‘Swinging Sixties’ icon Marianne Faithfull has died aged 78

‘Swinging Sixties’ icon Marianne Faithfull has died aged 78.

The singer, songwriter and actress' passing was announced on Thursday (30.10.25) by her spokesperson.

They said: “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.”

Born in 1946 in Hampstead, London, Marianne was the daughter of a Viennese mother with ties to Austrian nobility and an MI6 agent father who left the family when she was six.

She began her musical journey in 1964, recording ‘As Tears Go By’, a song penned by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and The Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham.

The track reached the UK Top 10, marking the start of her association with the Stones.

Her personal life became entwined with the band, and after her marriage to artist John Dunbar ended, she entered a relationship with Mick,, becoming a fixture in London’s ‘Swinging Sixties’ scene.

This period was marred by personal challenges – including a miscarriage in 1968 and a battle with heroin addiction that led to homelessness in Soho.

Despite the struggles, Marianne made a remarkable comeback with her 1979 album ‘Broken English’, reestablishing her as a formidable talent in the music industry.

Reflecting on her tumultuous past, she told The Independent in 2008: “I’m not saying I behaved that well, but I didn’t really do anything that terrible either.”

She also spoke candidly about her time living on the streets, telling The Guardian a year earlier: “It’s very, very strange to think about it. It was such a degraded moment, to live on a wall and shoot drugs.”

Yet she insisted it was “exactly what I needed at that time… it was complete anonymity. I wanted to disappear – and I did.”

In addition to her musical achievements, Marianne pursued acting, appearing in productions such as Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’ at the Royal Court Theatre alongside Glenda Jackson, and in films including ‘I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname’ opposite Orson Welles and Oliver Reed.

Her later years were fraught with health issues, including battles with hepatitis C, breast cancer, and a severe bout of Covid in 2020.

But she continued to create, releasing her ‘She Walks in Beauty’ album in 2021 – a collaboration with Warren Ellis, Nick Cave, and Brian Eno that showcased her enduring passion for the Romantic poets.

Marianne is survived by her son, Nicholas Dunbar.