Marianne Faithfull dies aged 78 – Mick Jagger leads tributes
Marianna Faithfull, a singer and actress known for her hit song As Tears Go By, has passed away at the age of 78.
A spokesperson for the singer said: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull. Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed."
Paying tribute to Marianne, Mick Jagger, who dated her for four years, wrote: "I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull. She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered."
Keith Richards also paid tribute, saying: "My heartfelt condolences to Marianne's family. I am so sad and will miss her."
Music career
The singer started her career in 1964 when she was discovered by music manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Marianne had been attending a party hosted for The Rolling Stones at the time. A year later, she released her self-titled debut album, which became a critical and commercial hit.
The album contained some of her best-known songs, including As Tears Go By, which was co-written with the Rolling Stones, and Come and Stay With Me. She released five more albums during the 1960s, but due to a turbulent personal life, she then underwent a period of silence.
She returned to the music scene with her 1976 album, Dreamin' My Dreams, but it was her 1979 album, Broken English, which revitalised her career. The album also contained some of Marianne's most personal songs, as she addressed her drug and alcohol addictions.
The star continued to experiment with her musical style throughout the rest of her life. Her final album, She Walks in Beauty, was released in 2021 and focused on putting music to some of Britain's most iconic love poems.
Acting
Marianne acted on both the screen and theatre and she made her professional acting debut in 1967 in a production of Three Sisters. Other notable theatre roles include Ophelia in a 1969 production of Hamlet and as Alice in the 1973 showing of Alice in Wonderland.
On the silver screen, she appeared in Jean-Luc Godard's Made in U.S.A., where she made a cameo appearance singing As Tears Go By. The star leant her voice to Absolutely Fabulous where she played God over three episodes and her final role was as the narrator in 2023's Wild Summer.
One of her most-famous roles was as Maggie in 2007's Irina Palm. Marianne played a grandmother who turned to sex work in order to fund her grandson's medical treatment and her role saw her nominated for Best Actress at the European Film Awards.
Relationships and children
Marianne was the ex-girlfriend of The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, with the pair having dated for four years. Marianne fell pregnant with their daughter, Corinna, however, seven months into the pregnancy she tragically miscarried. Marianne was still married to music producer John Dunbar when she dated Mick, with the couple divorcing in 1966.
The singer subsequently married The Vibrators singer Ben Brierly in 1979, with the pair splitting in 1986. Her third marriage was to actor Giorgio Della Terza, with the pair walking down the aisle in 1988 before splitting in 1991. Reflecting on her love life in 2011, she said: "I've had a wonderful life with all my lovers, and husbands." However she joked that Giorgio "was a nightmare".
Marianne was a mother-of-one, welcoming her first son, Nicholas, with her husband John. Marianne lost custody of Nicholas after news emerged of her drug addictions. The pair were thankfully able to reconcile, with the star calling her son "sensible". Through Nicholas, she was a grandmother to Noah, Oscar and Eliza.
Addictions and health
Marianne's life was marked by her drug addictions and in 1967, she was discovered in just a fur rug when police conducted a drug search at Keith Richards's home. Reflecting on the experience with Details, she shared: "It destroyed me. To be a male drug addict and to act like that is always enhancing and glamorising. A woman in that situation becomes a slut and a bad mother."
During the 1970s, she spent two years living on the streets of SoHo, while she was addicted to heroin. She told the Guardian in 2018: "My answer to everything was to get as stoned as possible and live on the street, which made me sort of unattractive."
Her life was plagued by other health issues, with the star calling off the European stint of her 2004 tour after collapsing on stage while in Madrid. In 2006, Marianne was diagnosed with breast cancer, thankfully, as the illness was caught early, she was given the all-clear just two months later.
In 2012, she went public with her diagnosis of hepatitis C. Speaking on This Morning, she said: "I have hepatitis C and the worst thing for that is alcohol. I found out about 12 years ago. I was incredibly lucky. I shouldn't be alive - I know that.
"Life has become much more precious to me and my health has become much more precious to me. I do not miss the drugs. I suppose it would be nice to have a glass of wine or something but it really would not be good for my health."
In 2020, the star contracted COVID-19 and pneumonia. She was released from hospital three weeks later, and she thanked the staff who "without a doubt" saved her life. Reflecting on the experience a year later, she said: "Three things: the memory, fatigue and my lungs are still not OK – I have to have oxygen and all that stuff. The side-effects are so strange. Some people come back from it but they can’t walk or speak. Awful."
