Rolling Stones muse Anita Pallenberg dies at 73

In a statement, Richards paid tribute to Pallenberg saying she was “a most remarkable woman. Always in my heart”.

A spokesperson for the rock star, with whom she had three children, said she had been ill for some time.

She died at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester on Tuesday, with her family at her side.

Pallenberg was born to German and Italian parents in Rome in 1944 and worked as a model in Italy and New York during the 1960s, spending time at Andy Warhol’s famous Factory.

She met Brian Jones at a concert in 1965 but left him two years later for his fellow band member Keith Richards.

Jones subsequently left the band and died in 1969, aged just 27.

Pallenberg and Richards never married but had three children together before separating in 1980.

During this period she was described as the band’s muse, providing backing vocals on Sympathy for the Devil and reportedly giving feedback on their tracks.

She appeared in several films including 1970 crime drama Performance with Mick Jagger, who she was rumoured to have had an affair with during filming, something she denied.

She also appeared as The Black Queen in Barbarella and 1968’s Candy with Marlon Brando and Richard Burton.

Later on in life she returned to fashion, completing a four-year-degree at Central Saint Martins in 1994.

She resumed acting in her 60s making a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous in 2001 and appearing in the 2007 film Mister Lonely.

She is survived by her son and daughter and five grandchildren. Her second son died during infancy.