Lee Starkey
Encyclopedia
Lee Starkey is Ringo Starr
's daughter with his first wife Maureen Starkey
. She was co-owner of boutique Planet Alice in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
, at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital just months after the Beatles
had broken up, on 11 November 1970. Her middle name, Parkin, was reintroduced a former Starkey family name.
While Starr went to California, Maureen stayed at home caring for Starkey and her two older brothers, Jason and Zak Starkey
. Their parents separated in 1974 and divorced in 1975, when she was almost 5 years old. Maureen got custody of the children while Starr was allowed visitation rights.
On 27 April 1981, Starr remarried actress Barbara Bach
. Lee Starkey was one of the bridesmaids, alongside new step-sister, Francesca Gregorini
.
During the rest of the 1980s, she continued on with school, but was unable to choose a career. After leaving King Alfred’s School in Hampstead
at the age of 16 with no qualifications, she worked for a time at Tower Records
and enrolled briefly in drama school, but dropped out, having disliked it. She enrolled in a make-up artist's school and though she achieved a diploma, also disliked the activity. She also worked at Hard Rock Cafe
, which was owned by her step-father, Isaac Tigrett
. In addition, she co-starred in an Oldsmobile
car commercial with her father in 1989.
As a teenager, Lee was into the punk
/goth scene and dressed in black with purple hair.
, Lee opened a clothes boutique called Planet Alice in Portobello Road
, London, which specialised in 1960s-era clothes.
Her mother married Isaac Tigrett
in 27 May 1989 and moved to Los Angeles
, prompting Lee to ask her partner if they could relocate their boutique there, which they did in 1991, when Lee was 20. At the official opening of the store, situated on Melrose Avenue
, Ringo Starr and Bach and the Tigretts were in attendance.
During the year, Lee moved into a house in Beverly Hills, which she shared with her brothers, Jason and Zak, her mother, step-father, and half sister, Augusta, but when her boutique closed within a year, she returned to Britain, to the flat next to Warwick Avenue
where Starr used to live in the 1970s.
In 1994, Starkey rushed to her mother's side when Maureen was diagnosed with leukaemia. She stayed with her mother, taking care of her. On 30 December 1994, she was at her mother's bedside when she died.
In August 1995, Starkey collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had previously had numbness in her leg and arm. Starr and Zak Starkey, touring together in the United States, cancelled their band tour
to be by her side. She was transferred to a hospital in the United States
to continue on with her treatments. Within three weeks, she was undergoing a second operation at Brigham Women’s Hospital, Boston
. She was then given radiation therapy
.
Christian Paris was frequently seen accompanying her when she underwent check-ups in the years that followed. She moved into her stepfather’s house on Mulholland Drive
in the San Fernando Valley
to recuperate. Her maternal grandmother, Flo Cox, also lived there, together with her half-sister, Augusta.
She returned to Britain in December 1995 to spend Christmas with the family.
.
In 2001, the tumour returned, Starkey went back for more treatment. She lives in London and is currently a make-up artist and a fledging fashion designer.
Since 2006, she's dating Kasabian's guitarist Jay Mehler
, and on June 2009, they announced that they were expecting triplets.
She has been seen at her brothers' concerts, fashion shows given by Stella McCartney
, and other charitable events, while keeping a private profile.
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's daughter with his first wife Maureen Starkey
Maureen Starkey
Maureen "Mo" Starkey Tigrett, née Mary Cox, was the first wife of The Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr. She met Starr at The Cavern Club, where The Beatles were playing, when she was a trainee hairdresser in Liverpool. Starr proposed marriage at the Ad-Lib Club in London, on 20 January 1965...
. She was co-owner of boutique Planet Alice in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Youth
Lee Parkin Starkey was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital just months after the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
had broken up, on 11 November 1970. Her middle name, Parkin, was reintroduced a former Starkey family name.
While Starr went to California, Maureen stayed at home caring for Starkey and her two older brothers, Jason and Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey is an English rock drummer. He is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey Tigrett. He is also well known for his unofficial membership in the English rock band The Who, with whom he has performed and recorded since 1996. He is also the third...
. Their parents separated in 1974 and divorced in 1975, when she was almost 5 years old. Maureen got custody of the children while Starr was allowed visitation rights.
On 27 April 1981, Starr remarried actress Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
. Lee Starkey was one of the bridesmaids, alongside new step-sister, Francesca Gregorini
Francesca Gregorini
Francesca Gregorini is an Italian-American singer and songwriter. -Youth:...
.
During the rest of the 1980s, she continued on with school, but was unable to choose a career. After leaving King Alfred’s School in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
at the age of 16 with no qualifications, she worked for a time at Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
and enrolled briefly in drama school, but dropped out, having disliked it. She enrolled in a make-up artist's school and though she achieved a diploma, also disliked the activity. She also worked at Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
, which was owned by her step-father, Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee is a businessman best known as founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues.Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family. He was raised in Tennessee until the age of fifteen...
. In addition, she co-starred in an Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
car commercial with her father in 1989.
As a teenager, Lee was into the punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
/goth scene and dressed in black with purple hair.
Planet Alice
In the late 1980s, with friend Christian ParisChristian Paris
Credited by Time Out magazine and BBC teletext as being The Godfather of Acid House. Former Art Student and Punk Musician Christian Paris was the brain child of the world famous Alice In Wonderland NightClub that ran from 1983 until 1993 in Soho, London, UK with the help of his resident DJ, Doctor...
, Lee opened a clothes boutique called Planet Alice in Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
, London, which specialised in 1960s-era clothes.
Her mother married Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee is a businessman best known as founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues.Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family. He was raised in Tennessee until the age of fifteen...
in 27 May 1989 and moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, prompting Lee to ask her partner if they could relocate their boutique there, which they did in 1991, when Lee was 20. At the official opening of the store, situated on Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is an internationally renowned shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
, Ringo Starr and Bach and the Tigretts were in attendance.
During the year, Lee moved into a house in Beverly Hills, which she shared with her brothers, Jason and Zak, her mother, step-father, and half sister, Augusta, but when her boutique closed within a year, she returned to Britain, to the flat next to Warwick Avenue
Warwick Avenue tube station
Warwick Avenue tube station is a London Underground station near Little Venice in inner north-west London. The station is on the Bakerloo Line, between Paddington and Maida Vale stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 2....
where Starr used to live in the 1970s.
Cancer battle
Lee continued as a fashion designer after the shop's closure but her career came to a hiatus within a couple of years due to events in her personal life.In 1994, Starkey rushed to her mother's side when Maureen was diagnosed with leukaemia. She stayed with her mother, taking care of her. On 30 December 1994, she was at her mother's bedside when she died.
In August 1995, Starkey collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had previously had numbness in her leg and arm. Starr and Zak Starkey, touring together in the United States, cancelled their band tour
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
To date, Ringo Starr has toured with eleven versions of his All-Starr Band where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is a concept that was created by producer David Fishof...
to be by her side. She was transferred to a hospital in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to continue on with her treatments. Within three weeks, she was undergoing a second operation at Brigham Women’s Hospital, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. She was then given radiation therapy
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
.
Christian Paris was frequently seen accompanying her when she underwent check-ups in the years that followed. She moved into her stepfather’s house on Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after Los Angeles pioneer civil engineer William Mulholland...
in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
to recuperate. Her maternal grandmother, Flo Cox, also lived there, together with her half-sister, Augusta.
She returned to Britain in December 1995 to spend Christmas with the family.
Recent days
In 1998, Starkey sang backup vocals on “La De Da” on Ringo Starr’s Vertical ManVertical Man
Vertical Man is Ringo Starr's 11th studio album, issued in 1998. The release represents Starr's attempt at a comeback following the enormous success of The Beatles Anthology project...
.
In 2001, the tumour returned, Starkey went back for more treatment. She lives in London and is currently a make-up artist and a fledging fashion designer.
Since 2006, she's dating Kasabian's guitarist Jay Mehler
Jay Mehler
Jason "Jay" Mehler is a guitarist who is currently a member of Kasabian, having officially joined the band in 2010 after touring with them since 2006...
, and on June 2009, they announced that they were expecting triplets.
She has been seen at her brothers' concerts, fashion shows given by Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
, and other charitable events, while keeping a private profile.