Mary McCartney

Mary Anna McCartney (born August 28, 1969, previously McCartney-Donald) is a photographer from England. She is the first biological child of Paul McCartney of the Beatles and photographer Linda Eastman McCartney (the first one of Paul and the second one of Linda).

Early life

On August 28, 1969, Mary was born in London, and named after her paternal grandmother Mary McCartney. She is the first biological child of Paul McCartney of the Beatles and photographer Linda Eastman McCartney (the first one of Paul and the second one of Linda).

Mary has an older half-sister named Heather McCartney who was born Heather Louise See on 31 December 1962 to Linda and Joseph Melville See Jr., who was adopted by Sir Paul McCartney; a younger sister, Stella Nina McCartney who was born on 13 September 1971; and a younger brother, James Louis McCartney who was born on 12 September 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 on 28 October 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 world until 1980. She grew up to be a vegetarian and is passionate about animal rights like the rest of her family.^[1][2]

Professional life

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Mary became a professional photographer. She was a photo editor for the music-book publisher Omnibus Press^[3] and in 1992 began taking photographs professionally, specializing in portrait and fashion photography.^[4] Because her paternal grandmother and her mother died of breast cancer, she began campaigning for breast cancer awareness in the United Kingdom. As a result, she became close friends with Cherie Blair, wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair. This led to Mary being chosen to take the first official photo of the prime minister and his wife with their fourth child, Leo, born 20 May 2000.^[2][4] Before this, the most well-known photos of hers were the last photographs taken of her mother, three weeks before her death.^[5] McCartney has taken portraits of Sam Taylor-Wood, Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, and of her sister Stella McCartney, 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, London" 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.^[6]

In 2001, Mary 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 Chisholm, to be the official photographer for her album "Beautiful Intentions." Melanie then asked Mary to direct the video for her single, "Better Alone."

Mary now runs the picture department at her father's company, MPL Communications.^[5]

Mary has also written a vegetarian cookbook, simply titled "Food", which was published in 2012.^[7]

In 2012, Mary collaborated with Vertu^[8] - a luxury British-based mobile phone manufacturer - and Smile Train^[9] - a charity that provides cleft-palate operations for disadvantaged children around the world. Travelling to Beijing and Volgograd, Mary photographed four children who have benefited from the rehabilitative surgery provided by Smile Train and therefore been provided with the gift of communication, allowing them to integrate fully into society for the first time in their lives. The Constellation Smile project culminated in a photography exhibition in London on 12 June, followed by a global tour. A limited edition coffee table book has also been made, each signed by Mary, in order to raise money for the charity.

Personal life

In 1995, Mary's brother James McCartney 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 postponed and Mary McCartney and Alistair Donald were married on 26 September 1998. Mary Anna McCartney was now known as Mary Anna McCartney-Donald. On 3 April 1999, Mary gave birth to Sir Paul McCartney's first grandchild, Arthur Alistair Donald, making Sir Paul the second Beatle grandfather (the first was Ringo Starr). Arthur Alistair Donald McCartney is now the eldest of eight grandchildren. 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 it was only temporary and they wished to reconcile for the sake of their two sons.^[10] Although there was no public confirmation of a divorce, by 2007 she had 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.^[11] 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.^[12] Her children were in attendance, but the wedding was kept secret and her father and siblings were not present.^[12] On 3 September 2011, Mary gave birth to her second son with Simon, Sid Aboud.^[13]

On October 9, 2011 Mary was present as Paul McCartney tied the knot with third wife Nancy (Shevell) McCartney. All four of her children, including two eldest Elliot and Arthur were present at both reception and party afterwards, at McCartney's £8 million London house.

References

1. ↑ Peta's Animal Times. Autumn 2007. Page 3
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 IMDB bio
3. ↑ Miles, Barry; Andy Mabbett (1994). Pink Floyd the visual documentary ([Updated ed.] ed.). London :: Omnibus,. pp. [174] p. : ill. (some col.), facsims, ports (some col.) ; 29 cm. ISBN 0-7119-4109-2.  Cite uses deprecated parameters (help)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 CAROLYN ASOME (2004-11-04). "Mary McCartney Donald: I wish I had a flat stomach". (London) Times Online. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Life behind the lens: Mary McCartney". BBC News. 2000-05-23. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
6. ↑ "Off Pointe by Mary McCartney Donald". 2004. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
7. ↑ McCartney, Mary (2012). Food. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0701186258. 
8. ↑ "luxury mobile & cell phones from". Vertu. Retrieved 2012-06-13. 
9. ↑ "Leading Children’s Charity | Cleft Lip & Palate Surgery". Smile Train. Retrieved 2012-06-13. 
10. ↑ "Mary McCartney splits from husband". Fazed.com. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
11. ↑ "Mary McCartney Welcomes Third Son". celebritybabyscoop.com. 2008-08-16. Retrieved 2008-08-16. 
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Simpson, Richard (2010-06-17). "Mary McCartney marries without even telling her father". London: mailonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-07. 
13. ↑ "Paul McCartney ist zum achten Mal Opa geworden". London: promiflash.com. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 

External links

• MaryMcCartney.com Official Site
• Mary McCartney at the Internet Movie Database
• 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