Marianne Faithfull, pop icon and artist, dies at 78

FILE - Marianne Faithfull performs at Le Trianon on Oct. 7, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Wolff - Patrick/Getty Images)

Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star who helped write some of the Rolling Stones’ greatest songs, has died. She was 78 years old. 

‘She will be dearly missed’

What we know:

Faithfull passed away on Thursday in London, her music promotion company, Republic Media, said. 

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed."

What we don't know:

The cause of her death was not released immediately. 

An artist and muse

Dig deeper:

Faithfull was known for her hits such as "As Tears Go By" and her starring role in "The Girl On A Motorcycle." 

She was also famously known as Mick Jagger’s (of the Rolling Stones) girlfriend. 

Faithfull inspired songs by the rock band such as "Wild Horses" and "You Can’t Always Get What You Want." 

On her own, the London-born Faithfull specialized at first in genteel ballads, among them "Come Stay With Me," "Summer Nights" and "This Little Bird." 

The blonde and beautiful Faithfull was a celebrity before turning 17, homeless by her mid-20s and an inspiration to peers and younger artists by her early 30s, when her raw, explicit "Broken English" album brought her the kinds of reviews the Stones had received. Over the following decades, her admirers would include Beck, Billy Corgan, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. 

Her interests extended to theater, film and television. Faithfull began acting in the 1960s, including an appearance in Jean-Luc Godard's "Made In U.S.A." and stage roles in "Hamlet" and Chekhov's "Three Sisters." She would later appear in such films as "Marie Antoinette" and "The Girl from Nagasaki," and the TV series "Absolutely Fabulous," in which she was cast as — and did not flinch from playing — God.

Drug addiction and health issues

She had become addicted to heroin in the late '60s, suffered a miscarriage while seven months pregnant and nearly died from an overdose of sleeping pills. 

By the early '70s, Faithfull was living in the streets of London and had lost custody of the son, Nicholas, she had with her estranged husband, the gallery owner John Dunbar. She would also battle anorexia and hepatitis, was treated for breast cancer, broke her hip in a fall and was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020.

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

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