Pattie Boyd Exclusive: Vogue, Beatles, Her Legacy
Interviewed by Ana Sunjka
Ana: Over the years, you’ve been known as a muse for legendary musicians, a fashion icon, and the ultimate It-Girl of the ‘60s. But beyond these titles, who is truly Pattie Boyd? What do you wish people knew about you beyond the stories that have been told?
Pattie: Basically, I'm really passionate about photography. I still take photographs but not for any commercial purpose. I just like taking photos, and that's my main thing. I also really enjoy gardening because I live in the countryside, and I like watching plants grow. And yeah, that’s what I do.
Ana: While we’re on the topic of photography, what sparked that transition, and what did being behind the lens give you that modeling didn’t?
Pattie: Well, I think that even when I was a model, I wanted to understand what photographers were seeing through their lens when they were photographing me. So, I bought a camera, and whenever I did a modeling job, I asked photographers to help me understand what it is they’re looking for when they look through the lens.
Ana: Do you have a favorite photograph from that era of your life—one that instantly transports you back to the moment it was captured?
Pattie: Probably a photograph that Barry Lategan took, and it was for Vogue. It was a close-up of my face, and I'm wearing the most beautiful furry hat. It is very nice, and the way that Barry did the lighting was fantastic. I think most of the models in my day liked being photographed by Barry because he made us all look good!
Ana: Your latest book, My Life in Pictures, has been described as “bringing to life the music, fashion, and pop culture scene through the eyes of one of the most famous muses of the 20th century” by The Guardian. What made you want to share such an intimate and personal archive with the world? If you had to describe the book to someone unfamiliar with your work, how would you introduce it?
Pattie: The book is a fashion history book. It’s basically loads and loads of photographs of me taken during the time I was modeling, mainly for magazines like Vogue, Elle, etc. And then also photographs taken by photographers who were maybe learning to be photographers at the time. It would be beneficial for them if I was to model, and then they would give me prints.
You can see the change from the most horrible clothes from the beginning of the book that were so dull, and then gradually, it moves to the mid-'60s, where fashion starts to become quite exciting, creative, daring, and more colorful. And that shows in the book.
Ana: You ventured into the podcasting world during the pandemic. What inspired you to take that step into the media world?
Pattie: Well, I was sort of bored during Covid. I’m sorry to say this when other people were suffering, but it was a lovely summer, the weather was glorious every day, and I made fantastic lunches for my husband. I became very creative, and then I started taking photos of everything I cooked. I thought maybe lots of people have forgotten how exciting food can be. So, I decided to do a podcast. I photographed everything I cooked.
I’ve never done a podcast previously and thought of a few recipes, and that’s how it started. It was just audio, it wasn't visual. So, there would be a photograph, say, of like a beetroot and apple soup, and I would then explain how to make it – you know, chop, chop, chop! Onions and whatever! It was called Lockdown Lunches. That was really fun to do, and then the following year I progressed, thought that was quite fun, and wanted to carry on and do Cocktails with Pattie — a little more grown up. So, I asked my musician friends if they would like to tell me their favorite cocktail, and I would come over to them, or they would come to me, and then we would make the cocktail and just gossip. So, it's a very nice, relaxed podcast.
“Be brave and not so sensitive…I needed to be more positive”
Ana: If you could go back and give advice to your younger self—Pattie, the model, the muse, the woman at the heart of so many cultural moments—what would you say?
Pattie: I don't know what I would’ve said… just sort of be brave and not so sensitive. I was very sensitive, and I thought when I would go and visit photographers to see if they would like my photographs, I felt shy about it, and thought they weren't going to like me. I needed to be more positive, really.
Ana: I have to ask for our readers… are you still in touch with any of the Beatles or Eric Clapton?
Pattie: Yes, with Eric, I’m in touch. I see Paul (McCartney) maybe once every five years. We bump into each other at maybe a film premiere or something like that, and he’s always friendly. I’ve lost touch with Ringo (Starr) because he lives in Los Angeles, and I never go there, so yeah, Eric and I send each other text messages when appropriate.
Ana: Over the years, you’ve been described as “one of the most important muses in rock and roll history.” Your presence and love story inspired some of the most iconic songs—Layla, Bell Bottom Blues, Wonderful Tonight, even Golden Ring. Do you remember the first time you heard these songs? How did it feel to know they were written for you?
Pattie: I think the first ever song written about me was Something, written by George Harrison. He stayed at the studio quite late that night, and what he was doing while the others had gone off to recording, he spoke to George Martin, who was their record producer, and said, “George, what do you think of this?” He didn’t want to play it in front of the others, and George Martin said, “That’s a wonderful song, George, we have to record it tomorrow!” So then tomorrow came, and that night or next morning, George said to me: “Listen to this, this is what we recorded last night, and I wrote it for you.” And I was so shocked and amazed that he would do that for me, I couldn't really take it in. I couldn't grasp it properly. It was so exciting.
Ana: Listening to them now, so many years later, do they still bring up the same emotions, or has your relationship with them changed over time?
Pattie: No, I still know they were written for me, so they are part of me. They’re still really special.
Ana: Do you have a personal favorite?
Pattie: Oh, I can't say that!! Because it depends on the time I'm listening to them, and what's happening, you know?
Ana: Wonderful Tonight was the first time in 40 years that your story was told. What did it feel like to finally release it? Was it important for you to reclaim your narrative? Were you nervous about how people might react?
Pattie: I didn't really think about it like that. A lot of people had asked me if I would write a memoir, and I had always said no, because I didn’t really want to reveal my private life. Although after seeing what was going on, on social media, I realized that people thought they knew an awful lot about me, but a lot of it was untrue, so that kind of prompted me to set that record straight. In a way, it was quite nice to do it, although it made me very nervous.
Ana: In the book, you also open up about the darker side of the rock-and-roll world. Sharing those experiences must have been deeply personal — If I may ask, what helped you through those times?
Pattie: Probably seeing a psychotherapist because she was very wise and very helpful and very knowledgeable about life, because she’d obviously learned it from all the great philosophers and psychologists like Carl Jung and Freud, and this was very, very helpful to me.
“I realized that people thought they knew an awful lot about me, but a lot of it was untrue, so that kind of prompted me to set that record straight.”
Ana: You recently auctioned off deeply personal memorabilia — including love letters, original artwork gifted to you by Eric Clapton for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, handwritten lyrics for George Harrison’s Mystical One, and personal photographs — through Christie’s. What led you to the decision to part with these tangible memories? Was it a symbolic act of letting go, or did it feel more like sharing history with the world?
Pattie: I just wanted to share it with the world. I thought, you know, I’ve had these lovely items – jewelry, clothes, letters – for so long. Sometimes I would read the letters, and they would just make me really sad because I'm not that person any longer, and these are beautifully written letters. And I just thought I would like people to see how very talented and beautiful these musicians are.
Ana: You began taking photographs of musicians and your inner circle in the 1960s, but in an earlier interview, you said you didn’t feel “emotionally ready” to revisit those images until 2004. What made that moment the right time?
Pattie: Time! Time, you know, we change with time, we learn a bit more, hopefully every day. We let go of a bit of old stuff that we don’t need to hang on to forever, you know, you lived it, you’ve processed it, and then it’s always good to move on.
Ana: You’ve been at the center of what’s been called “one of the most mythical romantic entanglements in rock history.” From the outside, it seemed like you were living the ultimate dream life—married to a Beatle, adored by two of the greatest rock legends, a fashion icon, a music muse, an ‘It Girl.’ But was it truly as glamorous as it appeared? Did you ever feel overwhelmed by it all, or want to get out?
Pattie: Yes, it was overwhelming. I did feel overwhelmed, and it was, I find, very difficult to deal with.
Ana: You were surrounded by some of the greatest musicians of all time. Did you ever try making music yourself—singing, playing an instrument?
Pattie: You know, it’s always good to have an audience. I am an audience *laughs*. I would have piano lessons, but I am not a musician, so it’s not the same. I’m just playing around. It would be nice if I could play the piano, but, you know, I wasn’t any good. And we’re talking about people who are absolute geniuses. I would never, ever be on that level, so it was very nice having a few piano lessons, but no way could I possibly be a musician, no way!
“Time, you know, we change with time, we learn a bit more, hopefully every day. We let go of a bit of old stuff that we don’t need to hang on to forever, you know, you lived it, you’ve processed it, and then it’s always good to move on.”
Ana: Looking back at your life, from the music and fashion worlds to your own photography and writing, what do you feel most proud of?
Pattie: My photography!!!
Ana: What’s next for Pattie Boyd?
Pattie: I don’t know at the moment. Something is coming up, but I don’t know whether it will work or not. I’d rather not talk about it. It’s best to keep things that are going to be big and important to you a secret until they start growing and maturing.
Ana: You’re right, let’s not jinx it! We’ll just have to wait and see!
The images in this article do not belong to N/A Magazine they were collected from various sources: The Times, Pinterest, BBC, Vogue, Cosmopolitan.
All views expressed in this article are the author’s own, and may not reflect the opinions of N/A Magazine.
Posted Friday April 11th 2025.
Edited by Ana Sunjka