Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Noted British singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithful died at age 78 in London while in the company of her family on Thursday.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithful," a statement provided to the BBC and The Guardian said. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today in the company of her loving family."
Her cause of death was not announced.
Faithful recorded 21 music albums and appeared in many prominent films and theatrical plays since age 16.
Faithful was born in London in 1946 and met Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham while a teenager.
Oldham asked Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write a song for Faithful, which became her 1964 debut single As Tears Go By.
The song was the first written by the Jagger-Richards songwriting team and later was recorded by the Rolling Stones.
Faithful recorded three singles that reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom and the top 40 in the United States in 1965.
Faithful at the same time also began her acting career, which included appearances in stage productions of Hamlet and Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Angelica Huston was Faithful's understudy during the Hamlet performances, and Faithful later said she was under the influence of heroin at the time.
She also acted alongside Orson Welles, Oliver Reed, Anna Karina and Alain Delon in various film productions.
Faithful also would become Jagger's girlfriend for several years after leaving her husband, artist John Dunbar, whom she married in 1965. Dunbar and Faithful had a son.
Faithful was a noted inspiration for the Rolling Stones' songs Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want, among others.
"I know they used me as a muse for those tough drug songs," she said later. "I knew I was being used, but it was for a worthy cause."
Faithful also wrote songs and co-wrote Sister Morphine, which she recorded with Jagger, Richards and guitarist Ry Cooder.
The Rolling Stones included a version on the band's Sticky Fingers album that was released in 1971 but didn't list Faithful among writing credits until she won a legal fight against the band years later.
Her history of drug addiction eventually led to health problems later in life, and Faithful in 2020 contracted COVID-19, which nearly killed her.
She also battled bulimia, breast cancer and emphysema caused by her decades-long smoking habit.
After overcoming COVID-19, Faithful recorded her 21st and final album, She Walks in Beauty, in 2021.
Faithful was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979 for her Broken English album and was an influential musical artist throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
She collaborated with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Emmylou Harris, Metallica and many others during her recording career.
Faithful earned the World Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2009 Women's World Awards event and was declared a commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Faithful married and divorced three men, including Dunbar. She also married Ben Brierly of the Vibrators punk rock band in1979 and actor Giorgio Della Terza in 1988.
She is survived by her son, Nicholas Dunbar.
www.upi.com
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithful," a statement provided to the BBC and The Guardian said. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today in the company of her loving family."
Her cause of death was not announced.
Faithful recorded 21 music albums and appeared in many prominent films and theatrical plays since age 16.
Faithful was born in London in 1946 and met Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham while a teenager.
Oldham asked Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write a song for Faithful, which became her 1964 debut single As Tears Go By.
The song was the first written by the Jagger-Richards songwriting team and later was recorded by the Rolling Stones.
Faithful recorded three singles that reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom and the top 40 in the United States in 1965.
Faithful at the same time also began her acting career, which included appearances in stage productions of Hamlet and Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Angelica Huston was Faithful's understudy during the Hamlet performances, and Faithful later said she was under the influence of heroin at the time.
She also acted alongside Orson Welles, Oliver Reed, Anna Karina and Alain Delon in various film productions.
Faithful also would become Jagger's girlfriend for several years after leaving her husband, artist John Dunbar, whom she married in 1965. Dunbar and Faithful had a son.
Faithful was a noted inspiration for the Rolling Stones' songs Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want, among others.
"I know they used me as a muse for those tough drug songs," she said later. "I knew I was being used, but it was for a worthy cause."
Faithful also wrote songs and co-wrote Sister Morphine, which she recorded with Jagger, Richards and guitarist Ry Cooder.
The Rolling Stones included a version on the band's Sticky Fingers album that was released in 1971 but didn't list Faithful among writing credits until she won a legal fight against the band years later.
Her history of drug addiction eventually led to health problems later in life, and Faithful in 2020 contracted COVID-19, which nearly killed her.
She also battled bulimia, breast cancer and emphysema caused by her decades-long smoking habit.
After overcoming COVID-19, Faithful recorded her 21st and final album, She Walks in Beauty, in 2021.
Faithful was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979 for her Broken English album and was an influential musical artist throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
She collaborated with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Emmylou Harris, Metallica and many others during her recording career.
Faithful earned the World Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2009 Women's World Awards event and was declared a commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Faithful married and divorced three men, including Dunbar. She also married Ben Brierly of the Vibrators punk rock band in1979 and actor Giorgio Della Terza in 1988.
She is survived by her son, Nicholas Dunbar.
British singer, actress Marianne Faithful dead at 78 - UPI.com
Noted British singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithful died at age 78 in London while in the company of her family on Thursday.
www.upi.com
