Category:
Richest Celebrities › Actors
Net Worth:
$10 Million
Birthdate:
Sep 24, 1941 - Apr 17, 1998 (56 years old)
Birthplace:
New York City
Gender:
Female
Profession:
Musician, Photographer, Keyboard Player, Singer, Film Score Composer, Film Producer, Actor, Entrepreneur, Composer
Nationality:
United States of America
Linda McCartney was a photographer, musician, animal rights and environmental activist, and entrepreneur who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of her death in 1998. The first wife of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney, she played keyboards in his band Wings and continued playing with him until the early 1990s. As an animal rights activist, she published multiple vegetarian cookbooks and founded the vegetarian company Linda McCartney Foods. Tragically Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. She died at the age of 56 on April 17, 1998 in Tucson, Arizona, where the McCartneys had a ranch.
Linda was the daughter of Leopold Vail Epstein, who later changed his name to Lee Eastman. Contrary to popular belief, Leopold was not an heir to the Eastman Kodak empire. When asked about the alleged connection to the camera company, Linda once explained:
“I don’t know how that mistake came about, except through the name and the fact that I am a photographer.”
Linda McCartney was born as Linda Eastman on September 24, 1941 in New York City to Jewish parents Louise and Lee. She had an older brother named John and two younger sisters named Louise Jr. and Laura. McCartney attended Scarsdale High School, and then Vermont College, from which she earned her Associate of Arts degree in 1961. She went on to attend the University of Arizona as a fine arts major. During her time there, in 1962, McCartney’s mother was killed in a plane crash. Subsequently, she left school without graduating.
In the mid-1960s, McCartney worked as a receptionist and editorial assistant for Town & Country magazine. She soon became romantically involved with photographer David Dalton, whose line of work fascinated her and inspired her to take up photography herself. When Town & Country received an invitation to photograph the Rolling Stones during a promotional party on a yacht, McCartney immediately volunteered for the job. The photoshoot was a turning point in her career, and after that, she won assignments to photograph various other famous musicians and entertainers. McCartney photographed such artists as Todd Rundgren, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Grace Slick, Neil Young, and the Who. She was also a fixture at the Fillmore East concert hall in New York, where she became an unofficial house photographer. In 1968, McCartney became the first woman to have a photograph on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Her photographs have since been exhibited in numerous galleries around the world.
Following the dissolution of the Beatles in 1970, McCartney learned how to play keyboards from her husband Paul. The duo went on to release the album “Ram” in 1971. That same year, the McCartneys formed the rock band Wings with Denny Seiwell and Denny Laine. Wings went on to enjoy great commercial success with such hit singles as “Band on the Run,” “Jet,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “Silly Love Songs,” “Let ‘Em In,” and “Mull of Kintyre.” The band also had a hit with the song “Live and Let Die” from the James Bond film of the same name, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. After Wings broke up in 1981, McCartney continued playing alongside her husband up until the New World Tour in 1993.
In 1975, McCartney and her husband became vegetarians. McCartney went on to become a prominent animal rights and environmental activist, supporting such organizations as PETA, Friends of the Earth, and the League Against Cruel Sports. She also started writing vegetarian cookbooks, with her first, “Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking,” coming out in 1989. A couple years after that, she founded Linda McCartney Foods, which launched a range of frozen vegetarian meals. In 1999, the company was acquired by the H. J. Heinz Company, and in 2007 by the Hain Celestial Group.
McCartney married her first husband, Joseph Melville See Jr., in 1962. The couple had a daughter named Heather before divorcing in 1965 due to differing lifestyles and interests. In 1967, McCartney met the Beatles’ Paul while on a photo assignment in London. The following year, they got together again in New York, and then again back in London. Paul took to Linda’s daughter Heather, whom he doted on. In 1969, Linda and Paul married in a small civil ceremony in London. Linda earned negative press during this time, as fans accused her of playing a role in the worsening tensions among the Beatles. Paul soon fell into a deep depression after John left the group in late 1969. Linda helped him during this tough time, and he subsequently wrote the song “Maybe I’m Amazed” in her honor.
During their 29-year marriage from 1969 until Linda’s passing in 1998, the McCartneys had three children named Mary, Stella, and James. Linda’s daughter Heather was later formally adopted by Paul. Mary became a photographer, documentarian, and cookbook author; Stella became a fashion designer; and James became a musician and songwriter. Together, the McCartneys enjoyed their time away from the city, often going to Paul’s farmhouse retreat in western Scotland to indulge in the peaceful natural surroundings. While staying in Scotland, Paul wrote the song “The Lovely Linda” about his wife. When Paul was knighted in 1997, his wife became Lady McCartney.
In 1995, McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease eventually spread to her liver, and she passed away on April 17, 1998 at the McCartney family ranch in Tucson, Arizona. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at the McCartney family farm in Sussex, England. McCartney left all of her assets to Paul, including royalties from her books and records. Various memorials have since been created in her honor, including the Linda McCartney Children’s Play Area in Liverpool’s Calderstones Park and the Linda McCartney Memorial Garden in Kintyre, Scotland.
