Anita Pallenberg dead at 73

Anita Pallenberg

January 25, 1944 - June 13, 2017

Italian-German actress/model Anita Pallenberg, former partner to Brian Jones and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, died today. At this moment in time, the cause of death is unknown. Pallenberg was 73.  

Born in Rome in 1944, Pallenberg started her career as a model at 16 after being expelled from school. During this time, she lived in Rome, Germany and New York. It was during her time in New York City at she was seen with the people from Andy Warhol's Factory. In her life, Pallenberg appeared in some dozen films. Her best known movies including the 1968 Roger Vadim sci-fi flick Barbarella and the 1970  Donald Cammell-Nicols Roeg mind-bending crime drama Performance. The former starred Jane Fonda while the latter was Mick Jagger's acting debut. Over the years, both of these movies became cult favorites.    

In the music world, Pallenberg is perhaps best known for her association with the Rolling Stones. She first met the band in 1965 when they were touring in Munich while Pallenberg was on a modelling assignment. Around that time, Pallenberg started a relationship with guitarist Brian Jones. The couple were together until 1967 when Jones was said to have been violent towards Pallenberg while on vacation in Morocco. Soon after her split with Jones, Pallenberg started a relationship with guitarist Keith Richards. From 1967 to 1979, Richards and Pallenberg were together. Though they never married, Pallenberg gave birth to three of Richards' children: Marlon (born 1969), Dandelion Angela (born 1972, who goes by her middle name) and Tara Jo Jo Gunne- who died ten weeks after his birth. Tara's death is said to have been from either SIDS or pneumonia. Even after their split, Richards and Pallenberg were still close. Richards would later marry model Patti Hansen, who he has been married to since 1983.

After her relationship with Richards ended, Pallenberg struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. She stopped drinking in 1987 (with the exception of a relapse in 2004 after a second hip surgery) and was able to stay sober from drugs around 2000.  Prior to her death, Pallenberg was suffering from Hepatitis C. Despite her health struggles, Pallenberg was able to appear a few more movies in the late 2000s. 

Pallenberg is survived by two children (Marlon and Angela) and five grandchildren. 

It's sad to hear of Ms. Pallenberg's death. Performance is one of my favorite movies, which she's fairly good in. I can't say I've seen any of her other movies but it's just sad to hear that someone in the Stones camp has died. 

Rest in peace, Anita.