Pattie Boyd

Pattie Boyd, who was in a relationship with photographer Eric Swayne, had declined George Harrison's first date proposal after they first met on March 2nd, 1964. However, she soon split from Swayne and went on a date with Harrison to a private gentlemen's club called the Garrick Club.

After Harrison bought the house 'Kinfauns' in Esher, Surrey, in July 1964, she moved into the house with him. The couple got engaged on December 25, 1965, and subsequently married on January 21, 1966, in a ceremony at Epsom register office.

Boyd had introduced Harrison to meditation, which led to their six-week-long trip to India during which Harrison took sitar lessons from Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar, while she learned to play the dilruba. Later in February 1968, she and her sister Jenny accompanied Beatles during their visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India.

Patricia Anne Boyd was born on March 17, 1944, in Taunton, Somerset, England to Colin Ian Langdon Boyd and Diana Frances Boyd. Due to her father's job in the Royal Air Force, the family moved from place to place until finally returning to England after his discharge in 1953.

The eldest child of her parents, she has a brother named Colin and sisters named Jenny and Paula. After her parents separated and remarried, she gained two step-brothers, David and Robert Jr., and two step-sisters, Clare and Julia.

She completed her school degree with three GCE O level passes in 1961. She moved to London the following year and was encouraged to become a model by a 'Honey' magazine staffer who saw her working as a shampoo girl at Elizabeth Arden's salon.

Pattie Boyd entered the fashion industry as a model in 1962 and worked primarily in London and Paris. Apart from 'Honey' magazine, she got regular assignments from the UK edition of 'Vogue', 'Vanity Fair', and 'Elle' in France, and also appeared on newspaper spreads for 'The Daily Telegraph' and 'The Times'.

She appeared on the cover of British 'Vogue', and worked with photographers such as David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy. Along with Jean Shrimpton, she became the embodiment of the British female ‘look’ that defined Western fashion for women since her association with the Beatles in the late 1960s.

In early 1964, she worked with director Richard Lester for a television advertising campaign for Smith's crisps, following which Lester cast her as a schoolgirl in the 1964 Beatles film 'A Hard Day's Night'. During this time she became romantically involved with Beatles' lead guitarist George Harrison, which not only spiked interest in her personal affairs, but also boosted her modeling career significantly.

She immediately earned further assignments from 'Vogue' and 'Vanity Fair'; did a photoshoot with photographer Jeanloup Sieff for 'Tatler'; and appeared on more commercials for Smith's and L'Oréal, as well as fashion ads. Described as "by far the most glamorous" of all the Beatles' wives and girlfriends, she epitomized "sixties stardom", with women striving "to look like Pattie Boyd rather than Marlene Dietrich".

Gloria Stavers convinced her to write a column for the American teen magazine '16', titled 'Patti's Letter from London', to report on the latest trends in Carnaby Street, including insight into Beatles and Stones wardrobe. However, she had to stop at the request of Harrison after she became the target of Beatles' female fans.

As a model, Pattie Boyd is best known for defining the British female 'look' with "mini-skirt, long, straight hair and wide-eyed loveliness". She is equally familiar as a photographer for her exhibitions 'Through the Eye of a Muse' and 'Yesterday and Today: The Beatles and Eric Clapton'.