Astrid Kirchherr

Astrid Kirchherr was born in 1938 in Hamburg, Germany. In the 1960s, she was a student at the Meisterschule für Mode, Werkschule für Textil, Grafik und Werbung and became assistant to the photographer Reinhart Wolf. At the time Astrid also became romantically involved with Klaus Voormann, who played an important part in the Hamburg music scene and in the history of the Beatles. In 1960, Astrid befriended the Beatles and began to photograph them. There was an instant attraction to Stuart Sutcliffe, the band’s bassist, to whom she soon became engaged. Sutcliffe left the band to marry Astrid, and they lived in Hamburg until his sudden death. Astrid continued her work as a photographer shooting portraits of several leading musicians. She ultimately found success promoting her photographs from the 1960s with manager Ulf Krüger. Astrid has sold her archive and copyrights and they are managed by Vladislav Ginzburg. Astrid Kirchherr passed away on January 20, 2020 in Hamburg.