Keith Richards and his wife Patti Hansen pose backstage at the hit musical ‘Kinky Boots’ on Broadway in April 2013.Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
Keith Richardsand his wife Patti Hansen have been together since 1979.
The pair met at Studio 54 on Hansen’s 23rd birthday. Nine months later,Mick Jagger’s then-girlfriendJerry Hallinvited Hansen to Richards' 36th birthday — and the rest is history.
In Richards' autobiographyLife, he excerpted a 1980 journal entry about meeting her. “Incredibly I’ve found a woman. A miracle! She is the most beautiful … specimen in the WORLD,” wroteThe Rolling Stonesguitarist. “But that ain’t it! It certainly helps but it’s her mind, her joy of life, and she thinks this battered junkie is the guy she loves.”
Theycelebrated their 40th wedding anniversary(and Richards' 80th birthday) in December 2023. Richards shared a photo from their 1983 nuptials as the couple cut their wedding cake together.
In a 2010 interview withVogue, Hansen shared how they’ve made their relationship last. “Any marriage, Rolling Stone or not, there’s definitely going to be some rocky mountains there,” she said. “We have had our trials; that’s for sure. But on the whole, it’s great. We both have the same morals and background. We both come from working-class families. I think we are very similar in many ways.”
So, who is Keith Richards' wife? Here’s everything to know about Patti Hansen and her relationship with the musician.
She’s a model and actress
Patti Hansen during Vogue Magazine 100th Anniversary at New York Public Library in April 1993.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
According toHarper’s Bazaar, Hansen was scouted at a hot dog stand and signed with Wilhelmina Models at age 16. She’s been on the cover ofHarper’s Bazaar, VogueandEsquire. She was also the face of Calvin Klein Jeans and landed a major Revlon deal.
Richards made mixtapes for her
Keith Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, with his wife, fashion model Patti Hansen, in January 1988.LGI Stock/Corbis/VCG/Getty
While dating, Richards had a unique way of expressing his feelings. “Keith was constantly making me mixtapes, and he would do beautiful drawings on them. That was his method of communication,” Hansen toldHarper’s Bazaarin November 2011.“I have everything in boxes. Thousands of those tapes. I’ve saved everything.”
He even created collages with photos and notes written in his blood. “It looks disgusting when it dries, but he loves the color red,” she added.
Richards proposed to her multiple times
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and his wife Patti Hansen celebrate their wedding anniversary in December 2022.Theodora Richards Instagram
Richards proposed to Hansen in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1983. He has claimed that Hansen was so happy that she jumped on his back and broke his toe — but she noted toHarper’s Bazaarit wasn’t the first time he asked. It took a few tries to get that kind of response out of her and they wed later that same year on Dec. 18, 1983.
She had breast and bladder cancer
Hansen had a breast cancer scare in 2005 after her doctors found a tumor during a routine mammogram. She overcame it, but two years later, she was diagnosed with bladder cancer when doctors discovered a mass. Within a month, Hansen underwent chemotherapy and a total hysterectomy. Doctors also removed her bladder and appendix.
“The chemo is really horrible,” she toldVogueabout her bladder cancer treatment. “I don’t know how people get through it. I have friends who are on that wicked stuff for life. It’s so debilitating, so depressing. The first shot just totally ruined my arm.”
Hansen added: “You have to go get yourself plugged in every week, and you sit there and you think, ‘My God, I take such good care of myself. I’m so organic. I can’t believe I’m putting this poison in me.’ But it shrank the tumor.”
She shares two children with Richards
Keith Richards' wife Patti Hansen with their daughters, Alexandra Richards and Theodora Richards, in March 2007.Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Richards and Hansen had their first child,Theodora Richards, in 1985, two years after they married. Their second daughter,Alexandra Richards, arrived a year later.
Theodora hosts a talk show on SiriusXM calledOff the Cuff, where she talks to music legends and rising stars. Alexandra is a DJ, model and artist. She married film director Jacques Naudé in 2019, and they welcomed a daughter named Arlowe Mae in 2021.
Her career is chronicled inPatti Hansen: A Portrait
Ivan Shaw, the photography director of Condé Nast Archives, published a retrospective photography book about Hansen’s career in 2018. The book includes a foreword from modelKarlie Klossand Hansen’s famous photos — including one from a 1976 edition ofVogue,in which she is wearing a nearly transparent, wet one-piece swimsuit.
In a conversation with Shaw, Hansen reflected on her modeling career. “It’s the editors who make the story, not the model,” she said, perThe Washington Post. “They chose me. They chose the clothes.”
As for the modern modeling industry, she appreciates that it’s become more inclusive. “Target is using all different sizes of women,” Hansen shared. “The Dove ads. I think it’s a great time right now. Women are so powerful.”
She tries to stay positive about her appearance
Patti Hansen attends a Michael Kors 2020 fashion show in September 2019 in Brooklyn, New York.Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty
In her conversation with Shaw, Hansen noted that staying positive about her appearance was still hard. “After years of being in this business, you’re so aware of every little thing, every line, every mole. I try to keep a healthy focus,” she said. “Every morning I look in the mirror and say, ‘Oh, you could lift up here.’ "
She added: “At 60, I finally decided to take really good care of myself. … I’ve done Fraxel [laser treatments] for all the sun damage. My daughters are in their 30s, and they do facials and have all the creams. I never did any of that. Now I do. Now I’m learning from them.”
She and her husband love each other for their differences
Keith Richards and his wife Patti Hansen in New York City in October 2003.Kevin Mazur Archive 1/WireImage
Despite their longtime union, Richards and Hansen don’t see eye to eye on everything in life, including religion and politics.
“I’m a Christian. I’m a believer. I believe that Christ is God. And Keith questions all that,” she toldVoguein 2010. “And politics? I definitely want to be an Independent now, but my family is Republican. Keith isessentially a Democrat. But maybe that’s what makes it work. We make it work.”
Their daughter, Alexandra, agreed. “I think that’s the challenge that both of them love. They love each other very much, and I just always see them working it out,” she told the outlet.
In honor of their parents' 39th wedding anniversary in 2022, Theodora shared photos from the special day and the latest celebration onInstagram. She also commented on her parents' deep love, referencing their relationship’s strength.
“I am so proud of this family. We’ve been through a lot but the love is so strong and powerful that it carries us forever forward on a cloud of compassion and courage,” she captioned the snaps. “I love you mom and dad. You guys are my inspiration.”
She and Richards celebrated their 40th anniversary in December 2023
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0_p0h9oNBy/
On Dec. 18, 2023, Richards shared a photo from their wedding day onInstagramto commemorate the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary. The photo shows both Richards and Hansen in their wedding attire as they cut the cake together.
“For Patricia, Happy 40th Anniversary! I love you. Keith🖤,” he captioned the post.
source: people.com
