John Lennon was the first member of The Beatles to marry, having secretly wed Cynthia Powell in 1962. Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox were married in 1965. Paul McCartney had come close with numerous other women but wouldn’t marry the former Linda Eastman until 1969. On January 21, 1966, George Harrison married Pattie Boyd.
The so-called “Quiet Beatle” had met his stunning future wife while filming A Hard Day’s Night in 1964. Boyd, just 19 and having begun a career in modeling just a year before, was cast in a small role in the movie. As she recounted in a 2007 interview with ABC News, shortly after meeting her Harrison said: “Will you marry me?” She laughed, and he replied, “Well, if you won’t marry me, will you have dinner with me tonight?”
The two quickly became an item and were married less than two years later at a Register Office in Surrey, England with McCartney serving as best man.
Harrison’s friend Eric Clapton famously fell in love with Pattie; his 1970 masterpiece “Layla” is devoted to her. The Harrison-Boyd marriage formally ended in 1977. Clapton married his muse in 1979 but after living apart for years they, too, were divorced, in 1988.
Though most famous for having been married to two of the biggest names in classic rock, Boyd has developed a successful career on the other side of the camera. She has had numerous exhibitions and published her autobiography in 2007. Check out a selection of her work including shots of Harrison, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Paul and Linda McCartney, and more, here.
Watch a newsreel of the George Harrison – Pattie Boyd wedding
I meant to post this on here on Saturday – my diary entry from 57 years ago…. pic.twitter.com/hQ2Ly2MagR
— Pattie Boyd (@thepattieboyd) January 23, 2023
She married for the third time in 2015 to her long-time beau, a real estate executive.
Boyd’s memoir, My Life in Pictures, originally announced in 2020, was published in 2022. Her books are available to order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Related: Our feature on many previously unseen photos Boyd took of the Beatles
