Linda McCartney facts: Songs, activism, family, vegetarianism, marriages and death of the Wings star revealed

24 September 2024, 15:57

So much more than Mrs Paul McCartney.

Linda McCartney is known to many people as "Paul McCartney's first wife", but that doesn't begin to do justice to a remarkable woman who lived a remarkable life.

First as a photographer, then as a musician alongside her ex-Beatle husband, and then as an activist, cookbook writer and food entrepreneur, she did her bit to change the world.

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But do you know where Linda grew up, or what her name was before she was a McCartney?

Do you know what records she played on, and how she became one of the most famous vegetarians on the planet?

Read on for all the fast facts about The Lovely Linda.

When was Linda McCartney born and where did she grow up?

Linda McCartney was born Linda Louise Eastman in Manhattan, New York, on September 24, 1941.

Her mum Louise Sara Eastman was the daughter of Lindner Company clothing store founder Max J. Lindner.

Linda's dad Lee Eastman was an entertainment lawyer who had some pretty big clients, including 'Over The Rainbow' songwriter Harold Arlen, bandleader Tommy Dorsey and songwriter Jack Lawrence, as well as groundbreaking painters Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko.

Linda

Those connections did give a VERY young Linda a bit of an "in" in the pop world, when Jack Lawrence wrote a song called 'Linda' – at dad Lee's request – when she was just one year old.

That song became a hit for Buddy Clark in 1947 and was covered by Jan and Dean in 1963.

Linda attended Scarsdale High School, before going to Vermont College in Montpelier, Vermont, and receiving an Associate of Arts in 1961.

She then majored in fine arts at the University of Arizona, but left without graduating after her mother was killed in the 1962 crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay, New York.

Was Linda married before meeting Paul McCartney and did she have any children?

Linda met Joseph Melville See Jr. in college and they married on June 18, 1962, just three months after her mother's tragic death.

Their daughter Heather Louise was born on New Year's Eve later that year. The marriage wasn't a particularly happy one, and they divorced in June 1965.

Having briefly been Linda See, Linda reverted to her maiden name of Linda Eastman.

What did Linda McCartney do before she met Paul?

With her background in the arts, Linda became a keen nature photographer.

She was a receptionist and editorial assistant for Town & Country magazine and picked up tips from her then-boyfriend, photographer David Dalton.

"The problem with shooting groups was the groups," Dalton was quoted saying about working with musicians in Linda McCartney: The Biography.

"They were obnoxious, excruciatingly self-conscious teenage brats. It was a bloody pain in the neck. But with the Lovely Linda, all this changed. . . Now their eyes were pinned on her."

More than just being lovely, she also learned about setting up shots, light and composition.

Why Town & Country wanted to feature The Rolling Stones we're still not quite sure, but when it did Linda was the only snapper that would work.

"I was the only photographer they allowed on the yacht," Linda said.

"I just kept clicking away with the camera, and they enjoyed it and I enjoyed it, and suddenly I found that taking pictures was a great way to live and a great way to work."

She developed her craft by studying the photography of horses, and carried on shooting bands at Bill Graham's Fillmore East.

Her photo of Eric Clapton made her the first woman to have shot the cover of Rolling Stone when it fronted the mag on May 11, 1968.

How did Linda meet Paul McCartney and when did they get married?

It was during her work as a photographer that Linda met her future husband Paul McCartney.

She was on an assignment to shoot Georgie Fame at the Bag O'Nails club in London on May 15, 1967, where they first crossed paths.

Perhaps it was fate.. they met again only four days later at Brian Epstein's house for the launch of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

It was a year later that they got together, this time on her home turf in New York, when Paul (and John Lennon) were visiting for the inauguration of Apple Records.

Clearly things were getting serious, and a few months later Paul – smitten by her good looks and rebel heart – invited Linda to stay with him in London.

And on March 12, 1969, they got married in an understated civil ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall. A week later, John Lennon married Yoko Ono.

How did Linda McCartney end up in Wings and what songs did Linda and Paul McCartney work on together?

The Lovely Linda (Remastered 2011)

When The Beatles disintegrated at the end of the 1960s, Paul McCartney didn't jump straight into a formal working relationship with his new wife.

But while his debut album McCartney was billed as an entirely solo affair in 1970, Linda did appear on backing vocals on some songs. She was also immortalised in song once more on the opening 'The Lovely Linda'.

On the following year's Ram, Linda was officially on board, with the album being credited to Paul and Linda McCartney.

She was there doing backing vocals and harmonies once more, and even picked up songwriting credits on half of the album's 12 tracks.

Another Day

The same year, Paul McCartney launched his post-Beatles band Wings with the album Wild Life, and Linda was now not just offering backing vocals. She sang co-lead on several tracks, and also played keyboards, piano and percussion.

Apart from a cove of 'Love is Strange', Linda shared co-writing on all songs with Paul, too. The same held for the vast, vast majority of tracks on follow-ups Red Rose Speedway, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and Wings at the Speed of Sound, while Paul went back to solo songwriting for Wings' last two albums.

Together with Paul and Denny Laine, Linda was the only other ever-present in Wings across their ten years and seven albums together.

Did Linda McCartney ever release a solo album?

Linda McCartney - Seaside Woman (Version 1) Official Video

Despite sexist jibes, Linda was a capable musician and songwriter too.

Soon after the Beatles' split, Paul released 'Another Day' with Linda credited as a co-writer, a move widely believed to be a bit of a business manoeuvre to hold on to more of the royalties.

For what it's worth, Paul was adamant that Linda had a genuine role in the songwriting process, coming up with ideas for both lyrics and melodies.

Linda McCartney - The White Coated Man (Official Video)

To prove it, he asked her to write a song all by herself. 'Seaside Woman' was that first song. Wings performed it in early 1972, and it was eventually released under the fake band name Suzy and the Red Stripes in 1977.

While Linda never released her own solo album during her lifetime, Paul compiled the posthumous Wide Prairie collection six months after her death.

Credited to Linda, the album pulled together 16 songs with Linda on lead vocals, with Linda having sole writing credit on five of its tracks and co-writing credit on eight of the others.

How many children did Linda and Paul McCartney have together?

When Linda and Paul got married in 1969, her daughter Heather was six years old. With her biological dad's approval, Paul formally adopted her, and she became Heather McCartney. You can see her making a memorable appearance in the Let It Be movie and Get Back docuseries.

Paul and Linda then added to their family with three more children – photographer Mary, fashion designer Stella, and musician James.

How did Linda McCartney become THE brand for vegetarian food in the UK?

Lindas Chilli Non Carne

Many people who have no interest in music (there are some of those strange folk about) will have heard the name "Linda McCartney".

That's because as well as being a successful photographer and musician, she became one of the biggest names in vegetarian food in England.

Linda was a long-time advocate for animal rights, being involved in organisations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Council for the Protection of Rural England and Friends of the Earth.

Introducing Grow Your Own With Linda McCartney Foods feat. Paul McCartney

Both she and Paul became vegetarians in 1975, and in 1989 she released her first cookbook Linda McCartney's Home Cooking.

Just two years later she launched Linda McCartney Foods, selling frozen ready meals based around dehydrated textured vegetable protein and later wheat protein, making vegetarianism easier for many people.

The company has changed ownership a few times, being owned by McVitie's, Heinz, and Hain Celestial Group, but the Linda McCartney brand is still going incredibly strong, being a key part of her legacy 30 years after her passing.

When did Linda McCartney die and how old was she?

Linda McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, with the cancer later spreading to her liver.

By this point it had become too severe to treat, and Linda died at the McCartney ranch in Tucson, Arizona, on April 17, 1998. She was just 56.

Her ashes were later scattered at the McCartney farm in Sussex, and Paul urged fans wanting to pay tribute to donate to breast cancer charities that didn't support animal testing, or to go vegetarian in her honour.