exhibition ran from August 27-October 12, 2009.

Filmography

Pretty Things (2005) (Writer, Director)
Underwater Ballet (2009) (Writer, Director)
LA at Night (2009) (Writer, Director)

Bibliography

Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens (2006, Harper Collins)
Sonia Rykiel (2009, Rizzoli) (Contributing Essay)