Biography

Astrid Kirchherr was born on May 20, 1938 in Hamburg, Germany. She is known for Celebration (1979), All You Need Is Klaus (2009) and Revolution: The Legacy of the Sixties (2017). She was married to Gibson Kemp. She died on May 13, 2020 in Hamburg, Germany.

Never received a cent for any of her Beatles photographs (now considered classics); she'd given the prints to the band or to the press as requested, figuring they were "pictures of friends", and was disappointed later to see them credited to press agencies, or imitated by other photographers. (She never blamed the band.)

Met The Beatles through then-boyfriend Klaus Voormann, who'd ventured into a club they were playing one night after the two had quarreled, liked the band, and got acquainted with them. Astrid and then-bass player Stuart Sutcliffe fell sharply in love, with Klaus remaining as friend to both.

The Beatles' "moptop" hairdos are generally attributed to Kirchherr who first experimented with then Beatle boyfriend and fiancé Stuart Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe was the first to actually play live with the hairdo before the others reluctantly adopted the look.

Dated Stuart Sutcliffe until his untimely death (at age 21) from a brain hemorrhage. Their relationship is explored in depth in the movie Backbeat (1994).

Portrayed by Sheryl Lee in Backbeat (1994).