In 1969, millions of girls and women throughout the world had their hearts broken when Paul McCartney married. His bride, Linda Eastman, went on to build her own reputation as a photographer, musician and businesswoman. Their relationship remained strong to the end of her life.

Sir Paul's spokesman said: "The coming days are going to be very difficult for Paul. People may not realise, with the exception of one occasion, Paul and Linda never spent a night apart in the 30 years that they have loved each other."

Lady Linda, as she would later become, was born in 1942 in New York, USA. Her father was a successful lawyer and Linda was educated at the prestigious Scarsdale High School. After leaving school, she became a photographer and captured some of the most illustrious rock stars of the 1960s, including the Rolling Stones, the Who and Jimi Hendrix. She put on more than 70 exhibitions of her work and produced five best-selling books of her photography.

On a trip to London in 1967 she photographed the Beatles, fell in love with Paul McCartney, the bassist, singer and co-writer of the majority of the band's songs. She married him two years later. A vegetarian long before it became fashionable Linda McCartney introduced her husband and many Britons to vegetarianism. She said she did not eat anything with a face.

After the Beatles split up in 1970, Paul McCartney brought her into his new band, Wings, where she sang and played keyboards. Critics at the time derided her involvement as a form of nepotism but the group's back-catalogue continues to contribute to the position of Sir Paul McCartney as one of Britain's richest people.

Lady Linda's vegetarianism provided her with business success. Her own range of food products, marketed in the 1990s, made her a millionaire in her own right.

The hostility against her from some sections of the public and media continued. Both Sir Paul and Lady Linda were fined for possessing cannabis in 1972 and admitted having the drug again in 1984.

But Lady Linda refused to let the attacks deter her from publicly supporting the causes she believed in. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the anti-fur group Lynx, Greenpeace, the Council for the Protection of Rural England, Friends of the Earth, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Hammersmith Cancer Hospital, War Child and the League Against Cruel Sports

League Chairman John Cooper said: "Linda was an avid campaigner for the League Against Cruel Sports. "She worked tirelessly on behalf of hunted animals, sometimes in a very public capacity, sometimes very quietly behind the scenes. "Her tragic death will leave a feeling of great sadness with all those who oppose hunting."

The McCartneys had three children, Mary, Stella and James. Linda also had a daughter Heather from a previous marriage. Stella McCartney has achieved fame in her own right as a fashion designer and more recently a member of the UK Government's 2000 committee, which is seeking to promote Britain around the world.

Lady Linda's final public appearance was last month sitting in the front row of her daughter's fashion show when Stella unveiled her latest designs for Chloe in Paris. She cheered as models walked down the catwalk and jumped up to join the standing ovation.

In a quiet way, Linda McCartney has developed into one of the finest women photographers in the world ­ although there is much more to her than that.

Raised in Scarsdale, New York, Linda was a Fine Art major at The University of Arizona. It was while living in Arizona that her passion for photographs began. But it was not until she returned to New York that this self-taught photographer began her career ­ whilst working for Town and Country magazine in New York in the early Sixties.

Seizing an opportunity to photograph The Rolling Stones on a yacht on the Hudson River, Linda discovered that her work was immediately in demand.

Coupling photography with her love of rhythm and blues, Linda specialised in capturing the character of the new musicians. Among the stars she worked with were: Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and The Beatles ­ subsequently meeting her husband, Paul.

Linda was a Rolling Stone magazine photographer, and her work with rock stars has appeared in magazines around the world. Exhibitions of her photography have also appeared in some 50 galleries worldwide, from South America to Australia. She has also exhibited in London's prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum and has been voted the USA's Female Photographer Of The Year.

A vegetarian and ardent animal-lover, Linda has done much to help the causes of Lynx ­ the UK anti-fur lobby ­ and The People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals. She has also worked extensively for The Council For The Protection of Rural England and Friends Of The Earth, to highlight environmental dangers.

In 1989, Linda published her own guide to vegetarian Cookery ­ Linda McCartney's Home Cooking. The book has become the biggest-selling vegetarian cookbook ever in the UK and a best-seller in the USA; with more than 250,000 copies sold.

Since the publication of her cookbook, Linda has become much-sought by the Press and media, who regard her as Britain's foremost authority on vegetarianism.

In the Spring of 1991, Linda also launched her own range of ready-made vegetarian meals; which have become a massive success in the UK ­ with some five million meals consumed by September '91.

In fact, Linda McCartney's vegetarian food range has been so successful in the UK ­ that her meals are now on the menu at London's famous Hard Rock Cafe.

Besides her photography, her cookery and her many associated TV and Media appearances, Linda also plays keyboards in Paul McCartney's band. In 1989-90, they performed a record-breaking world concert tour, playing 102 shows in 13 countries to some three million people.

And besides all this ­ and perhaps most important of all ­ Linda McCartney is a dedicated Mother to four children.