Maureen Starkey

Maureen Starkey Tigrett, née Mary Cox  (4 August 1946–30 December 1994) was the first wife of Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) the drummer of the Beatles.

Early Life
Mary Cox was born on August 4, 1946 in Liverpool, England. She was the only child of Joseph and Florence Cox. She left school at fourteen to be a hairdresser, and at around this time changed her name to "Maureen". To her friends, she was known as "Mo".

Knowing Ringo and courtship
At the age of fourteen, Maureen was interested in the Merseybeat sound. She often visited the Cavern. In the Cavern, she met John Brynne, who belonged to the group: "Rory Storm and The Hurricanes", and they started dating. This lasted until 1962 when they broke up.

On seeing The Beatles regularly, she developed a crush on Ringo. She asked Ringo for an autograph. About three weeks later Ringo began noticing her and asked her for a dance at the cavern. Soon after this they started dating.

Maureen was still going to the Cavern to observe the gigs of The Beatles. But this was sometimes dangerous.

The Beatles began to gain more popularity and more fan-girls. When it became common-knowledge that Mo and Ringo were in a relationship, she was often attacked and threatened. At one time an angry fan girl scratched her face while Maureen waited in a car. In September 1963, Ringo invited her to go to Greece together with Paul and his girlfriend (at the time) Jane Asher. In May 1964 Maureen went to the Virgin Islands without the permission of her parents, afraid that they would not give her permission to go, but her parents ended up finding out through the newspapers.

While not that loved by fans, Maureen answered the letters they wrote to Ringo.

The courtship of her and Ringo would end for a time in 1964 when Beatles were doing more and becoming more famous. When Ringo was operated on to have his tonsils removed, Maureen went to visit. Ringo proposed to Maureen in the hospital, and she accepted.

Marriage with Ringo
In January 1965, Maureen discovered she was pregnant. She was eighteen at the time. There was no other option than to marry Ringo.

On February 11, 1965 at 8:00 am, Ringo and Maureen were married, at Caxton Hall Registry Office. The best man was Brian Epstein and the reception was at Brian's house.

Children with Ringo
On September the 13th, 1965, Maureen gave birth to her first child, Zak Starkey, in the National Maternity Hospital in Queen Charlotte. This was the same day the single "Yesterday" was published. On August 19th, 1967, Jason Starkey was born. On November the 11th, 1970, Lee Parkin Starkey was born.

Starkey marriage problems
By the time Lee was born in 1970 the marriage was already in trouble. When the Beatles broke up in 1970, so did the marriage, Ringo's infidelities and his increasing alcoholism became a problem for the whole family. In 1972, Starkey visited George Harrison and during that visit George confessed how much he loved Maureen. (A rumour went around that Ringo proposed to swap partners, but this was just a rumour.). Maureen had a brief affair with George, but despite all the problems facing marriage, Maureen did not want a divorce.

End of marriage to Ringo
Ringo insisted that it was better to obtain a divorce and Maureen accepted reluctantly. In July 1975, the couple finally separated when Ringo's affair with the American model Nancy Andrews was made public.

Maureen life after the end of her marriage to Ringo
In the early 80s, Maureen began a relationship with the owner of the Hard Rock Cafe, Isaac Tigrett. There was an attempt at reconciliation between Maureen and Ringo after Ringo broke up with Nancy, but it was too late. Ringo had fallen in love with Barbara Bach, his partner from the movie "Caveman". Maureen returned to her relationship with Isaac Tigrett. Ringo and Maureen became grandparents in 1985 when their son, Zak, had a child.

In 1987, Maureen gave birth to her fourth child, Augusta Tigrett.

On May 27, 1989, Isaac married Maureen and decided to split his time between Los Angeles, California and Boston.

Last days of life and death
During the opening of "Houses Of Blues" Maureen suddenly fainted. At first she was diagnosed with a mild anaemia, that would later be diagnosed as a form of leukaemia called Mylodisplasia. She was admitted to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in October 1994. Physicians did everything they could to save her life, but unfortunately she lost the battle and on December 30, 1994, Maureen Starkey Tigrett died at age 48 from leukaemia. Her husband Isaac, her children, her mother and her ex-husband, Ringo, were with her when she passed away.

Paul McCartney wrote "Little Willow" in dedication to Maureen.

Trivia

 * Maureen's favourite colour was black.
 * Pattie Boyd considered Maureen a great friend, but remained resentful of her affair with George.
 * She hand-sewed sequins on the Sgt Pepper Costumes.
 * Participated in the chorus of "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" along with Yoko Ono and Pattie Boyd.
 * Participated in the video "Something".
 * While married to Ringo, she tried to commit suicide by crashing into a wall with a motorcycle.
 * She was in the recording of Get Back. At the end of the song you can hear Paul McCartney saying "Thanks Mo".
 * She was good friends with Cynthia Lennon for nearly 30 years.
 * In 1968, Maureen changed hair colour to blonde.
 * For her 22nd birthday, Frank Sinatra recorded a special edition of "The Lady is a Tramp" for Maureen. Changing the words to "Maureen is a champ."
 * In 1968 the Beatles travelled to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. She accompanied them along with Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Boyd and Jane Asher.