See also Biography Index (V) :: Filmography Index (V) :: Discography Index (V)

Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann was born into a liberal democratic chaotic Catholic family in Syracuse, New York. She was given the name Viva by Andy Warhol before the release of her first film with him but later used her married last name (Viva Auder). She appeared in several of Warhol`s movies and was a frequent guest at The Factory. After Viva began making movies for other directors she also began writing. Her first book, Superstar, was an insider`s look at the Factory scene, a partly fictional autobiographical account of her time there.

It was distinguished from other "tell-all" memoirs by virtue of Viva`s writing, which incorporated various stylistic effects, including the use of taped conversations, arguably one of the first times such a technique had been used in a novel. She also wrote for various publications, including The Village Voice..

With her husband Michel Auder, she was one of the early pioneers in video art. The couple made and kept video diaries which included the birth of her first daughter, Alexandra Auder. She had another child later, out-of-wedlock, the actress Gaby Hoffmann.

Viva incorporated the tapes into her second book, The Baby. These tapes were later released by Michel Auder as Chronicles: Family Diary in three parts. She provided some (spoken) vocals in Carla Bley`s 1971 jazz composition Escalator over the Hill. She is the also the author of the autobiographical novel, Superstar (1970), and is at work on her memoirs.

She lives in Palm Springs, California, where she paints landscapes.