The Many Loves of Mick Jagger, From Bianca Jagger to Jerry Hall to Melanie Hamrick
The Rolling Stones singer is one of rock's most legendary ladies’ men. Here's a guide to the women in his life
Mick Jagger is the very definition of a living legend, and over the course of his six decades of rock stardom, he’s been almost as well-known for his swaggering ladies’ man status as he is for his songs. With his signature pout and on and offstage bravado, it’s easy to see why Jagger was one of the ultimate sex symbols of the ’60s and ’70s, and his partners, from Marianne Faithfull to Bianca Jagger to Jerry Hall, became icons in their own right.
Here’s a look at Jagger’s most famous relationships and the ups and downs he went through with the many glamorous women in his life.
Mick Jagger’s early muses: Marianne Faithfull and more
In 1961, Mick Jagger began dating Cleo Sylvestre, who was known for being one of the only Black British actresses of the era. She became the first woman to record with the Rolling Stones when the band covered “To Know Him Is to Love Him” with her.
From 1963 to 1966, Jagger dated Chrissie Shrimpton, a swinging ‘60s model who was the younger sister of early supermodel Jean Shrimpton. The Rolling Stones songs “Yesterday’s Papers,” “Under My Thumb” and “19th Nervous Breakdown” were rumored to be based on the end of their relationship.
Jagger’s highest-profile relationship of the ’60s was with singer and actress Marianne Faithfull. Faithfull was discovered by the Rolling Stones’ manager and had a breakout hit with the wistful 1964 song “As Tears Go By,” which Jagger and Keith Richards wrote for her, and which the band then recorded themselves.
Faithfull left her husband of just one year, artist John Dunbar, to be with Jagger in 1966, and they became one of the boho-chic It Couples of their day. Tensions arose in their relationship due to affairs, drug use and Faithfull suffering a miscarriage, and the couple broke up in 1970. Many critics and fans have speculated that the Rolling Stones’ classic 1971 love song “Wild Horses” was inspired by her.
Jagger then had an affair with singer and actress Marsha Hunt. She gave birth to Jagger’s first child, Karis, who now works in the film industry, in 1970. They broke up shortly after that, and she filed a paternity suit against him in 1978. She claimed that the Rolling Stones’ notorious 1971 song “Brown Sugar” was written about her, though many have also speculated that the song was inspired by Claudia Lennear, a singer he briefly dated in 1969.
While making the 1970 film Performance, Jagger had a fling with his costar Anita Pallenberg, which led to some inter-band controversy, as she was in a relationship with Keith Richards at the time.
Mick Jagger’s first wife: Bianca Jagger
Jagger met model/actress/activist Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias after a 1970 Rolling Stones concert and they quickly became an item, marrying in 1971. Bianca took Mick’s name, and she had their daughter, Jade, now a designer, later that year.
Mick and Bianca were covered breathlessly in the media, and many remarked on how husband and wife resembled one another. They were considered one of the most glam couples of the ’70s, and from partying in the South of France to serving looks at Studio 54, they embodied the over-the-top vibe of the era.
Mick and Bianca divorced in 1978 after she discovered he was having an affair with model Jerry Hall. The deterioration of their relationship inspired the Rolling Stones’ disco-flavored hit “Miss You.” Reflecting on their seven-year union, Bianca famously quipped, “My marriage was over on the wedding day”—but even though this marriage may have been doomed from the start, it will forever be the stuff of rock-star legend.
Mick Jagger’s supermodel spouse: Jerry Hall
When Jagger began his affair with Jerry Hall, she was engaged to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry. Soon enough, Jagger was divorced and Hall and Ferry’s engagement was called off, and they began publicly dating, becoming one of the archetypal rock star/model pairs.
Hall helped Jagger kick his drug habit, though the pair still engaged in their share of ’70s excess with many a night out at the club. They broke up briefly in the early ’80s but got back together and had their first child, Elizabeth, who became a model, in 1984. Their son James, now an actor, was born the next year. In 1990, Jagger and Hall married in Indonesia. They had two more children, Georgia May, who also became a model, and Gabriel, now a journalist, in the ’90s.
While Jagger had four children with Hall, he couldn’t keep his womanizing ways in check, and he had an affair with model (and future First Lady of France) Carla Bruni from 1991 to 1994. The last straw came in 1999, when Hall discovered that Jagger was having an affair with model Luciana Gimenez—and she was pregnant with his seventh child, Lucas.
As Jagger and Hall prepared for a divorce, it emerged that their wedding ceremony wasn’t legally binding, so the marriage was annulled instead. It’s rare to annul a marriage after being together 23 years and having four children, but Jagger has always done things his own way.
Looking back on her marriage to Jagger, Hall said, “I don’t regret anything, and wouldn’t change anything. I’ve had a wonderful adventure and four beautiful children. Mick and I are great friends. It’s quite an achievement to have had the life we had together.”
Mick Jagger’s ’00s partner: L’Wren Scott
After breaking up with Hall, Jagger had an affair with the much-younger model Sophie Dahl, the granddaughter of writer Roald Dahl, in 2000. Jagger then entered into a long-term relationship with fashion designer L’Wren Scott, who he met during a photo shoot in 2001. They collaborated creatively when Scott designed his flamboyant costumes for the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour in 2012.
Jagger and Scott’s relationship ended in tragedy in 2014, when she died by suicide at age 49. In an emotional statement following her passing, he said, “I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way. We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves. She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me. I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received. I will never forget her.”
Jagger paid tribute to Scott by establishing a scholarship in her name for fashion students at Central Saint Martins University in London, and he performed a heartfelt cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” at her memorial service.
Mick Jagger’s current girlfriend: Melanie Hamrick
In 2014, while he was dating Scott, Jagger met Melanie Hamrick, a dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in Japan. Jagger and Hamrick became friends, and after Scott’s untimely death they started seeing each other.
The rock god and the ballerina made headlines in 2016, when Hamrick, who is 44 years Jagger’s junior and younger than some of his children, gave birth to their son, Deveraux (who looks exactly like a mini-Mick).
Ten years into their relationship, Jagger and Hamrick are still going strong, and in 2019, shortly before she retired, they collaborated when she choreographed a ballet set to Rolling Stones songs.
Jagger admitted that becoming a new dad in his 70s, “You get a bit out of practice—it’s not like riding a bike.” Hamrick, however, has called him a “fantastic” parent and said, “I feel as though I have more support from him than some of my married friends get from their husbands.”
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