Josephine Rose Lederer was born in Chicago in 1910 and later formally adopted the name Pepi. Her mother, Reine Davies (née Douras) was a stage actress and the sister of Rosemary Davies and Marion Davies, while her father, George Lederer, produced musical comedies.
She was the niece of actress Marion Davies. She spent a good deal of her youth at Hearst Castle. Increasingly restless with her stalled career and her suspicions that she was only valued by others insofar as she could initiate them into the luxurious world of the Hearst family, she moved to London.
She returned to New York in 1930 and, shortly after New Year"s Eve 1929 was shocked to discover she was pregnant, but due to complications she had the pregnancy aborted.
Though she was considered a captivating personality, Lederer had a voracious appetite for rich food, alcohol, and eventually, cocaine. Lederer was also openly lesbian within acting circles.
Lederer was also close friends with actress Tallulah Bankhead, but whether they were involved romantically is not known for certain. In 1935, her drug addiction worsening, Lederer was committed by Davies and Hearst to a mental hospital, to receive a drug cure.
Shortly afterward, she jumped out of a window, dying instantly after falling several floors.
She was 25 years old.
