Marianne Faithfull, British singer and Rolling Stones muse, dies at 78
Marianne Faithfull, a singer and actress 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 provided to USA TODAY read. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed."
A cause of death was not provided.
Faithfull's music rose to popularity in the 1960s, and helped helm the female wing of the British invasion, a term for U.K. artists becoming popular in the U.S. commonly associated with The Beatles.
Her musical career ran parallel to growing success in acting with films like "Hamlet," "The Girl on a Motorcycle," and much later, Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette."
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Both a household name and a victim of her circumstances, Faithfull's story was punctuated by an unusual amount of tragedy. Her bouts with homelessness and drug addiction made the longevity of her career a phoenix's story.
Faithfull met Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in her teens, according to The Guardian, kicking off a fruitful and fraught period of collaboration with the band − in particular, frontman Mick Jagger.
Oldham asked Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards to pen Faithfull's debut single "As Tears Go By" in 1964 which went on to become one of her most famous tracks.
In 1965, Faithfull married artist John Dunbar, with whom she had a son, but soon left the marriage to be with Jagger, the outlet reports. In the four-year relationship that ensued, she became a muse for one of the biggest rock bands in the world and fell into a worsening spiral of drug addiction.
In a miraculous fall from the height of fame, Faithfull lost custody of her child and wound up homeless on the streets of London.
In 1967 she pulled off a comeback with "Dreamin' My Dreams," a country album, becoming clean and sober over a decade later.
Releasing a total of 21 studio albums, Faithfull collaborated with artists like Emmylou Harris, Beck and Metallica.
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