A clear picture: candid observations of the Linda McCartney I knew

Vegetarian Times, July, 1998 by Carol Wiley Lorente

The first time I met Linda McCartney, I was prepared to feel sorry for her. Ever since she married Paul, some 30 years ago, she'd been criticized for everything from the way she looked and dressed to her chosen profession (rock photographer). It's a little embarrassing to admit that now, because after just two minutes with her, I knew this self-aware, self-confident woman never wasted a minute worrying about what her detractors thought or said.

The Linda McCartney I came to know over the years was a person who was sure of her priorities: her marriage, her kids, her photography, her vegetarianism and her conviction to protect animals' rights. Early in life, she had determined a proper course of action to succeed at each one, and she never wavered. She knew she couldn't please everyone who thought they knew what was best for Paul McCartney, but more important, she knew she didn't have to. The only people she was interested in pleasing were her husband, her children and herself--and that's exactly how she lived.

Being true to your own values takes chutzpah, and Linda had plenty of that. She wasn't shy about expressing her opinions. In the lexicon of the '60s, she told it like it was--though speaking her truth could sometimes make those around her feel uncomfortable. I can still recall a press conference at which some gutless wonder beside her on the dais winced as she referred to meat as "flesh" and "a plate of death" and he hastened to change her words to more palatable ones. I laughed to myself and thought, "He won't be with the McCartneys much longer." I was right.

After all, Linda and Paul were two of the world's most famous vegetarians for 25 years. It all began one night when they noticed a cute little lamb gamboling outside their dining room window. "We looked at the lamb, we looked at our plates, we looked at each other," Linda told me, "and haven't eaten meat since."

For Linda, being outspoken didn't mean being brash or unfriendly. My fondest memory of her may seem trivial, but it reveals the quality I admired most in her: Linda had a way of making other people feel important. When she was talking to you, you were her focus. The first time I met her, my hair was long; the next time, it was very short. My husband and I were waiting in the reception line at her book party, and I wasn't sure she'd remember me. Just then she looked over and grabbed my hand. "Carol, hi!" she shouted. "You cut your hair!"

For weeks I was on cloud nine, boasting to anyone who'd listen, "Linda McCartney remembered my hair!" When my daughter heard about Linda's death last April, she said to me sadly, "Remember, Mom? She noticed that you cut your hair." We don't expect celebrities to think of anything other than themselves, so when they do, it absolutely amazes us.

But there were no pretenses or celebrity airs about Linda. To me, she was always a down-to-earth woman who liked kids, horses and dogs. She preferred jeans, T-shirts and cowboy boots, and her musical preferences ran to Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. Her cookbooks featured regular, everyday food--no fussy, gourmet cookery for her. ("Carol, instead of all of those recipes with peppers," she once told me, "you should just publish recipes like mushroom stroganoff.")

Paul McCartney could have had his pick of the world's females, but he picked Linda, because, as he put it, "She was the first woman I'd dated." Linda was a feminist, but not in a strident, be-like-a-man sense. Rather, she insisted on being respected for what she referred to as "being womanly." And she knew that her "womanly" priorities--home, family, nonviolence--could lead to a more compassionate world.

With Linda's passing from breast cancer on April 24, 1998, the vegetarian community lost one of its most committed and beloved members. The animals lost a voice that was never afraid to speak out on their behalf. The world lost a strong, successful, caring woman, mother and friend. And Linda the photographer left behind a clear picture not only of what's important in life--a loving marriage, good kids, a happy home--but how to obtain them.

We will miss her.

Carol Wiley Lorente interviewed the McCartneys several times during her eight years at Vegetarian Times. She is now a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago.