Anita Pallenberg Had a Hell of a Life

An actor and model who dated two of the Rolling Stones (and is rumored to have had an affair with a third) died Tuesday in a hospital in England, the New York Times reports. Anita Pallenberg was 73; a cause of death was not given. Pallenberg was perhaps best known for her connection to the Rolling Stones—she happily described herself as a hanger-on—for whom she served as a muse. According to the Guardian, Pallenberg got backstage at her first Stones concert in 1965. She supplied guitarist Brian Jones with marijuana and hash and soon started a relationship with him. After Jones reportedly physically abused her, Pallenberg moved on to Keith Richards, with whom she would have three children prior to their split in 1980.

Richards has said he was attracted to Pallenberg's artistic sensibility and strength. "I like a high-spirited woman," the Hollywood Reporter quotes from Richards' memoir. "And with Anita, you knew you were taking on a valkyrie—she who decides who dies in battle." Pallenberg sang backing vocals on "Sympathy for the Devil," and Mick Jagger is said to have remixed parts of Beggars Banquet on her input. She starred in the film Performance with Jagger in 1970 while denying the two were having an affair. She also memorably appeared as the Black Queen in Barbarella. Pallenberg kicked a heroin addiction and earned a four-year degree in fashion. She once said a memoir about her life would be too "salacious." (More obituary stories.)