THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY OF NICO: THE ICONIC AND MYSTERIOUS SINGER, WARHOL'S SUPERSTAR AND MUSE OF PHILIPPE GARREL, LEAD SINGER OF THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND INFLUENTIAL SOLO ARTIST
Christa Päffgen, known as Nico, was born in Cologne in 1938 and experienced the horrors of war during her childhood. Her beauty led her to international modeling, at which point she adopted her stage name. She gained fame with her appearance in Fellini's La dolce vita and, later, in New York, she became part of Andy Warhol's world, who made her the Factory Superstar and included her in The Velvet Underground, recording with them the album The Velvet Underground & Nico, one of the most influential records in rock history.
On this album, Nico performed iconic songs such as Femme Fatale, All Tomorrow's Parties, and I'll Be Your Mirror, with her distinctive contralto voice and strong German accent. After parting ways with the band, she began a solo career with albums like Chelsea Girl, The Marble Index, and Desertshore, which went unnoticed at the time but are now considered cult classics and highly influential.
She was muse and partner of filmmaker Philippe Garrel, with whom she shared life and addictions. Her heroin use increased to the point of deeply affecting her physical and mental health, without preventing her from maintaining an intense musical career, especially live. She died in Ibiza at the age of 49 under strange circumstances.
This biography, the result of four years of research and more than one hundred interviews, reveals Nico's complex life, her magnetism as an artist, and the enigma of her figure, narrated with rigor by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike.
