On This Day in 1998, Paul McCartney Said His Final Goodbye to the Love of His Life and Musical Partner

Linda McCartney was Paul McCartney’s partner in both life and music. Married in 1969, the couple performed together as members of Wings, with Linda on keyboard and harmony vocals, and the former Beatle taking the reins on lead vocals and bass. Today (April 17) marks the 28th anniversary of Linda’s passing at age 56 following a nearly three-year battle with breast cancer. We’re remembering not only her relationship with one of the most famous musicians in the world, but her own contributions as a keyboardist, photographer, and dedicated animal rights advocate.

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“She was unique and the world is a better place for having known her,” Paul McCartney wrote five days after his first wife’s death. “Her message of love will live on in our hearts forever.”

28 years ago today the world lost the great Linda McCartney. pic.twitter.com/gxzOERhcoA

— Gary Lutz (@IWFfanBx) April 17, 2026

The Life and Career of Linda McCartney

Born Linda Louise Eastman on September 24, 1941, in Manhattan, New York, McCartney long preferred the company of animals.

An avid horseback rider as a child, she would channel that love into a lifelong activism, supporting animal-rights organizations like PETA and Friends of the Earth. Publishing two vegetarian cookbooks, she started her own company, Linda McCartney Foods, in 1991, specializing in frozen vegetarian and vegan meals.

After obtaining her associate’s degree from Vermont College, Linda Eastman majored in fine arts at the University of Arizona, where she also took up nature photography. She left without graduating after her mother, Louise Eastman, died in a 1962 plane crash.

Following a brief marriage that resulted in the birth of her oldest daughter, Heather, Linda took a job as an editorial receptionist at Town and Country Magazine in 1965. Although she “never had the patience” for formal training, Linda’s big break came when she photographed the Rolling Stones on a yacht for the magazine.

From there, she went on to capture the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and Eric Clapton. Her photo session with the “Tears in Heaven” singer made her the first woman to have a photograph grace the cover of Rolling Stone.

[RELATED: The No. 1 Song Jack Lawrence Wrote About Linda Eastman Decades Before She Was Linda McCartney]

Meeting Paul McCartney

Linda McCartney met her future husband on assignment in 1967. Drawn to her “rebellious” attitude and free spirit, Paul married the New York firebrand two years later on March 12, 1969. A week later, John Lennon married Yoko Ono. Both women would catch flak from enraged fans who believed they “broke up the Beatles.”

Pulling her husband out of his post-Beatles breakup depression, Paul taught Linda to play keyboards. After recording one album, Ram, as a duo, the couple formed the band Wings. Together, they won multiple Grammy Awards for songs like “Live and Let Die” and “Band on the Run.”

“Linda was, and still is, the love of my life,” Paul McCartney wrote after her death.

Featured image by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images