Mary McCartney
Encyclopedia
Mary Anna McCartney is a photographer. The first biological child of rock photographer Linda Eastman McCartney and Paul McCartney
of The Beatles
, Mary was named after her paternal grandmother, Mary McCartney
.
Mary has an older half-sister named Heather McCartney
(born Heather Louise See in 1962 to Linda and Joseph Melville See Jr.), who was adopted by Paul McCartney; a younger sister, Stella
(born 1971); and a younger brother, James
(born 1977). Mary's mother, Linda, died from breast cancer
in 1998. Mary has a much younger half-sister, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born to her father and his second wife Heather Mills in 2003.
The most famous photograph of Mary McCartney was taken by her mother; it is a photograph of her as a baby, peeping out from inside her father's jacket. The photograph is featured on the back cover of her father's first solo album, McCartney
(sometimes known as the "cherries" album).
After the birth of sister Stella, McCartney's parents formed the classic rock group Wings
, with whom she and her siblings travelled the globe until 1980. She grew up to be a vegetarian
and is passionate about animal rights
like the rest of her family.
. As a result, she became close friends with Cherie Blair
, wife of former UK prime minister
Tony Blair
. This led to McCartney being chosen to take the first official photo of the prime minister and his wife with their fourth child, Leo, born 20 May 2000. Before this, the most well-known photos of hers were the last photographs taken of her mother, three weeks before her death. McCartney has taken portraits of Sam Taylor-Wood
, Ralph Fiennes
, Jude Law
, and of her sister Stella, who is a fashion designer.
Her first public photography exhibition was titled Off Pointe: A Photographic Study of The Royal Ballet After Hours. It includes offstage pictures of members of The Royal Ballet
as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe
, and was meant to showcase the difference between their gruelling and often painful everyday lives and their storybook performances.
In 2001, McCartney produced the television documentary
Wingspan, a story of her father's post-Beatles musical career, focusing on her parents' band Wings. She also interviews her father in the film. In 2005 she was employed by former Spice Girl
Melanie C
to be the official photographer for her album Beautiful Intentions. Melanie C then asked Mary to direct the video for her single "Better Alone."
McCartney now runs the picture department at her father's company, MPL Communications
.
). The Donalds' second son, Elliot Donald, was born on 1 August 2002. For most of their married life, the couple lived in Lauderdale Mansions South
in Maida Vale, London.
In April 2005, the couple announced their separation, but stated that the separation was only temporary and that they wished to reconcile for the sake of their two sons. Although there was no public confirmation of a divorce, by 2007 she had dropped the surname Donald and returned to using her birth name professionally.
On 11 August 2008, Mary gave birth to Sam Aboud, her first child with director boyfriend Simon Aboud. On 12 June 2010, McCartney and Aboud were married in a private ceremony in London at the Marylebone Register Office — the same location where her parents were wed in 1969. Her children were in attendance, but the wedding was kept secret and her father and siblings were not present.On 3 September 2011, Mary gave birth to her second son with Simon, Sid Aboud.
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Mary was named after her paternal grandmother, Mary McCartney
Jim and Mary McCartney
James "Jim" McCartney and Mary Patricia McCartney were the parents of musician, author and artist Paul McCartney of The Beatles and Wings, and photographer and musician Mike McCartney, who worked with The Scaffold.Like many families in Liverpool, the McCartney and Mohin families are of...
.
Mary has an older half-sister named Heather McCartney
Heather McCartney
Heather Louise McCartney was born in Tucson, Arizona to Linda McCartney and Joseph Melville See Jr., an American geologist. She is the adopted daughter of Paul McCartney.-Biography:...
(born Heather Louise See in 1962 to Linda and Joseph Melville See Jr.), who was adopted by Paul McCartney; a younger sister, Stella
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
(born 1971); and a younger brother, James
James McCartney
James Louis McCartney is a British musician and songwriter living in London. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney...
(born 1977). Mary's mother, Linda, died from breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 1998. Mary has a much younger half-sister, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born to her father and his second wife Heather Mills in 2003.
The most famous photograph of Mary McCartney was taken by her mother; it is a photograph of her as a baby, peeping out from inside her father's jacket. The photograph is featured on the back cover of her father's first solo album, McCartney
McCartney (album)
McCartney is the debut solo album by Paul McCartney. Apart from Linda McCartney's vocal contributions, McCartney performed the entire album solo...
(sometimes known as the "cherries" album).
After the birth of sister Stella, McCartney's parents formed the classic rock group Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, with whom she and her siblings travelled the globe until 1980. She grew up to be a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
and is passionate about animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
like the rest of her family.
Professional life
Following in the footsteps of her mother, McCartney became a professional photographer. She was photo editor for the music-book publisher Omnibus Press and in 1992 began taking photographs professionally, specializing in portrait and fashion photography. Because her paternal grandmother and her mother died after long bouts with breast cancer, she began campaigning for breast cancer awareness in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. As a result, she became close friends with Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
, wife of former UK prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. This led to McCartney being chosen to take the first official photo of the prime minister and his wife with their fourth child, Leo, born 20 May 2000. Before this, the most well-known photos of hers were the last photographs taken of her mother, three weeks before her death. McCartney has taken portraits of Sam Taylor-Wood
Sam Taylor-Wood
Samantha "Sam" Taylor-Wood OBE , born Samantha Taylor, is an English filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of The Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, and of her sister Stella, who is a fashion designer.
Her first public photography exhibition was titled Off Pointe: A Photographic Study of The Royal Ballet After Hours. It includes offstage pictures of members of The Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet, London
The Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became the resident ballet...
as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe
Brighton Festival Fringe
The Brighton Festival Fringe is an open access arts festival held annually in Brighton, England. It is the largest annual arts festival in England.- Introduction :...
, and was meant to showcase the difference between their gruelling and often painful everyday lives and their storybook performances.
In 2001, McCartney produced the television documentary
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
Wingspan, a story of her father's post-Beatles musical career, focusing on her parents' band Wings. She also interviews her father in the film. In 2005 she was employed by former Spice Girl
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
Melanie C
Melanie Chisholm
Melanie Jayne Chisholm is an English singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman professionally known simply as Melanie C . She is best known as one of the five members of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed "Sporty Spice"...
to be the official photographer for her album Beautiful Intentions. Melanie C then asked Mary to direct the video for her single "Better Alone."
McCartney now runs the picture department at her father's company, MPL Communications
MPL Communications
MPL Communications is the holding company for the business interests of Sir Paul McCartney. In addition to handling McCartney's post-Beatles work, MPL is also one of the world's largest privately owned music publishers through its acquisition of numerous other publishing companies...
.
Personal life
In 1995, Mary McCartney's brother James introduced her to director and television producer Alistair Donald. After dating for three years, they set a wedding date for May 1998. Upon the death of her mother, the wedding was delayed and McCartney and Donald were married on 26 September 1998. On 3 April 1999, McCartney gave birth to Paul McCartney's first grandchild, Arthur Alistair Donald, making Paul the second Beatle grandfather (the first was Ringo StarrRingo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
). The Donalds' second son, Elliot Donald, was born on 1 August 2002. For most of their married life, the couple lived in Lauderdale Mansions South
Lauderdale Mansions South
Lauderdale Mansions South, is a block of 142 apartments in Lauderdale Road, Maida Vale, London W9. Built in 1897, Lauderdale Mansions South was the first of a swathe of mansion flat buildings for the middle classes that spread across central Maida Vale in the 1897-1907 period.The building's...
in Maida Vale, London.
In April 2005, the couple announced their separation, but stated that the separation was only temporary and that they wished to reconcile for the sake of their two sons. Although there was no public confirmation of a divorce, by 2007 she had dropped the surname Donald and returned to using her birth name professionally.
On 11 August 2008, Mary gave birth to Sam Aboud, her first child with director boyfriend Simon Aboud. On 12 June 2010, McCartney and Aboud were married in a private ceremony in London at the Marylebone Register Office — the same location where her parents were wed in 1969. Her children were in attendance, but the wedding was kept secret and her father and siblings were not present.On 3 September 2011, Mary gave birth to her second son with Simon, Sid Aboud.
External links
- MaryMcCartney.com Official Site
- Official Site for Wingspan
- Profile on ArtNet.com
- Off Pointe, by Mary McCartney Donald, 2004
- "Mary McCartney Splits From Husband", Fazed; 12 April 2005
- "Mary McCartney Donald: I Wish I Had A Flat Stomach", The Times; 4 November 2004
- "Life Behind the Lens: Mary McCarney", BBC News 23 May 2000
- Mary McCartney Donald's portrait of her younger sister, top fashion designer Stella McCartney, taken November 1998