Who was Anita Pallenberg?

Anita Pallenberg was a German-Italian actress and model who was known for her iconic style and her tumultuous relationship with Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards. She was born on April 6, 1942, in Rome (some reports say Hamburg). Rebellious from a young age, she was expelled from school when she was 16 and moved to New York City, where she began modeling. She then moved to Paris and began acting in such films as A Degree of Murder (1967) and Barbarella (1968). In 1965 she met Rolling Stones member Brian Jones; their relationship was often fueled by drug use and became physically abusive. In 1967 she left Jones for Richards.

Pallenberg and Richards had three children: Marlon, Angela (born Dandelion), and Tara (who died in infancy). Her “wild child” fashion sense inspired the Stones’ own style, and many music critics regard her as the band’s primary muse in the late 1960s and early ’70s. In 1970 she and Mick Jagger, the Stones’ lead singer, appeared in the film Performance. Richards’s jealousy over their love scenes inspired him to write the song “Gimme Shelter.”

Both Pallenberg and Richards struggled with heroin addiction for many years, although they eventually overcame their addictions. They broke up in 1980. Pallenberg’s later acting credits include an episode of Absolutely Fabulous and the 2009 film Chéri. She died on June 13, 2007, in Chichester, West Sussex, England.