30 Photographs of Linda McCartney in the 1970s

In the 1970s, Linda McCartney (September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was not only the wife of Paul McCartney but also an accomplished photographer, musician, and animal rights advocate who carved out her own place in cultural history.

After The Beatles disbanded in 1970, Linda and Paul formed the band Wings with Denny Laine and others. Though not a formally trained musician, Linda played keyboards and sang backing vocals. Wings released several successful albums in the 1970s, including Band on the Run (1973), which became one of the decade’s best-selling records. Linda’s harmonies helped define the group’s distinctive sound. She faced criticism from some fans and the press for her musical abilities, but she persevered, and Paul always credited her presence as central to Wings’ spirit.

Linda was already a respected photographer before marrying Paul. She had photographed major rock stars like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Rolling Stones in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, while raising her family and touring with Wings, she continued her photography, capturing candid, intimate moments of family life, band tours, and countryside living. Her work often had a warm, unpolished quality that emphasized authenticity over glamour.

Linda and Paul were devoted to a family-first lifestyle, raising their children—Heather (Linda’s daughter from a previous marriage, whom Paul adopted), Mary, Stella, and later James—on their farm in Scotland. They embraced a back-to-the-land ethos, focusing on organic farming, vegetarianism, and environmental consciousness. Linda became a vegetarian in 1975, a decision that deeply influenced her life’s work. She published vegetarian cookbooks and later launched her successful Linda McCartney Foods brand in the 1990s.

She was often photographed alongside Paul, both on stage and off, symbolizing a new kind of celebrity marriage—one centered on partnership, family, and privacy rather than Hollywood glamour. Critics sometimes mocked her musical role, but she also inspired many as a figure of quiet strength, loyalty, and creativity.

Her fashion in the 1970s reflected bohemian and natural styles: flowing dresses, denim, boots, and a casual, down-to-earth look that contrasted with the glitz of other rock-star spouses.