LINDA MCCARTNEY DIES OF CANCER AT 56

Wife of Former Beatle Paul; U.S.-Born Photographer a Musician, Vegetarian,
Animal Lover

Linda McCartney, 56, a musician, photographer, noted vegetarian and animal
rights activist who was the wife of the former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney,
died of cancer April 17 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

A statement issued by Paul McCartney's office said that Mrs. McCartney, who
had been treated for breast cancer from 1995 to 1997, learned in March that
cancer had spread to her liver. The statement also reported that the
McCartneys had been on vacation in Santa Barbara, and that the couple had
been riding horses two days before her death.

A spokesman for the family said Paul McCartney has asked that instead of
flowers, people make a donation to cancer research or animal welfare
charities -- or simply "go veggie."

The former Linda Eastman grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y., and studied art
history at the University of Arizona. She then took a job as a receptionist
with Town and Country magazine in New York. She began taking pictures of
rock groups, including the Rolling Stones. She was acclaimed by one critic
for "moody, gritty" studies.

She met her future husband in 1967 while in London and married him there
two years later.

After the breakup of the Beatles, Paul McCartney recorded a solo album,
"McCartney," in 1970, which sold more than a million copies in weeks. The
next year, he and Mrs. McCartney, who had learned to play keyboards,
synthesizer and percussion, released the album "Ram." It was a popular
success but received mixed reviews from critics.

The McCartneys, with guitarist Denny Laine and other musicians, then formed
the group Wings, barnstorming the world to critical acclaim. Linda
McCartney played the keyboard and sang. The groups' albums "Band on the
Run," released in 1973, and "Venus and Mars," in 1975, went platinum.

In 1973, both McCartneys were nominated for a best song Academy Award for
the theme they wrote for the James Bond film "Live and Let Die." In 1984,
the former Beatle wrote, produced and starred in a 20th Century Fox film,
"Give My Regards to Broad Street," in which Linda McCartney also appeared.

The Wings single "Mull of Kintyre," which was recorded in 1977, is said to
be one of the biggest-selling singles ever.

Linda McCartney became known not only for her music and photography but
also for a variety of causes and beliefs. An ardent and lifelong
vegetarian, she eventually came to market her own line of vegetarian foods.
In 1991, she published a vegetarian cookbook.

An animal lover whose great passion was said to be horseback riding, she
was active in animal-rights causes, as well as charities for children and
the Third World. She had long been especially active in People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals.

And, like her husband, she also made headlines as a result of an open
fondness for marijuana.

The McCartneys avoided the jet set, preferring to bring up their children
quietly in out-of-the-way houses in southern England and Scotland.

Mrs. McCartney's marriage to geophysicist John Melvyn See ended in divorce.

In addition to her husband, survivors include their three children, Mary,
Stella, and James; and a daughter from her first marriage, Heather.

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