Singer, actress Marianne Faithfull dies at 78
Entertainment
She received World Lifetime Achievement Award
(Web Desk) - Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78, her spokesperson has said.
Born in Hampstead in December 1946, she was known for hits like As Tears Go By, which reached the UK top 10 in 1964, and for starring roles in films including 1968's The Girl On A Motorcycle.
She was also famously the girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in the 1960s, inspiring songs such as Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want. After a period of heroin addiction in the 70s, she resurrected her career with the classic album Broken English.
Paying tribute, Jagger described Faithfull as "a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress," saying he was "so saddened".
His bandmate Keith Richards posted that he was "so sad" following Faithfull's death, adding that he "will miss her".
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood posted twice on Instagram. One an old picture of him, Faithfull and Richards in a recording studio with the caption "Farewell dear Marianne", and a more recent shot of the pair with the words "Marianne will be dearly missed. Bless her xx".
"Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family," a statement from her spokesperson said.
"She will be dearly missed."
The singer had previously suffered multiple health problems, including bulimia, breast cancer and emphysema caused by decades of smoking.
In 2020, she contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalised for 22 days.
Doctors said they did not expect her to survive - but she pulled through, releasing her 21st album, She Walks in Beauty, a year later.
Faithfull received the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women's World Awards, and was made a commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France.
The singer married and divorced three times - to artist John Dunbar in 1965, Ben Brierly of punk band the Vibrators in 1979, and actor Giorgio Della Terza in 1988.
She is survived by her son, Nicholas Dunbar.
