Linda McCartney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Linda McCartney
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
McCartney in 1976
|
|
| Born |
Linda Louise Eastman
September 24, 1941 Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
|
| Died | April 17, 1998 (aged 56) Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1965–1998 |
| Spouse(s) |
Melville See Jr.
(m. 1962; div. 1965) |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relatives | Rose Frisch (aunt) |
| Musical career | |
| Instruments |
|
| Associated acts |
|
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney (born Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, and a strong supporter of animal rights. She also wrote vegetarian cookbooks and started a food company. She was the keyboard player in the band Wings, alongside her husband, Paul McCartney, who was a member of the famous the Beatles.
Linda started her career as a photographer in the mid-1960s. She took pictures of many famous musicians and entertainers. She became the official photographer for the Fillmore East, a well-known concert hall in New York. Linda was the first woman to have her photograph on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Her photos were shown in galleries and museums, like the Victoria and Albert Museum. They were also collected in several books.
Linda learned to play keyboards from her husband. After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Paul and Linda recorded the album Ram together. They then formed the band Wings in 1971. She continued to play with Paul until 1993.
She was a strong voice for animal rights. Linda wrote and published several vegetarian cookbooks. She also started the vegetarian Linda McCartney Foods company with her husband. In 1995, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She passed away from the disease three years later at age 56.
Contents
Linda's Early Life
Linda Louise Eastman was born in Scarsdale, New York, on September 24, 1941. She had an older brother, John, and two younger sisters, Laura and Louise Jr. Her mother, Louise Sara Eastman, came from a German-Jewish family. Her father, Lee Eastman, was born Leopold Vail Epstein. He was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants.
Linda's father was an entertainment lawyer in New York. He had many famous clients. At his request, the song "Linda" was written for her when she was four. It became a number one hit in 1947.
Linda graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1959. She then attended Vermont College. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1961. Her brother John later became Paul McCartney's lawyer and manager. Linda loved nature and animals when she was growing up. She enjoyed horseback riding as a child.
After college, she studied fine arts at the University of Arizona. She also took up nature photography as a hobby. While she was studying, her mother died in a plane crash in 1962. Linda then left the University of Arizona without finishing her degree. She married Joseph Melville See Jr. in June 1962. Their daughter Heather was born in December 1962. They divorced in 1965. Linda then started using her maiden name again.
Linda's Career
Photography Work
Linda became a receptionist and assistant for Town & Country magazine. In 1965, she learned from photographer David Dalton. She watched how he set up shots and managed lighting. When she started her own photo shoots, she easily took control of musicians.
The magazine received an invitation to photograph the Rolling Stones. They were having a party on a yacht. Linda immediately volunteered to go. A few months later, she was allowed backstage at Shea Stadium. This was where the Beatles performed.
Linda gained experience photographing celebrities. She became an unofficial photographer at Bill Graham's Fillmore East concert hall. She photographed many artists there. These included Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. Her photo of Neil Young from 1967 was used on an album cover in 2008.
She photographed Eric Clapton for Rolling Stone magazine. She became the first woman to have a photograph on its cover in May 1968. After she married Paul McCartney, their photo together appeared on the cover in 1974. This made her the only person to be on the cover as both the subject and the photographer.
Her photographs were later shown in over 50 galleries around the world. They were also displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A collection of her photos, Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era, was published in 1992. She also took the photo for the cover of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's song "The Girl Is Mine".
Music Career
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Paul taught Linda to play keyboards. They recorded an album together called Ram. The couple then formed the band Wings. The band won several Grammy Awards. They became one of the most successful British bands of the 1970s.
In 1977, a reggae-inspired song called "Seaside Woman" was released. It was by a band called Suzy and the Red Stripes. This band was actually Wings, with Linda singing lead vocals. Linda wrote the song. It was a response to claims that her songwriting credits were not real.
The McCartneys were nominated for an Oscar for their song "Live and Let Die". They were photographed together at the event in April 1974. Linda's album Wide Prairie, which included "Seaside Woman," was released after her death in 1998. Paul also dedicated his classical album Ecce Cor Meum (1999) to Linda.
Vegetarian Cookbooks and Company
Linda and Paul decided to become vegetarians in 1975. Linda said she would no longer "eat anything with a face." She believed that if people saw what happened in slaughterhouses, everyone would be vegetarian.
This led her to create cookbooks and a company. In 1989, she released her first vegetarian cookbook, Linda McCartney's Home Cooking. In 1991, Linda started her own company, Linda McCartney Foods. This company sold frozen vegetarian meals.
Linda McCartney Foods made it easier for people to choose not to eat meat. At that time, there were very few vegetarian options. Linda helped make vegetarianism possible for many more people. Her brand is now one of Britain’s most well-known meat-free food products.
Her next vegetarian cookbook, Linda's Kitchen: Simple and Inspiring Recipes for Meatless Meals, was published in 1995. It was nominated for an award in 1996. In 2021, Paul, Stella, and Mary McCartney updated some of Linda's recipes. They made them vegan and released them as the cookbook, Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen.
Linda's Personal Life
Marriages
First Marriage (1962–1965)
Linda's first marriage was to Joseph Melville See Jr. She met him in college. He studied geology at Princeton. Linda followed him to the University of Arizona. She enrolled there to study art history. She was there in March 1962 when her mother died in a plane crash.
She married Joseph on June 18, 1962. Their daughter Heather Louise was born on December 31, 1962. The couple had different lifestyles and became unhappy. They divorced in June 1965. Joseph was an academic who studied a lot. Linda preferred a home life. She loved the wide open spaces in Arizona. She enjoyed riding horses through the desert. This scenery inspired her to take up photography.
Marriage to Paul McCartney (1969–1998)
On May 15, 1967, Linda met Paul McCartney in London. They met at the Bag O'Nails club. They met again four days later at a party for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. After her work was done, she flew back to New York City.
They met again the next May in New York. Paul invited Linda to visit him in London. When she arrived, they spent the evening at his home. Paul was attracted to Linda for many reasons. He liked her as a woman. He also liked that she was a mother. He had always wanted children of his own. When Paul first met Heather, Linda's daughter, he wanted them to move to London to live with him. He spent time with Heather, playing and reading to her.
Paul's friends noticed that Linda made him more relaxed. She seemed less worried about clothes or how she looked in public. She often held his arm and seemed to admire him. Paul started to be less formal himself. He would shave less often and wear simpler clothes.
Linda's relaxed attitude also helped Paul in other ways. He once felt guilty for being tired from work. He apologized to her, but she simply said, "it's allowed." This surprised him. He realized it was okay to be tired.
They were married in a small ceremony in London on March 12, 1969. Some British fans were upset. Paul was the last single Beatle, and his marriage ended that. Many fans thought Linda and Yoko Ono (John Lennon's wife) were reasons for the Beatles' breakup. John Lennon later said that Linda received many insults for no reason, just because she fell in love with Paul.
In late 1969, Paul became very sad because the Beatles were breaking up. He spent days in bed and drank too much. Linda helped him through this difficult time. She praised his songwriting and encouraged him to keep writing music.
Paul McCartney wrote "Maybe I'm Amazed" in Linda's honor. During their 29-year marriage, the McCartneys had four children. Linda had her daughter Heather from her first marriage, whom Paul later adopted. Together, they had Mary (born 1969), Stella (born 1971), and James (born 1977).
They often visited Paul's farmhouse in western Scotland. This was a hidden place he used to escape from the fame of the Beatles. They both loved and needed time away from the city. They enjoyed being in nature. Paul said they would "just enjoy sitting out in nature." The song "Two of Us" was written by Paul during one of their country drives.
Paul started writing more songs away from the studio. He wrote the song "The Lovely Linda" for his first solo album while they were in Scotland. In 1971, they recorded the album Ram.
Linda became Lady McCartney when her husband was knighted in 1997.
Animal Rights Activist
Linda was a strong supporter of animal rights. She helped many organizations. These included People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Friends of the Earth. She also supported the League Against Cruel Sports. She narrated a TV advertisement for PETA. In it, she talked about how fish suffer when taken out of water. After her death, PETA created the Linda McCartney Memorial Award.
Diagnosis and Death
Linda McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. Her condition worsened when the cancer spread to her liver. Paul knew the doctors had told them it was caught too late. They said she would have about 18 months. She died from the disease at age 56 on April 17, 1998. She passed away at the McCartney family ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Her family was with her when she died.
Linda McCartney was cremated in Tucson. Her ashes were scattered at the McCartney family's farm in Sussex, England. Paul later suggested that fans remember her by donating to breast cancer research charities that did not test on animals. He also said the best tribute would be to become vegetarian.
A memorial service was held for her in London. Many celebrities attended, including George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Another service was held in New York. Paul said at her funeral, "She was my girlfriend. I lost my girlfriend."
Linda left all her property to Paul. This included money from books and records, and rights to her photos. Paul promised to continue her line of vegetarian food. He also pledged to keep it free from GMOs.
Tributes and Dedications
In June 1998, artist Brian Clarke showed a large stained glass artwork. It was called The Glass Wall (Dedicated to Linda McCartney). It was renamed in her honor after her death.
After her death, the Edinburgh International Film Festival showed Wide Prairie. This was a six-minute cartoon film Linda made with director Oscar Grillo.
In April 1999, Paul McCartney performed at the "Concert for Linda". This tribute concert was held in London. Many artists performed, including George Michael and Elvis Costello. Paul ended the concert by dedicating it to Linda and their children.
In January 2000, Paul announced donations of over $2,000,000 for cancer research. This money went to centers in New York and Arizona. The donations were made with the condition that no animals would be used for testing. Also in 2000, The Linda McCartney Centre, a cancer clinic, opened in Liverpool. In November 2002, a memorial garden opened in Campbeltown, Scotland. It has a bronze statue of Linda by her cousin, Jane Robbins.
Linda in Other Media
Elizabeth Mitchell and Gary Bakewell played the McCartneys in the 2000 TV movie The Linda McCartney Story. She was also shown as "Linda Eastman" in the 1985 TV movie John and Yoko: A Love Story. The McCartneys appeared as themselves in The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian".
She also appears in the 2021 Peter Jackson documentary The Beatles: Get Back.
Discography
Albums
- Ram (1971) (with Paul McCartney)
- Wide Prairie (1998)
Solo Singles
| Year | Song | UK | US Hot 100 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Wide Prairie" | 74 | – | Wide Prairie |
| 1999 | "The Light Comes from Within" | 56 | – |
Session Work
- Paul McCartney – McCartney (1970)
- The Beatles – Let It Be (1970)
- Denny Laine – Holly Days (1977)
- Denny Laine – Japanese Tears (1980)
- Paul McCartney – McCartney II (1980)
- Paul McCartney – Tug of War (1982)
- Paul McCartney – Pipes of Peace (1983)
- Paul McCartney – Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
- Paul McCartney – Press to Play (1986)
- Paul McCartney – Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
- Paul McCartney – Off the Ground (1993)
- Paul McCartney – Flaming Pie (1997)
See also
In Spanish: Linda McCartney para niños
- List of animal rights advocates
- List of vegetarians
