Marianne Faithfull | |
|---|---|
 Faithfull in 1966 | |
| Born | Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (1946-12-29)29 December 1946 Hampstead, London, England |
| Died | 30 January 2025(2025-01-30) (aged 78) London, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1964–2025 |
| Spouses | |
| Partner | Mick Jagger (1966–1970) |
| Children | 1 |
| Mother | Eva von Sacher-Masoch |
| Relatives | Simon Faithfull (half-brother) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
| Website | mariannefaithfull |
| Signature | |
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Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single "As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female artists of theBritish Invasion in the United States.
Born inHampstead, London, Faithfull began her career in 1964 after attending a party forthe Rolling Stones, where she was discovered by the band's managerAndrew Loog Oldham. Her 1965 debut studio albumMarianne Faithfull, released simultaneously with her studio albumCome My Way, was a huge success and was followed by further albums onDecca Records. From 1966 to 1970 she had a highly publicised romantic relationship withMick Jagger. Her popularity was enhanced by roles in films, includingI'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967),The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) andHamlet (1969). Her popularity was overshadowed by personal problems in the 1970s, when she becameanorexic, homeless andaddicted to heroin.
During her 1960s musical career, Faithfull was noted for her distinctive melodic, high-register vocals. In the subsequent decade her voice was altered by severelaryngitis and persistentdrug abuse, which left her sounding permanently raspy, cracked and lower in pitch. The new sound was praised as "whisky soaked" by some critics and was seen as having helped to capture the raw emotions expressed in her music.[1]
After a long absence, Faithfull made a musical comeback in 1979 with the release of a critically acclaimed seventh studio album,Broken English. The album was a commercial success and marked a resurgence of her musical career.Broken English earned Faithfull a nomination for aGrammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and is regarded as her "definitive recording". She followed this with a series of studio albums includingDangerous Acquaintances (1981),A Child's Adventure (1983) andStrange Weather (1987). Faithfull wrote three books about her life:Faithfull: An Autobiography (1994),Memories, Dreams & Reflections (2007) andMarianne Faithfull: A Life on Record (2014).
Faithfull received the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009Women's World Awards, and in 2011 she was made aCommandeur of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France.
Faithfull was born at the old Queen Mary's Maternity House inHampstead, London.[citation needed] Her father, Major Robert Glynn Faithfull, was aBritish intelligence officer and professor of Italian literature atBedford College, London University. Her mother, Eva, was the daughter of Artur WolfgangRitter von Sacher-Masoch (1875–1953), anAustro-Hungarian nobleman of oldPolonized CatholicRuthenian nobility. Eva was born in Budapest and moved to Vienna in 1918; she chose tostyle herself asEva von Sacher-Masoch, Baroness Erisso in adulthood.[2] She had been a ballerina for theMax Reinhardt Company during her early years, and danced in productions of works by the German theatrical duoBertolt Brecht andKurt Weill.[3]
The Sacher-Masoch family secretly opposed the Nazi regime in Vienna. Faithfull's father met Eva through his intelligence work for the British Army, which brought him into contact with her family.[4] Faithfull's maternal grandfather had aristocratic roots in theHabsburg Dynasty, and Faithfull's maternal grandmother was Jewish.[5]
Faithfull's maternal great-great-uncle wasLeopold von Sacher-Masoch,[6] whose erotic novelVenus in Furs spawned the word "masochism".[7] Regarding her roots in the Austrian nobility, Faithfull appeared on the British television seriesWho Do You Think You Are?, which discussed that the title used by family members was Ritter von Sacher-Masoch.[8]
Faithfull's family lived inOrmskirk, Lancashire, while her father completed a doctorate atLiverpool University.[9] Marianne spent part of her early life inBraziers Park, Oxfordshire, at acommune formed by John Norman Glaister in which Faithfull's father played an instrumental role.[10]
Her parents divorced when she was six.[9] Faithfull's half-brother, 19 years her junior, is artistSimon Faithfull.[11] Following the divorce, Faithfull moved with her mother toReading, Berkshire. Her primary school was inBrixton, London.[clarification needed] They lived in underprivileged circumstances, and Marianne's girlhood was marred by bouts oftuberculosis. She was acharitably subsidised (bursaried) pupil atSt Joseph's Roman Catholic Convent School, Reading, where she was for a time a weekly boarder.[12] While at St Joseph's, she was a member of theProgress Theatre's student group.[13]
Faithfull began her singing career in 1964. Her first gigs as afolk music performer were in coffeehouses[1] and she soon began taking part in London's exploding social scene. In early 1964 she attended a Rolling Stones launch party with artistJohn Dunbar and metAndrew Loog Oldham, who 'discovered' her. "As Tears Go By",[14] her first single, was written and composed byJagger, Keith Richards, and Oldham, and became a chart success. (The Rolling Stones recorded their version one year later, which was also successful.)[15] She then released a series of successful singles, including "This Little Bird", "Summer Nights", and "Come and Stay with Me".[1] Faithfull married John Dunbar on 6 May 1965 in Cambridge, withPeter Asher as the best man.[9] The couple lived in a flat at 29 Lennox Gardens inBelgravia, London SW1.[9] On 10 November 1965, she gave birth to their son, Nicholas.[9]
In 1966 she took Nicholas to stay withBrian Jones andAnita Pallenberg in London. During this period, Faithfull started smokingmarijuana and became best friends with Pallenberg. She began a much-publicised relationship with Mick Jagger that same year and left her husband to live with him. The couple became a notorious part of the hipSwinging London scene. Her voice is heard onThe Beatles' song "Yellow Submarine".[16] She was found wearing only a fur rug by police executing a drug search atRedlands,Keith Richards's house inWest Wittering, Sussex. In an interview 27 years later withA.M. Homes forDetails, Faithfull discussed her wilder days and admitted that the drug bust fur rug incident had ravaged her personal life: "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." It was during this time that Faithfull lost three opportunities to appear in films. "I really thought I had blown my career."[17] In May 1967,Graham Nash, who found Marianne Faithfull "unbelievably attractive," wrote and released the hit song "Carrie Anne" withThe Hollies, a track which started out as being about Faithfull.[18][better source needed]In 1968, Faithfull, by now addicted tococaine, gave birth to a stillborn daughter (whom she had named Corrina) while returning from Jagger's country house in Ireland.[1][19]
Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life was reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best known songs. "Sympathy for the Devil", featured on the 1968 albumBeggars Banquet, was partially inspired byThe Master and Margarita, written byMikhail Bulgakov, a book that Faithfull introduced to Jagger. The song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on the 1969 albumLet It Bleed was supposedly written and composed about Faithfull; the songs "Wild Horses" and "I Got the Blues" on the 1971 albumSticky Fingers were allegedly influenced by Faithfull, and she co-wrote "Sister Morphine". The writing credit for the song was the subject of a protracted legal battle that was resolved by listing Faithfull as co-author. In her autobiography, Faithfull said Jagger and Richards released it in their own names so that her agent would not collect all the royalties and proceeds from the song, especially as she was homeless and addicted to heroin at the time. In 1968, Faithfull appeared inThe Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus concert, giving a solo performance of "Something Better".[1]
Faithfull ended her relationship with Jagger in May 1970 after starting an affair with Anglo-Irish nobleman"Paddy" Rossmore. She lost custody of her son in that same year, which led to her attempting suicide.[1] Faithfull's personal life went into decline and her career went into a tailspin. She made only a few public appearances, including anOctober 1973 performance withDavid Bowie singingSonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe".[1]
Faithfull lived on London'sSoho streets for two years, suffering from heroin addiction and anorexia nervosa.[20] Friends intervened and enrolled her in anNHSheroin-assisted treatment programme.[21] She failed to control or stabilise her addiction.[22] In 1971, producerMike Leander found her on the streets and made an attempt to revive her career, producing part of her albumRich Kid Blues. The album was shelved until 1985.[1]
In 1975, she released thecountry-influenced recordDreamin' My Dreams. The album was re-released in 1978 asFaithless with some new tracks added and reached No.1 on theIrish Albums Chart.[1] Faithfullsquatted in a Chelsea flat without hot water or electricity with her then-boyfriend Ben Brierly of the bandthe Vibrators.[23] She later shared flats inChelsea[citation needed] andRegent's Park withHenrietta Moraes.[24]
In 1979, the same year that she was arrested for marijuana possession in Norway, Faithfull's career returned full force with the albumBroken English, her most critically hailed album.[1] Partially influenced by the punk explosion and her marriage to Brierly in the same year, it ranged from thepunk-pop sounds of the title track, which addressed terrorism in Europe (and was dedicated toUlrike Meinhof), to the punk-reggae rhythms of "Why D'Ya Do It?", a song with aggressive lyrics adapted from a poem byHeathcote Williams.[25] This song had a complex musical structure. On the superficial hard rock it had atango in 4/4 time, with an opening electric guitar riff byBarry Reynolds in which beats 1 and 4 of each measure were accented on the up-beat, and beat 3 was accented on the down beat. Faithfull, in her autobiography, commented that her fluid yet rhythmic reading of Williams' lyric was "an early form of rap".[1]Broken English was the album that revealed the full extent of Faithfull's alcohol and drug use and their effects on her singing voice, with the melodic vocals on her early records replaced by raucous, deep vocals which helped to express the raw emotions expressed in the album's songs.[1] A disastrous February 1980 appearance onSaturday Night Live was blamed on too many rehearsals, but it was suspected that drugs had caused her voice to seize up.[26]
"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" was released as a single from the album in October 1979 and became one of her highest-charting songs. It featured on the soundtracks of the filmsMontenegro,Tarnation andThelma & Louise. Faithfull also performed the song during a guest appearance in an episode in the fourth season ofAbsolutely Fabulous. In 2016, the song was used in the finale ofAmerican Horror Story: Hotel.[27] Faithfull discussed her interpretation of the song in a 2007 interview on ITV'sThe South Bank Show.[28]
Faithfull began living in New York City after the release ofDangerous Acquaintances in 1981. The same year, she appeared as a vocalist on the single "Misplaced Love" byRupert Hine, which charted in Australia.[29] Despite her comeback, in the mid-1980s she was battling with addiction and at one point tripped and broke her jaw on a flight of stairs while under the influence.[1]Rich Kid Blues (1985) was another collection of her early work combined with new recordings, a double record showcasing both the pop and rock 'n' roll facets of her output to date. In 1985, Faithfull performed "Ballad of the Soldier's Wife" onHal Willner's tribute albumLost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. Faithfull's restrained readings lent themselves to the material and this collaboration informed several subsequent works.[citation needed]
In 1985, she attended theHazelden Foundation Clinic in Minnesota for rehabilitation and received treatment at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. While living at a hotel in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, Faithfull started an affair (while still married to Brierly) with adual diagnosis (mentally ill and drug dependent) man, Howard Tose, who later committed suicide by jumping from a 14th floor window of the flat they shared.[1] In 1987, Faithfull dedicated a"thank you" to Tose on the album sleeve ofStrange Weather: "To Howard Tose with love and thanks". Faithfull's divorce from Brierly was finalised that year. In 1995, she wrote and sang about Tose's death in "Flaming September" on the albumA Secret Life.[1]
In 1987, Faithfull ventured into jazz and blues onStrange Weather, which was also produced by Willner. The album became her most critically lauded album of the decade. Coming full circle, the renewed Faithfull cut another recording of "As Tears Go By" forStrange Weather, this time in a tighter, more gravelly voice. The singer confessed to a lingering irritation with her first hit. "I always childishly thought that was where my problems started, with that damn song," she told Jay Cocks inTime magazine, but she came to terms with it as well as with her past. In a 1987 interview with Rory O'Connor ofVogue, Faithfull declared "forty is the age to sing it, not seventeen."[19] The album of covers was produced byHal Willner after the two had spent numerous weekends listening to hundreds of songs from 20th-century music. They chose such diverse tracks to record asBob Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine" and "Yesterdays", written by Broadway composersJerome Kern andOtto Harbach. The work included tunes first made notable by such blues luminaries asBillie Holiday andBessie Smith;Tom Waits wrote the title track. In 1988, Faithfull married writer and actor Giorgio Della Terza, and they divorced in 1991.[1]
WhenRoger Waters assembled an all-star cast of musicians to perform therock operaThe Wall live in Berlin in July 1990, Faithfull played the part of Pink's overprotective mother. Her musical career rebounded for the third time during the early 1990s with the live albumBlazing Away, which featured Faithfull revisiting songs she had performed over the course of her career.Blazing Away was recorded at St. Ann's Cathedral in Brooklyn. The 13 selections include "Sister Morphine", a cover ofEdith Piaf's "Les Prisons du Roy", and "Why D'Ya Do It?" fromBroken English. Alanna Nash ofStereo Review commended the musicians whom Faithfull had chosen to back her: Longtime guitarist Reynolds was joined by formerBand memberGarth Hudson and pianistDr. John. Nash was impressed with the album's autobiographical tone, noting that "Faithfull's gritty alto is a cracked and halting rasp, the voice of a woman who's been to hell and back on the excursion fare which, of course, she has." She extolled Faithfull as "one of the most challenging and artful of women artists," andRolling Stone writer Fred Goodman asserted: "Blazing Away is a fine retrospective – proof that we can still expect great things from this greying, jaded contessa."[19]
A Collection of Her Best Recordings was released in 1994 byIsland Records to coincide with the release of Faithfull's autobiography; they originally shared the same cover art. The album contained Faithfull's updated version of "As Tears Go By" fromStrange Weather, several cuts fromBroken English andA Child's Adventure and a song written byPatti Smith which had been scheduled for inclusion on an Irish AIDS benefit album. This track, "Ghost Dance", suggested to Faithfull by a friend who later died of AIDS, was made with a trio of old friends; Stones' drummerCharlie Watts and guitaristRon Wood backed Faithfull's vocals on the song andKeith Richards co-produced it. The retrospective album featured one live track, "Times Square", fromBlazing Away, as well as the Faithfull original "She", written with composer and arrangerAngelo Badalamenti. It was released the following year onA Secret Life, with additional songs co-written with Badalamenti. Faithfull sang "Love Is Teasin", an Irish folk standard, withThe Chieftains on their albumThe Long Black Veil, released in 1995. During this time she sang a duet withJohn Prine on the song "This Love Is Real" on Prine's albumLost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. Faithfull sang a duet and recited text on the San Francisco bandOxbow's 1997 albumSerenade in Red. She sang interlude vocals onMetallica's song "The Memory Remains" on their 1997 albumReload and appeared in the song's music video. The track reached No.13 in the UK, No. 28 in the U.S. (No.3 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart).[30]
As her fascination with the music ofWeimar-era Germany continued, Faithfull performed inThe Threepenny Opera at theGate Theatre, Dublin, playingPirate Jenny. Her interpretation of the music led to a new album,Twentieth Century Blues (1996), which focused on the music ofKurt Weill andBertolt Brecht as well asNoël Coward, followed in 1998 by a recording ofThe Seven Deadly Sins with theVienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted byDennis Russell Davies. A hugely successful concert and cabaret tour, accompanied bypianist Paul Trueblood, culminated in the filming at theMontreal Jazz Festival of the DVDMarianne Faithfull Sings Kurt Weill.[citation needed]
In 1998, Faithfull releasedA Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology, a two-disc compilation that chronicled her years withIsland Records. It featured tracks from her albumsBroken English,Dangerous Acquaintances,A Child's Adventure,Strange Weather,Blazing Away, andA Secret Life, as well as several B sides and unreleased tracks.[31]
Faithfull's 1999 DVDDreaming My Dreams contained material about her childhood and parents, with historical video footage going back to 1964, and included interviews with the artist and several friends who had known her since childhood. The documentary included sections on her relationship withJohn Dunbar and Mick Jagger, and brief interviews with Keith Richards. It concluded with footage from a 30-minute live concert, originally broadcast onPBS for the seriesSessions at West 54th. The same year, she ranked 25th inVH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll.[citation needed]
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd wrote the song "Incarceration of a Flower Child" as a portrayal ofSyd Barrett in 1968, although it was never recorded by Pink Floyd. The song was recorded by Faithfull on her 1999 albumVagabond Ways.[32]
Faithfull released several albums from the late 1990s into the 2000s that received positive critical response, beginning withVagabond Ways (1999), which was produced and recorded byMark Howard.Vagabond Ways included collaborations withDaniel Lanois,Emmylou Harris, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, and writer and friendFrank McGuinness. Later that year she sang "Love Got Lost" onJoe Jackson'sNight and Day II.[citation needed]
Her renaissance continued withKissin Time, released in 2002. The album contained songs written withBlur,Beck,Billy Corgan,Jarvis Cocker,Dave Stewart, David Courts and the French pop singerÉtienne Daho. On this record, she paid tribute toNico (with "Song for Nico"), whose work she admired. The album included an autobiographical song she co-wrote with Cocker, called "Sliding Through Life on Charm".[citation needed]
In 2005, she releasedBefore the Poison. The album was primarily a collaboration withPJ Harvey andNick Cave;Damon Albarn andJon Brion also contributed.Before the Poison received mixed reviews from bothRolling Stone andVillage Voice.[33][34] In 2005 she recorded and co-produced "Lola R Forever", a cover of theSerge Gainsbourg song "Lola Rastaquouere" withSly andRobbie for the tribute albumMonsieur Gainsbourg Revisited. In 2007, Faithfull collaborated with the British singer-songwriterPatrick Wolf on the duet "Magpie" from his third albumThe Magic Position, and wrote and recorded a new song for the French filmTruands called "A Lean and Hungry Look" with Ulysse.[citation needed]
In March 2007, she returned to the stage with a touring show titledSongs of Innocence and Experience. Supported by a trio, the performance had a semi-acoustic feel and toured European theatres throughout the spring and summer. The show featured many songs she had not performed live before, including "Something Better", the song she sang onThe Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. The show included theHarry Nilsson song "Don't Forget Me", "Marathon Kiss" fromVagabond Ways, and a version of the traditional "Spike Driver Blues".[citation needed] On 4 November 2007, theEuropean Film Academy announced that Faithfull had received a nomination for Best Actress for her role as Maggie inIrina Palm.[35]
Articles published at that time hinted that Faithfull was looking to retire and was hoping that money fromSongs of the Innocence and Experience would enable her to live in comfort. She said: "I'm not prepared to be 70 and absolutely broke. I realised last year that I have no safety net at all and I'm going to have to get one. So I need to change my attitude to life, which means I have to put away 10 per cent every year of my old age. I want to be in a position where I don't have to work. I should have thought about this a long time ago but I didn't."[36][better source needed] She still lived in her flat located on one of the richest Parisian avenues[37] and had a house inCounty Waterford, Ireland.[37] Recording ofEasy Come, Easy Go commenced in New York City on 6 December 2007; the album was produced byHal Willner, who had recordedStrange Weather in 1997.[citation needed] and featured a version ofMorrissey's "Dear God Please Help Me" from his 2006 albumRingleader of the Tormentors. In March 2009, she performed "The Crane Wife 3" onThe Late Show.[38] In late March, Faithfull began the Easy Come, Easy Go tour, which took her to France, Germany, Austria, New York City, Los Angeles and London.[39]
In November, Faithfull was interviewed by Jennifer Davies[40] onWorld Radio Switzerland, where she described the challenges of being stereotyped as a "mother, or the pure wife". Because of this, she insisted, it had been hard to maintain a long career as a female artist, which, she said, gave her empathy forAmy Winehouse when they had met recently.[41]
On 5 March 2009, Faithfull received the World Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 Women's World Awards.[42] "Marianne's contribution to the arts over a 45-year career including 18 studio albums as a singer, songwriter and interpreter, and numerous appearances on stage and screen is now being acknowledged with this special award."[citation needed] The award was presented in Vienna, with ceremonies televised in over 40 countries on 8 March 2009 as part ofInternational Women's Day.[citation needed]
On 26 October 2009, Faithfull was honoured with the Icon of the Year award from Q magazine.[43]
On 31 January 2011, Faithfull released her 18th studio album,Horses and High Heels, in mainland Europe to mixed reviews.[44][45][46] The 13-track album contained four songs co-written by Faithfull; the rest were mainly covers of well-known songs such asDusty Springfield's "Goin' Back" andthe Shangri-Las' "Past, Present, Future". A UK CD release was planned for 7 March 2011. Faithfull supported the album's release with an extensive European tour with a five-piece band and arrived in the UK on 24 May for a rare show at London'sBarbican Centre, with an extra UK show added atLeamington Spa on 26 May.[citation needed]
On 23 March 2011, Faithfull was awarded theCommandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of France's highest cultural honours.[47] On 7 May 2011, she appeared on theGraham Norton Show.[48] She reunited withMetallica in December 2011 for their 30th anniversary celebration atthe Fillmore where she performed "The Memory Remains".[49]
In 2012, Faithfull recorded a cover version of aStevie Nicks track from theFleetwood Mac albumTusk as part of a Fleetwood Mac tribute project. The track, "Angel", was released on 14 August 2012 as part of the tribute albumJust Tell Me That You Want Me.[50] On 22 June 2013, she made a sell-out concert appearance at theQueen Elizabeth Hall, with jazz musicianBill Frisell playing guitar, as a part of the Meltdown Festival curated byYoko Ono.[51] In September 2014, Faithfull released an album of all-new material, titledGive My Love to London.[52] She started a 12-month 50th anniversary tour at the end of 2014.[53]
During a webchat hosted byThe Guardian on 1 February 2016, Faithfull revealed plans to release a live album from her 50th anniversary tour. She had ideas for a follow-up forGive My Love to London, but had no intention of recording new material for at least a year and a half.[54] Faithfull's albumNegative Capability, was released in November 2018. It featuredRob Ellis,Warren Ellis, Nick Cave,Ed Harcourt, andMark Lanegan.[55][56]
A spoken word album titledShe Walks in Beauty was released in May 2021.[57] Faithfull was accompanied with musical arrangements by Warren Ellis, Brian Eno, Nick Cave and Vincent Segal. The album saw her recite 19th-century British Romantic poets.[58]
On 14 March 2025, the single "Burning Moonlight", which was co-written by Faithfull, was released;[59] the single is from an EP of the same name, which is due to be released forRecord Store Day later in 2025.[60]
In 1999, Faithfull ranked 25th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.[citation needed] In 2023,Rolling Stone ranked Faithfull at number 173 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[61]
| Award | Year | Nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Film Awards | 2007 | Irina Palm | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| Grammy Awards | 1981 | Broken English | Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | Nominated | [62] |
| Q Awards | 2009 | Herself | Q Icon | Won | [63] |
| Women's World Award | 2009 | Herself | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | [42] |
In addition to her music career, Faithfull had a career as an actress in theatre, television and film. Her first professional theatre appearance was in a 1967 stage adaptation ofChekhov'sThree Sisters at theRoyal Court Theatre, London, in which she played Irina, co-starring withGlenda Jackson andAvril Elgar. The previous year she had played herself inJean-Luc Godard's filmMade in U.S.A.. Faithfull was also featured in the 1967 filmI'll Never Forget What's'isname. In the French television filmAnna, she sangSerge Gainsbourg's "Hier ou Demain". In 1968, she starred as a black leather-clad motorcyclist in the filmThe Girl on a Motorcycle (also known asLa Motocyclette andNaked Under Leather). It was thanks to this film, starringAlain Delon, that Faithfull became famous in France. The film was preceded by a widely discussed photograph byParis Match photographer Patrice Habans capturing her beaming as she conversed with Alain Delon, seated to her left, while her then-partnerMick Jagger sat on her other side.[64][65] She also played inKenneth Anger'sLucifer Rising. In London 1969 at theRound House, Faithfull playedOphelia inHamlet, later filmed asHamlet.[citation needed]
Faithfull's stage work includedEdward Bond'sEarly Morning at theRoyal Court Theatre, London, in which she played a lesbianFlorence Nightingale;The Collector atSt Martin's Theatre in theWest EndMad Dog atHampstead Theatre;A Patriot for Me byJohn Osborne, at thePalace Theatre; and the role of Lizzie Curry in N. Richard Nash'sThe Rainmaker, which toured the UK. Her other film roles during the 1970s included Sophy Kwykwer in Stephen Weeks'sGhost Story (AKAMadhouse Mansion); and Helen Rochefort inAssault on Agathon.[citation needed]
Her television acting in the late 1960s and early 1970s includedThe Door of Opportunity (1970),[citation needed] adapted fromW. Somerset Maugham's story, followed byAugust Strindberg'sThe Stronger (1971),[citation needed] andTerrible Jim Fitch (1971) byJames Leo Herlihy.[66] In 1991, she played the role ofPirate Jenny inThe Threepenny Opera at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.[67] Later she performedKurt Weill's "The Seven Deadly Sins" with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, a CD of which was released in 1998.[68]
Faithfull played both God and the Devil. She appeared as God in two guest appearances on the British sitcomAbsolutely Fabulous. In 2004 and 2005, she played the Devil inWilliam Burroughs' andTom Waits' musicalThe Black Rider, directed byRobert Wilson, which opened at London's Barbican Theatre.[citation needed] In 2001, Faithfull appeared inC.S. Leigh'sFar from China. She appeared inPatrice Chéreau'sIntimacy (2001), and in 2004, in Jose Hayot'sNord-Plage. She appeared as EmpressMaria Theresa inSofia Coppola's 2006 biopicMarie Antoinette.[citation needed]
Faithfull starred in the filmIrina Palm, released at theBerlinale film festival in 2007. She played the central role of Maggie, a 60-year-old widow who becomes asex worker to pay for medical treatment for her ill grandson.[69] Faithfull was nominated for theEuropean Film Award for Best Actress for her work in the film.[70] She lent her voice to the 2008 filmEvil Calls: The Raven, but it was recorded several years earlier when the project was titledAlone in the Dark. She appeared in the 2008 feature documentary by Nik Sheehan onBrion Gysin and thedreamachine, titled FLicKeR.[71]
In 2008, Faithfull toured readings ofShakespeare's sonnets, drawing on the "Dark Lady" sequence. Her accompanist was the cellistVincent Ségal.[citation needed] In 2011 and 2012, Faithfull had supporting roles in the filmsFaces in the Crowd[72] and the filmBelle du Seigneur.[73] Faithfull starred in a production ofKurt Weill'sThe Seven Deadly Sins at Landestheater Linz, Austria. The production ran from October 2012 to January 2013.[74] On 18 September 2013, Faithfull was featured in the genealogy documentary seriesWho Do You Think You Are?, tracing her family's roots, in particular her mother's side of the family in pre-World War II Austria.[75]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Made in U.S.A | Herself | Sang "As Tears Go By" in a cafe |
| 1967 | Anna(TV movie) | Une jeune femme dans la soirée dansante | |
| I'll Never Forget What's'isname | Josie | Faithfull became the first person to say "fuck" in a mainstream studio picture. | |
| 1968 | The Girl on a Motorcycle | Rebecca | |
| 1969 | Hamlet | Ophelia | |
| 1971 | The Stronger(TV movie) | Directed byPatrick Garland, also starredBritt Ekland | |
| 1972 | Lucifer Rising(Short) | Lilith | |
| 1974 | Ghost Story | Sophy Kwykwer | |
| 1975 | Assault on Agathon | Helen Rochefort | |
| 1992 | The Turn of the Screw | Narrator | |
| 1993 | When Pigs Fly | Lilly | |
| 1994 | Shopping | Bev | |
| 1995 | Moondance | Mother | Additionally provided the vocals for "Madam George" |
| 1996 | Crimetime | Club Singer | |
| 2001 | Intimacy | Betty | |
| Far from China | Helen | ||
| Absolutely Fabulous(TV series) | God | – "The Last Shout: Part 1" (1996) – "The Last Shout: Part 2" (1996) – "Donkey" (2001) | |
| 2004 | A Letter to True | Narrator | Documentary, written and directed byBruce Weber, released in the U.K. in 2008 |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Marianne | Segment: "Le Marais" |
| Marie Antoinette | Empress Maria Theresa | ||
| 2007 | Irina Palm | Maggie | Nominated forEuropean Film Award for Best Actress |
| 2011 | Faces in the Crowd | Dr. Langenkamp | |
| 2012 | Belle du Seigneur | Mariette | |
| 2013 | Who Do You Think You Are?(TV series) | Herself | Series 10, episode 9 |
| 2021 | Dune | Bene Gesserit Ancestor (voice) | |
| 2023 | Wild Summon | Narrator (voice) |
| Year | Production | Role | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Three Sisters | Irina | Royal Court Theatre, London | [76] |
| 1968 | Early Morning | Florence Nightingale | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 1969 | Hamlet | Ophelia | The Roundhouse, London | [77] |
| 1973 | Alice in Wonderland | Alice | Theatre Royal, Brighton | |
| A Patriot for Me | Countess Sophia Delyanoff | Palace Theatre, Watford | ||
| Mad Dog | Jane Ludlow; Little Ford Fauntleroy (disguised) | Hampstead Theatre, London | ||
| 1974 | The Collector | Miranda | Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, andSt. Martin's Theatre, London | [78] |
| 1975 | The Rainmaker | Lizzie Curry | Kenneth More Theatre, Ilford, and UK tour | |
| The Kingdom of Earth | Myrtle Ravenstock | Greenwood Theatre, London | ||
| 1991 | The Threepenny Opera | Pirate Jenny | Gate Theatre, Dublin | |
| 2004 | The Black Rider | Pegleg | Barbican Centre, London |
Faithfull had threemiscarriages and fourabortions. The first abortion was in 1965, when she had become pregnant byGene Pitney;[82] the procedure was still illegal in the United Kingdom at the time and Faithfull stated that she had a hard time dealing with the guilt. She began to feel better once her son was born the year after. Subsequent terminations were from her period of drug abuse as she did not wish for the children to be born as addicts.[83][84]
During the 1960s, Faithfull had relationships with both men and women.[85][86]
In later years, Faithfull's touring and work schedule were interrupted by health problems. In late 2004, she called off the European leg of a world tour, promotingBefore the Poison, after collapsing on stage inMilan, and was hospitalised for exhaustion. In 2005, the tour resumed to include a U.S. leg. In September 2006, she again cancelled a concert tour, this time after receiving abreast cancer diagnosis[87][88] The following month, she underwent surgery in France, but required no further treatment as the tumour had been caught very early. Less than two months later, she made a public statement of full recovery.[89]
In October 2007, on the UK television programThis Morning, Faithfull disclosed that she suffered fromhepatitis C, which had first been diagnosed 12 years earlier. She discussed both the cancer and hepatitis diagnoses in greater depth in her memoirMemories, Dreams and Reflections.[3] On 27 May 2008, she posted the following on herMySpace page, with the headline "Tour Dates Cancelled" (and credited to FR Management, the company operated by her boyfriend/managerFrançois Ravard): "Due to general mental, physical, and nervous exhaustion, doctors have ordered Marianne Faithfull to immediately cease all work activities and rehabilitate. The treatment and recovery should last around six months."[citation needed]
In August 2013, Faithfull was forced to cancel a string of concerts in the U.S. andLebanon, after a back injury during a holiday trip inCalifornia.[90]
On 30 May 2014, Faithfull suffered a broken hip after a fall while vacationing on the Greek island ofRhodes and underwent surgery.[91] Afterwards, an infection developed, causing Faithfull to cancel or postpone parts of her 50th anniversary tour, so that she could receive additional surgery and rehabilitation.[92]
In 2016, she revealed she hademphysema, a lung disease induced by smoking, and needed to use inhaled medication daily.[93] She continued to smoke, however, and was not able to quit until 2019, later regretting that she had not done so sooner.[94]
On 4 April 2020, it was announced that Faithfull was hospitalised in London forpneumonia following a positiveCOVID-19 test.[95] Her management company reported that she was "stable and responding to treatment."[95] On 21 April, following a three-week stay, she was discharged from the hospitalisation.[96] In a brief statement, she publicly thanked the hospital staff for, "without a doubt," saving her life.[96] She initially thought she would be unable to sing again after the effects of thecoronavirus on her lungs, and she continued to suffer memory loss because of it.[97] She worked on her breathing and undertook singing practice as a part of her recovery.[98]
Faithfull died in London on 30 January 2025, at the age of 78.[99][100]
... (Faithfull's mother) told her "wonderful stories about castles and parties and balls" and styled herself as a baroness...Eva's claiming of a title was exaggerated but rooted in reality...
The combination often proves too bleak.
Faithfull's voice is just too weak to carry a tune without a narrative crutch... Luckily for you, the age of iconic chanteuse auto-tribute albums (Nancy Sinatra,Loretta Lynn, the Sixths) is coincident with the rise of iTunes. Unless you dig Nick's poetry, grab the Polly songs and run.
She still lives in Paris and has a house in County Waterford, Ireland.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)it's not territory she occupies comfortably (Two stars out of five)
Producer Hal Wilner again helms this follow-up but the chemistry proves more fitful.
Marianne Faithfull's Horses and High Heels is heavy with world-weary pathos.
