Anita Pallenberg

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Lore & Background

Pallenberg's arrival in London marked a turning point for the band's aesthetic and internal dynamics. After meeting Brian Jones in Munich in 1965 during a modelling assignment, they began a two-year relationship fueled by shared experimentation with acid, which she later recalled caused Jones to suffer nightmares. Their partnership ended violently in 1967 after a vacation in Morocco; Jones assaulted her, leading to his hospitalization and their separation. It was there that Keith Richards intervened, pulling her away from the assault and bringing her back to England where they moved in together. Her presence shifted the band's creative direction significantly. Her burgeoning relationship with Jones encouraged musical experimentation on the 1966 album *Aftermath*. Later, her intelligence intimidated other members yet elicited Jagger's respect; he even remixed tracks for *Beggars Banquet* after she criticized them. She is officially credited as singing background vocals on 'Sympathy for the Devil' in the 2002 compilation *Forty Licks*. While rumors and Richards' own autobiography suggest a brief affair with Jagger during the filming of *Performance*, Pallenberg denied further infidelities in interviews throughout 2007 and 2008.

In Their Own Story

The summer of 1979 brought a tragic end to a chapter at the South Salem, New York house shared by Richards and Pallenberg. On 20 July, 17-year-old Scott Cantrell, employed as a part-time groundsman, shot himself in the head with a gun owned by Keith Richards while lying in Pallenberg's bed. At the time, Richards was recording in Paris, leaving Pallenberg to face arrest; however, the death was ruled a suicide in 1980. Her personal life was equally marked by profound loss and resilience. She lost her son Tara Jo Jo Gunne just ten weeks after his birth on 26 March 1976, with causes cited as SIDS or pneumonia. Following this tragedy, Keith's mother blamed Pallenberg, calling her an unfit mother and taking daughter Dandelion Angela to live with her. Pallenberg raised Marlon Leon mostly on the road until he was eight, when she moved them to Long Island for a routine life. Despite these hardships, she found moments of levity, appearing alongside friend Marianne Faithfull in a 2001 episode of *Absolutely Fabulous* where they played God and the Devil.

Reader's Guide

Anita Pallenberg's journey from a Rome-born child separated by World War II to a global icon began with her expulsion from school at age 16. She spent time with the Dolce Vita crowd in Rome before moving to New York City, where she lived in Andy Warhol's Factory and starred in *Paradise Now* for the Living Theatre. Her career spanned over a dozen films, including notable roles as the Great Tyrant in *Barbarella* (1968), Pherber in *Performance* (1970), and the sleeper wife in *Dillinger Is Dead* (1969). In her later years, she returned to education, graduating from Central Saint Martins in London in 1994 with a fashion degree, though she declined a career in the industry due to its cruelty. She struggled with health issues including hepatitis C and two hip surgeries that left her with a limp. After detoxing in the early 1980s and stopping drinking in 1987, she faced relapses but remained committed to sobriety, attending AA meetings regularly. In August 2016, at over 70, she told Alain Elkann she was ready to die, stating she did not want to lose her independence. She passed away on 13 June 2017 from complications of hepatitis C, survived by two children and five grandchildren.

Did You Know?

• Pallenberg was fluent in four languages at an early age after being sent to a boarding school in Germany by her father.
• She played the Great Tyrant in *Barbarella* (1968), but the character's voice was dubbed by Joan Greenwood.
• In 2007, she appeared as 'The Devil' alongside Marianne Faithfull ('God') in an episode of *Absolutely Fabulous*.
• Her unpublished memoir and taped interviews were discovered by her grandchildren after her death and became central to the documentary *Catching Fire*.
• She was credited with singing background vocals on 'Sympathy for the Devil' in the 2002 compilation release *Forty Licks*.