Rachel Owen Explained

Rachel Owen
Birth Name:Rachel Mary Owen
Birth Date:30 November 1968
Birth Place:Cardiff, Wales
Spouse:Thom Yorke
Children:2

Rachel Mary Owen (30 November 1968 – 18 December 2016) was a Welsh photographer, printmaker and lecturer on medieval Italian literature. She was married to the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke; they announced their separation in 2015.

Life and career

Owen was born in Cardiff, Wales.[1] She received a B.A. (Hons) in Italian and Fine Art (Painting), specialising in Printmaking, from the University of Exeter.[2] In the 1990s, she lived in Florence with two students and studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence, where she fell in love with Dante's work.[3] In 2001, Owen received a PhD from the University of London, where her research was on the illustrations in manuscripts of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.[4]

Owen was a lecturer in Italian with a focus on medieval Italian literature, where she examined illustration and its reception in Divine Comedy.[5] She taught art history and Dante studies for visiting students at the University of Oxford.[6]

Owen was also a fine-art printmaker[7] and a member of the Oxford Printmakers Co-operative.[8] She mixed photography with printmaking[4] and her work explored ideas of transformation using photographic screenprints.[9] Her artwork was used on the cover of the 1993 Radiohead single "Pop Is Dead".[10]

Personal life

For 23 years, Owen was in a relationship with the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, whom she met while they were students at the University of Exeter.[11] [12] [13] She and Yorke had a son, Noah, born in 2001, and a daughter, Agnes, born in 2004.[14] Owen influenced the lyrics of Radiohead songs such as "I Might Be Wrong"[15] and "Optimistic".[16]

In 2012, Rolling Stone reported that Owen and Yorke were not married.[17] However, The Times later found that they had married in a secret ceremony in Oxfordshire in May 2003.[18] In August 2015, the couple announced they had separated amicably "after 23 highly creative and happy years".[19] Several critics believed the separation influenced the lyrics of Radiohead's 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.[20] [21] [22]

Death

Owen died of cancer on 18 December 2016 at the age of 48. She continued to teach Italian into her final months.[23] Radiohead dedicated the 2017 OKNOTOK reissue of their 1997 album OK Computer to her memory.[24]

Works

Books

Exhibitions

Papers

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Marriage secret of Radiohead star and the woman he lost to cancer . Gurpreet Narwan . Fariha Karim . 2016-12-24 . The Times . en . 2018-02-27.
  2. Web site: Art Exhibition 'Rachel Owen: The Inferno Illustrations' . www.pmb.ox.ac.uk . en . 2018-02-27.
  3. News: Paloscia. Fulvio. Rachel, l'altra artista di casa Yorke "A Firenze mi innamorai di Dante". la Repubblica. 23 September 2012. Firenze. it.
  4. News: Slawson. Nicola. Thom Yorke's ex-partner Rachel Owen dies at 48. The Guardian. 20 December 2016.
  5. News: Dr Rachel Owen (1968–2016). 19 December 2016. Pembroke College, Oxford.
  6. Book: Owen. Rachel. Calè. Luisa. Braida. Antonella. Dante on View: The Reception of Dante in the Visual and Performing Arts. 2007. Ashgate. London. 978-0-7546-5896-2. 83–94. The Image of Dante, Poet and Pilgrim. 83609616.
  7. Web site: Rachel Owen: Biography. RachelOwen.co.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20080702225147/http://www.rachel-owen.co.uk/Biography.htm. 2 July 2008.
  8. News: Dr. Rachel Owen: 1968–2016. Partner of Radiohead's Thom Yorke Was Accomplished Printmaker. Ray. Emily. 20 December 2016. Paste.
  9. Web site: Owen. Rachel. Rachel Owen: Artist Statement. Oxford Printmakers Co-operative.
  10. News: Fitzmaurice. Larry. Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued with Extras. Spin. 15 January 2009.
  11. Book: Randall. Mac. Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. 2012. Backbeat Books. Milwaukee, WI. 978-1-458-47147-5. Updated 4th. 946707168.
  12. News: Binelli. Mark. The Future According to Radiohead: How they ditched the record business and still topped the charts. Rolling Stone. 7 February 2008.
  13. News: Vincent. Alice. Thom Yorke's ex-partner, Rachel Owen, dies aged 48. The Daily Telegraph. 20 December 2016.
  14. News: McLean. Craig. Thom Yorke: 'It's not my job to do business with politicians'. The Guardian. 17 June 2006.
  15. Web site: Kent. Nick. June 2001. Happy now?. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120206154836/https://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2001&cutting=121. 6 February 2012. 27 March 2012. Mojo. dmy.
  16. Cavanagh. David. October 2000. I Can See The Monsters. Q. 96–104.
  17. Web site: Fricke. David. David Fricke. 26 April 2012. Radiohead reconnect. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160317233858/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/radiohead-reconnect-20120426. 17 March 2016. 11 April 2016. Rolling Stone.
  18. News: Marriage secret of Radiohead star and the woman he lost to cancer. Narwan. Gurpreet. 24 December 2016. The Times. 27 December 2016. Karim. Fariha.
  19. News: Thom Yorke and Rachel Owen announce separation. NME. 15 August 2015.
  20. News: Tribute paid to Dr Rachel Owen, artist, academic and former partner of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, who has died. Hughes. Tim. 20 December 2016. Oxford Mail.
  21. News: Dr. Rachel Owen, Former Partner of Thom Yorke, Dead at Age 48. Leight. Elias. 20 December 2016. Rolling Stone.
  22. Web site: Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know. Larson. Jeremy D.. 9 May 2016. Pitchfork. 9 May 2016.
  23. News: Thom Yorke: how I coped with ex-partner's death. Mohdin. Aamna. 22 September 2019. The Observer. 22 September 2019. en-GB. 0029-7712.
  24. Web site: Radiohead's OKNOTOK Dedicated to Thom Yorke's Late Partner Rachel Owen. Cook-Wilson. Winston. 22 June 2017. Spin. 23 June 2017.
  25. Web site: Thom Yorke's Ex-Partner Rachel Owen Loses Her Battle With Cancer . viveremilano.biz . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20171101005827/http://viveremilano.biz/2016/12/21/thom-yorkes-ex-partner-rachel-owen-loses-her-battle-with/ . 2017-11-01.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rachel Owen".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.