Marsha Hunt (born April 15, 1946) is an American actress, novelist, singer and former model, who has lived mostly in Britain and Ireland. She achieved national fame when she appeared in London as Dionne in the long-running rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

''. She had relationships with

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, who is the father of her only child, Karis Jagger. Hunt has written three novels and three autobiographies, which include a frank account of life as a

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

sufferer.

Early life

Hunt was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1946 and lived in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

, near 23rd and Columbia, then in Germantown and Mount Airy, for the first 13 years of her life. Hunt told ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' that she remembers Philadelphia with affection, particularly the " Philadelphia steak sandwiches and the bad boys on the basketball court".Ann Kolson, "Marsha Hunt's Life is Filled with 'Joy': The Irrepressible Performer has Mick Jagger in her past, old ties to Philadelphia, and a New Book", ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 16, 1991. Hunt's mother, Inez, was her primary parent and worked as a librarian in a local library."History"
, Marsha Hunt's Official Website.''Real Life'' by Marsha Hunt. Published by Chatto & Windus, 1986. Hunt's father, Blaire Theodore Hunt Jr., was one of America's first Black psychiatrists but he did not live with Hunt; when she was 15 years old, she found out that he had taken his own life three years previously.Barry Egan

''Irish Times'', August 31, 2008. Hunt was brought up by her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother. Hunt described her mother as "extremely intelligent and education-minded", her aunt as "extremely Catholic but very glamorous", and her grandmother as an "extremely aggressive...ass-kicking" independent Southern woman. Hunt credits the experience of having been poor with teaching her not to be materialistic. Her family put a great deal of emphasis on academic performance, and Hunt did very well in school. In 1960, the family moved to

Kensington, California Kensington is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census designated place located in the Berkeley Hills, in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Contra Costa County, Californi ...

, which Hunt still regards as home, so that her brother and sister could attend Oakland High School and prepare to attend the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Hunt also went to Berkeley, in 1964, where she joined

Jerry Rubin Jerry Clyde Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was an American social activist, anti-war leader, and counterculture icon during the 1960s and early 1970s. Despite being known for holding radical views when he was a political activist, h ...

on protest marches against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

.''The Irish Times''. "Rebel to the Roots" by July 4, 1998. In her book ''Undefeated'' she recalled that during her time at Berkeley they "were sitting in for the Free Speech Movement, smoking pot, experimenting with acid, lining up to take Oriental philosophy courses, daring to co-habit, and going to dances in San Francisco."

Move to London

In February 1966, Hunt booked a flight for a brief trip to London, where she was temporarily detained before a fellow detainee gave her details of contacts, including John Shepherd, who worked on the television show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

''. Through Shepherd, she met

Kenny Lynch Kenneth Lynch, OBE (18 March 1938 – 18 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, entertainer, and actor. He appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s. At the time, he was among the few black singers in British pop music. He was app ...

, and then appeared as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

's film ''

Blow-Up ''Blowup'' (also styled ''Blow-Up'') is a 1966 psychological mystery film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, co-written by Antonioni, Tonino Guerra and Edward Bond and produced by Carlo Ponti. It is Antonioni's first entirely English-language ...

''.Martin Ruddock, "Voodoo Child", ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles, She briefly lived in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

,John Gibson
"Undefeated after battle with cancer"
''The Scotsman'', October 26, 2005. before returning to London where she became a backing singer with

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major i ...

's trio Free at Last. She then met and began a short relationship with musician

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

, inspiring Mayall's songs "Marsha's Mood" and "Brown Sugar", which were included on his 1967 album, ''

The Blues Alone ''The Blues Alone'' is a 1967 electric blues album recorded by John Mayall on which he recorded all the parts himself, with the exception of percussion which was provided by longtime collaborator Keef Hartley. The cover art and the original LP ...

''. Although Hunt indicates that she had no great musical talent, she worked as a singer for 18 months after arriving in England, intending to earn her fare back home.

Marriage to Mike Ratledge

In late 1966, Hunt met

Mike Ratledge Michael Ronald Ratledge (6 May 1943 – 5 February 2025) was a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976. Early life Ratledg ...

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

. Hunt was having trouble getting a visa extension to stay in England and proposed to Ratledge.Graham Bennett, ''Soft Machine: Out-bloody-rageous'', SAF Publishing Ltd, 2005. Ratledge and Hunt were married on April 15, 1967. The Soft Machine were heavily booked and there was no time for a honeymoon, but Ratledge and Hunt spent two months together before the band headed for France later that year. Hunt said in 1991 that she and Ratledge never held hands and never kissed, though "...he comes for Easter. But that's what we called 'married'." While the two have remained good friends, Hunt says the secret to a happy marriage is to "separate immediately." On their 40th wedding anniversary, Hunt called Ratledge up and jokingly said, "We should renew our vows." Ratledge died on 5 February 2025.

Music career

After her marriage in 1967, Hunt took a singing job with

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

's band

Bluesology Bluesology was a 1960s British blues group, best remembered as being the first professional band of Elton John (then known by his birth name Reginald Dwight). History From about 1960, organist Reginald Dwight – then aged 13 – and his neig ...

, alongside keyboard player Reg Dwight, soon to be known as Elton John. She also auditioned for Ratledge's band Soft Machine, and in 1968, briefly joined the group The Ferris Wheel. That same year, Hunt achieved national fame in England when she appeared as Dionne in the rock musical ''

'', a box-office smash on the London stage. Hunt only had two lines of dialogue in ''Hair'', but she attracted a lot of media attention and her photo appeared in many newspapers and magazines. Her photograph was used on the poster and playbill of the original London production, photographed by Justin de Villeneuve. Her 1968 photo also replaced the original LP artwork when Reader's Digest re-issued the LP in Europe in 1976. Hunt says that the role was a perfect fit for her and expressed who she actually was. She was one of three Americans featured in the London show, and when the show began she had no contract to perform. Once the show opened, she was featured in so many stories that she was offered a contract right away. Hunt played at the

Jazz Bilzen Jazz Bilzen was an annual multi-day open air jazz and pop festival that took place from 1965 to 1981 in the Belgian city of Bilzen. Jazz Bilzen was the first festival on the continent where jazz and pop music were brought together. For this reas ...

and

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

music festivals in August 1969 with her backup band "White Trash"."Marsha Hunt and White Trash –The Isle of Wight Festival"
, August 30, 1969. UK Rock Festivals. Hunt's first single, a cover of

Dr John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, Rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul and fu ...

's " Walk on Gilded Splinters", produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, was released on

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succ ...

in 1969; it became a minor hit. An album, ''Woman Child'' (also produced by

) (in Germany released under the title ''Desdemona''), followed in 1971. In May 1977, an album with disco songs was released in Germany with the title ''Marsha''. It was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich and produced by

Pete Belotte Peter John Bellotte (born 28 August 1943)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Inde ...

(co-producer with

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

of many

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

albums). Hunt met

in 1969 when she went to the studio where Bolan's group was recording "Unicorn". Tony Visconti said that when Bolan and Hunt met, " u could see the shafts of light pouring out of their eyes into each other.... We finished the session unusually early, and Marc and Marsha walked out into the night hand in hand."Mark Paytress, "Marc: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar", Omnibus Press, 2002. According to Hunt, the relationship between the two was based on more than physical attraction, though she also recalled that her commercial visibility put her in opposition to Bolan's philosophy that "the serious art of music...was validated by obscurity." In 1971, after the birth of her daughter Karis, she appeared for a while in the musical '' Catch My Soul'', and acted alongside

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

in the film '' Dracula A.D. 1972''. She signed a recording contract with

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens AG of Germany. It was a holding company f ...

, and led her own band, 22, which the record company insisted on billing as "Marsha Hunt's 22". The band included guitarist Hugh Burns, whom Hunt lived with for three years. The band toured, released two singles, "Medusa" and "(Oh No! Not) The Beast Day", and recorded a set of

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

of songs largely written by Hunt. These were later released in Germany and Poland as an album, ''Attention! Marsha Hunt'', though Hunt was unaware of its release until 2020. The band 22 split up after they had their equipment stolen and Hunt's daughter became ill. From 1973, Hunt co-presented with Sarah Ward a popular late-night radio show, ''Sarah. Marsha and Friends'', on London's

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

. Also in 1973, as a member of a panel organised by British magazine ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' to discuss women in music and options open to Black women, Hunt suggested that Black women needed to make use of the "side-door" in the industry, entering as "the statutory representative" before they could make music under their own terms.Sue Stewart, Sheryl Garratt, ''Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: True Stories of Women in Pop'', South End Press, 1984. In 1976, she released two funk-pop singles produced by Steve Rowland, and the following year issued an album, ''Marsha'', produced by

Pete Bellotte Peter John Bellotte (born 28 August 1943)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Inde ...

, which she later described as "a musical departure that had nothing to do with my own taste". She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, and fronted a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

-influenced band, Marsha & The Vendettas. From there, she moved to Australia, and recorded a single, "Pleasure Zone", written with David Dundas and produced by

Ricky Fataar Ricky Fataar (born 5 September 1952) is a South African musician of Malay descent who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a spoof on the Beatles, in which he per ...

Modelling

Three months after ''Hair'' opened, Hunt was on the cover of British high-fashion magazine ''

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

'', the first Black model to appear on their cover. In 1968, Hunt posed nude for photographer Patrick Lichfield after the opening night for ''Hair''Douglas and McIntyre Publishing Group. ''Undefeated''. Author: Marsha Hunt
and the photo appeared on the cover of British ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'''s January 1969 issue. Almost 40 years later Hunt again posed nude for Lichfield, recreating the pose for her ''Vogue'' cover five weeks after she had had her right breast and lymph glands removed to halt the spread of cancer. The photo appeared on the cover of her 2005 book ''Undefeated'', about her battle with cancer."The Sixties star talks about her book"
BBC ''Woman's Hour'', October 12, 2005. She was pleased to work with the photographer under such differing circumstances, although in her autobiography she expressed confusion as to why the photo has been so often reprinted. Hunt has also been photographed by Lewis Morley and

Horace Ové Sir Horace Shango Ové (born Horace Courtenay Jones; 3 December 1936 – 16 September 2023) was a Trinidadian-born British filmmaker, photographer, painter and writer based in London, England. One of the leading black independent filmmakers to ...

."Marsha Hunt (1947-), Model, singer, actress and writer"
National Portrait Gallery.

Relationship with Mick Jagger

Hunt said that she met

in 1969 when

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

asked her to pose for an ad for " Honky Tonk Women", which she refused to do because she "didn't want to look like he'djust been had by all the Rolling Stones." Jagger called her later, and their nine or 10-month affair began. According to Christopher Sanford's book ''Mick Jagger: Rebel Knight'', Hunt told journalist Frankie McGowan that Jagger's shyness and awkwardness won her over, but that their relationship was conducted mostly in private because their social scenes were very different. According to Tony Sanchez in ''Up and Down with the Rolling Stones'', Jagger considered proposing to Hunt but did not because he did not think he loved Hunt enough to spend the rest of his life with her, while Hunt, for her part, did not think they were sufficiently compatible to co-habit satisfactorily. The relationship ended in June 1970, when Hunt was pregnant with Jagger's first child, Karis. According to Hunt, the pair planned the child but never intended to live together and the two agreed that Jagger would be an "absent father". On 4 November 1970, Karis was born in London. She is Hunt's only child. In 1973, when Karis was two years old, Hunt asked the courts in London for an

affiliation Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platf ...

order against Jagger and eventually settled out of court.Tony Sanchez, ''Up and Down with the Rolling Stones'', Da Capo Press, 1996, p. 210. . Jagger called the suit "silly". He agreed to set up a trust fund for Karis until she reached 21 but he was allowed to deny his paternity on record. In 1978, Hunt filed a

paternity suit Paternity law refers to body of law underlying legal relationship between a father and his biological or adopted children and deals with the rights and obligations of both the father and the child to each other as well as to others. A child's p ...

in Los Angeles asking for $580 a week. At the time, Hunt was unemployed and received welfare payments from Aid to Dependent Children. In 1979, Hunt won the paternity suit, saying she wanted "only to be able to say to my daughter, when she's 21, that I didn't allow her father to neglect his responsibilities". Jagger grew closer to Karis when she was 11 years old, legally, financially, and personally. He paid for her education at a private secondary school and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and employed her in the Rolling Stones' infrastructure as a researcher on the '' 25×5: the Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones'' documentary. Jagger took her on holiday with his family when she was a teenager, attended her

graduation and her 2000 wedding, and he was at the hospital for the birth of her son in 2004. In 1991, Hunt indicated that she left the door open for Jagger to come back to his child and admired the fact that he did. In December 2012, Hunt sold a series of love letters written to her in the summer of 1969 by Mick Jagger. The letters were sold by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

of London for £182,250 ($301,000).

"Brown Sugar"

Christopher Sanford writes in his book ''Mick Jagger'' that when the Rolling Stones released the song "

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

" there was immediate speculation that it referred to Hunt or to soul singer

Claudia Lennear Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various act ...

.Christopher Sanford, ''Mick Jagger: Rebel Knight'', Omnibus Press, 2003, p. 194. . In her autobiography, ''Real Life'' (1985), Hunt acknowledged that "Brown Sugar" and a few other songs are about her, which she reiterated in her book ''Undefeated'' (2006). When Hunt was asked for an interview with the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' in 2008 how she felt about the song, she said: "it doesn't make me feel any way at all." However, Rolling Stones' bassist

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

stated in his book, ''Rolling With The Stones'' (2002), that the lyrics were partially inspired by Lennear. In 2014, Lennear told ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' that the song is about her because she was dating Jagger when he wrote it. Hunt was also the titular dedicatee Marsha in

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is an English retired musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

's song "To Carla, Marsha and Caroline (For Making Everything Beautifuller)" from his album '' The End of an Ear''.

Writing

Autobiography

Hunt began writing in 1985, and her first book was her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Real Life: The Story of a Survivor'' (1986)."On My Mountain Top." by Marsha Hunt In 1996, she published her second autobiography, ''Repossessing Ernestine: A Granddaughter Uncovers the Secret History of Her American Family'', about her search for her paternal grandmother who was placed in an asylum for nearly 50 years."Repossessing Ernestine: A Granddaughter Uncovers the Secret History of Her American Family"
at Amazon Books. In 2005, Hunt released her

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

about her battle with cancer, ''Undefeated''.Isla Whitcroft
"She's the Sixties Icon Who Had a Child By Mick Jagger"
Red Orbit, September 27, 2005.

Novelist

In 1990, Hunt published her first novel, ''

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

'', about a woman who grew up to join a singing group reminiscent of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

before dying an early death. She wrote ''Joy'' while touring England with a group performing ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. Hunt's second novel, ''Free'', published in 1992, tells the story of freed slaves and their children living in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1913. Her novel ''Like Venus Fading'' (1998) is inspired by the lives of

Adelaide Hall Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death. Early in her career, she was a major figure in the Harlem Ren ...

, known as the "lightly-tanned Venus",

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

and

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Carmen Jones'' (1954). Dandridge had a ...

. Hunt wrote her first four books whilst living in isolation in a remote hideaway in France called ''La montagne''.

Editor

In 1999, Hunt sought a job of writer-in-residence at

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

's Mountjoy Prison and later collected selected writings from the prisoners and edited ''The Junk Yard: Voices From An Irish Prison''. The book contains 15 stories divided into five sections: Childhood, Family Life, The Score, Criminal Life and Prison Life."The Junk Yard: Voices From An Irish Prison, edited by Marsha Hunt, Mainstream Publishing 1999"
Book Reviews, ''Barcelona Review'', issue 15 & 16. It became a number-one bestseller in Ireland in 1999.

Activist

In 1995, Hunt set up the

Saga Prize The Saga Prize was a literary award for new Black British novelists, which ran from 1995 to 1998. History The actress and writer Marsha Hunt established the Saga Prize in 1995 to recognise the literature emerging from 'indigenous black Britons' ...

, to discover new British-born black literary talent and recognise the literature emerging from indigenous black Britons' experiences. Awarded to "the best unpublished novel by a writer born in Great Britain or The Republic of Ireland having a black African ancestor", the prize, while attracting criticism from the

Commission for Racial Equality In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

, ran for four years until 1998. Winners including

Diran Adebayo Oludiran "Diran" Adebayo FRSL (born 30 August 1968) is a British novelist, cultural critic and academic best known for his 1996 novel ''Some Kind of Black''. Early life and education Oludiran Adebayo was born on 30 August 1968 in London, to Ni ...

and

Joanna Traynor Joanna Traynor is a British writer, who is the author of the novels ''Sister Josephine'', ''Divine'' and ''Bitch Money'', all published by Bloomsbury, and an educational television producer/writer. Biography Traynor was born in London but raised ...

. During the 1997

Edinburgh International Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place during two weeks in August every year in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. Described as ''The largest festival of its kind in the world'', the festival hosts ...

, Hunt staged a one-woman protest, picketing Charlotte Square about the "shoddy administration" of the festival. The director of the festival was fired in the aftermath of her protest.

Other projects

In 2005, Hunt stated that she was writing a book about

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

that she considers her life work. She indicated that no one alive can share her perspective on the matter, "because he and I shared something – black Americans who came to London were transformed and repackaged for the U.S., although I never became successful there and he did."

Acting

Theatre

In 1971, Hunt played

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. It is known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It came to greater notice in the 1970s, due to public fi ...

in '' Catch My Soul'', the rock-and-roll stage version of ''

'' produced by Jack Good. In 1973, she wrote, produced, and directed a new London show entitled ''Man to Woman''. The music from the show was released on vinyl in 1982 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, featuring vocals by

. In 1975, Hunt appeared as Sabina in ''The Skin of Our Teeth''. In 1991, Hunt appeared as Nurse Logan in the world premiere of

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''The Ride Down Mount Morgan'' at London's

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...

. Hunt became a member of the National Theatre and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. In 1994, Hunt performed a one-woman play in Scotland at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

playing Baby Palatine, a 60-year-old woman who becomes the wardrobe mistress to a female pop group."Chronicle"
''New York Times'', August 20, 1994. The play is based on Hunt's 1990 novel, ''Joy'', and was directed by Hunt's daughter, Karis Jagger.

Film

Hunt's film career included appearances in '' Dracula A.D. 1972'' (1972), '' Britannia Hospital'' (1982) directed by

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered fo ...

, ''

The Sender ''The Sender'' is a 1982 British-American supernatural horror film directed by Roger Christian (filmmaker), Roger Christian, written by Tom Baum, Thomas Baum, and starring Kathryn Harrold, Željko Ivanek (in his film debut), Shirley Knight, and ...

'' (1982), ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel ''Thunderball (novel), Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Wh ...

'' (1983), '' Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf'' (1985), and ''

Tank Malling ''Tank Malling'' (re-released as ''Beyond Soho'' in the UK and ''Crossfire'' in America) is a 1989 British thriller film directed by James Marcus and starring Ray Winstone. The film was written by James Marcus and Mick Southworth. Graham Thomas ...

'' (1989).

Television

In 1988, Hunt played Elvi Rogers in ''

The Play on One ''The Play on One'' (''Play on One'' in the final series) is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC Nations and Regions in its studios outside London, and transmitted on BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air publ ...

: Unreported Incident''. In 1990, Hunt played Bianca in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television production of ''Othello'' directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

Documentaries

In 1997, Irish documentary filmmaker

Alan Gilsenan Alan Gilsenan is an Irish writer, filmmaker and theatre director. His most recent work include the award-winning cinema documentary ''The Days of Trees'', the feature film ''Unless'', based on a novel by Carol Shields and ''The Meeting,'' which h ...

made ''God Bless America'', featuring six American cities seen through the eyes of six American authors. Hunt's participation resulted in ''Marsha Hunt's Philadelphia''. According to Gilsenan, Hunt attributes the success of American democracy and capitalism to the crime of slavery, which must be understood if America is to have peace. Hunt fell in love with Gilsenan and moved to the Wicklow mountains near

with him, where in 1999 she helped him fight

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

, drawing on her own experiences with the disease.Victoria Kennedy
"I lost a breast ..Big Deal!"
''The Mirror'', September 21, 2005. As of 2008, Hunt and Gilsenan were no longer in a relationship. Hunt was the subject of an ITV documentary, ''Beating Breast Cancer'', which was broadcast on September 26, 2005.Marsha Hunt, ''Undefeated'', Greystone Books, 2006, p. 235. .

Cancer

In late 2004, Hunt was diagnosed with

and was told to have surgery to remove her right breast and her lymph nodes. Hunt postponed seeking treatment for five months, which resulted in facing third stage cancer.Louise Hogan
"New treatment leaves Marsha undefeated"
''The Irish Independent'', August 28, 2008. She chose to have surgery in Ireland and had a complete mastectomy with no following reconstruction. After the operation, Hunt said she did not mourn the loss of her breast, but felt happy that the cancer had been removed. She later described the scar from surgery as a memento of what she survived, and also compared herself to an Amazon warrior. After her mastectomy, she contracted the superbug

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

and had to be treated with Zyvox. She also had

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' reported on August 27, 2008, that Hunt stood on a table at the opening of the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin to let everyone see that she had survived third-stage breast cancer after a treatment of chemotherapy,

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

, and

Herceptin Trastuzumab, sold under the brand name Herceptin among others, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer. It is specifically used for cancer that is HER2 receptor positive. It may be used by itself or together w ...

therapy at the hospital.

Personal life

In 2008, Hunt stated that the biggest misconception people have about her is that she is wealthy, though she describes herself as "rich in spirit". She believes that wealth is not necessary for happiness and claimed to have lived the "writing life" for the past two decades. She enjoys the solitude of living on her own and the freedom of being single. Hunt has lived in Ireland since 1995. She also owns a home in the French countryside about 60 miles from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Self-identity

When Hunt came to live in Europe she found that people there called her an American, not an African American or Black.Marianne Wiggins
"Coming back from the dead"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', February 10, 1996. She herself describes her skin colour as "oak with a hint of maple", and notes that " the various races I know I comprise—African, American Indian, German Jew and Irish—only the African was acknowledged." Hunt invented her own word to describe herself, based on the French word ''melange'' (mixture) and the word

melanin Melanin (; ) is a family of biomolecules organized as oligomers or polymers, which among other functions provide the pigments of many organisms. Melanin pigments are produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. There are ...

: Melangian. In 1991, Hunt stated that the Black community inflicts pain on itself, and also said that living overseas for most of her life has made her a foreigner in the US. She said, "I'm scared to walk through Harlem... more scared than you, because if I walked through Harlem with the weird shoes and the weird accent, I'd get my butt kicked faster than you. In a way, I'm the betrayer." Hunt is featured in the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

, a

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

museum in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, which opened in 2016 at a ceremony led by then-President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

.MSNBC - Youtube
See MH at 3m:15s.

References

External links

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at HorrorStars {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Marsha 1946 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century Black British women singers 20th-century British women singers African-American female models African-American memoirists African-American women memoirists American people of German-Jewish descent American expatriates in France American expatriates in Ireland American expatriates in Scotland American emigrants to England American women memoirists American women pop singers Black British women writers Black British writers Bluesology members Female models from Philadelphia Singers from Philadelphia Novelists from Pennsylvania People from Kensington, California The Ferris Wheel (band) members University of California, Berkeley alumni Oakland High School (Oakland, California) alumni African-American actresses Black British actresses