June 13, 2017: Anita Pallenberg, Ex-Girlfriend of Keith Richards, Dies
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg in the ’70s
From the mid-’60s through the end of the ’70s, she was among the elite of rock girlfriends: first linked with Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and then, for a dozen years, with his bandmate Keith Richards. Anita Pallenberg died June 13, 2017, of complications from hepatitis C at a hospital in West Sussex, England. The actress, artist and model was 75.
Pallenberg’s passing was initially announced on social media by her friend Stella Schnabel. Richards, according to an obituary published in the U.K., was said to be “devastated” by the news of Pallenberg’s death.
Schnabel posted on Instagram: “I have never met a woman quite like you Anita. I don’t think there is anybody in this universe like you. No one has ever understood me so well. You showed about life and myself and how to grow and become and exist with it all. I was a little girl thinking I was big but I became a woman through knowing you. The secret lyrical you. My best friend. The greatest woman I have ever known. Thank you for the most important lessons—because they are ever changing and definitive. Like you. We are all singing for you, how you liked it. Go in peace my Roman mother, you will always be in my heart.”
Watch a video interview with Pallenberg
A documentary film, Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg, was released in 2024. It’s available for streaming or purchase here.
Born in Rome on Jan. 25, 1942, to German parents, Pallenberg lived both in her native city, as well as Germany and New York, before settling in London, where she became involved with the Living Theatre. She met Jones in Munich, Germany, in 1965 while modeling and left him for Richards two years later, after Jones allegedly abused her. The couple stayed together until 1979 and had three children: Marlon, Angela and Tara (who died at 10 weeks old).
According to Richards’ autobiography, Pallenberg also had an affair with Mick Jagger while he was filming Performance in the late ’60s but she later denied it.
In Richards’ memoir, Life, he also claimed that, during the couple’s time together, she shared his addiction to heroin. In 1977 Pallenberg was arrested for possession of the drug in Toronto (Richards was also arrested).
Anita Pallenberg later in life
Pallenberg also made the news in 1979 when a 17-year-old boy, Scott Cantrell, shot himself in the head in an upstate New York home she shared with Richards. Richards was in Paris at the time with the Stones and was not in the room when the tragedy occurred. Pallenberg was charged with manslaughter but cleared in court. He left her following the incident.
Richards acknowledged the third anniversary of her passing with a tweet.
Thinking of Anita ! April 6, 1942 – June 13, 2017 pic.twitter.com/q7K3pSWkKG
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) June 13, 2020
Pallenberg appeared in several iconic ’60s/’70s films, including the Stones documentary Sympathy for the Devil, as well as Candy, Barbarella and Performance.
Watch Pallenberg in the 1970 film Performance
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationHonestly, one of the most bewitching women ever. I dare you to watch “Performance” and not fall in love with her.