Marianne Faithfull, a singer and actress best known for hits like “As Tears Go By,” died Thursday, a spokesperson confirmed. She was 78.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter, and actress Marianne Faithfull,” a statement to USA TODAY read. “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, surrounded by her loving family. She will be sorely missed.
The cause of death was not provided.
Faithfull’s music became popular in the 1960s, and she helped steer the female wing of the British invasion, a term used to describe British artists who gained popularity in the United States and were often associated with The Beatles.
Her musical career, which spanned five decades and included confessional lyrics and albums of various genres, coincided with her growing success in the film industry.
With films like “Hamlet,” “The Girl on a Motorcycle,” and, much later, Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” Faithfull demonstrated that her talent for storytelling was not limited to her personal life.
Faithfull’s story, as both a household name and a victim of her circumstances, was punctuated by tragic events. Her experiences with homelessness and drug addiction contributed to her career’s longevity, making it a true Phoenix story.
According to The Guardian, Faithfull met Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in her teens, which began a fruitful and fraught collaboration with the band, particularly frontman Mick Jagger.
In 1964, Oldham asked Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards to write Faithfull’s debut single “As Tears Go By,” which has since become one of her most famous songs.
Faithfull married artist John Dunbar in 1965 and had a son with him, but she left the marriage soon after to be with Jagger, according to the outlet. During the four-year relationship, she became a muse for one of the world’s most famous rock bands while also falling into a downward spiral of drug addiction.
In a miraculous fall from grace, Faithfull lost custody of her child and ended up homeless on London’s streets.
In 1993, she told Details magazine, “It destroyed me.” Being a male drug addict and acting like one is always empowering and glamorizing. A woman in that situation turns into a slut and a bad mother.”
In 1967, she made a comeback with “Dreamin’ My Dreams,” a country album that barely made a splash in the UK but became a cult hit in Ireland. Faithfull did not become completely clean and sober until more than ten years later.
Faithfull released 21 studio albums and collaborated with artists such as Emmylou Harris, Beck, and Metallica.
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