Most people know Linda McCartney for one reason: her last name. She married Sir Paul McCartney (even those of you who live under rocks *have* to know who that is) in 1969, but marriage to a millionaire just wasn't enough for this English Lady.
Linda was a photographer when she met Sir McCartney, and she was quite a fantastic one at that, taking pictures of some of the most impressive musical artists of the time, including Jimi Hendrix and Aretha Franklin. She is the author of "Linda McCartney's Sixties," a book full of her photography. The marriage to Paul allowed her to become a recording artist as well, with a part in his new band "Wings," (as well a posthumously-released album titled "Wide Prairie.") She already had one daughter when she married Paul, and together they had three more children. You think having four children and a famous and exceeeeeeedingly rich husband, as well as a place in a band and a hit photography book, would be enough to satisfy Mrs. McCartney? Of course not. And this is what I really like her for. While most women would be content to sit back and enjoy the good life, Linda's love of animals led to the creation of her *VERY* popular vegetarian cookbooks, including "Linda McCartney's New Home Cookbook," which was a best seller. She *also* went on to create her own line of frozen vegetarian dinners, which became an instant success. Linda's work was so important that PETA created an annual award in her honour. How cool is that??
As if all this wasn't enough, her passion has carried on even after death. She died in 1998 after a battle with breast cancer, and left her entire fortune (her vegetarian ventures made her a millionaire too) to Paul, who promised to continue her line of vegetarian frozen foods. He also donated a *ton* of money to cancer research, and in 2000, the Linda McCartney Cancer Centre was opened in her honour. There is also a memorial garden with a bronze statue of Linda, in her memory. Talk about making an impact, eh?
So why is a role model like Linda so important to women everywhere? Well, *I* happen to think that she is a fantastic example of how a woman can hold down a married life, raise children, AND keep her own passion alive and well. All you women out there who think you have to choose between a career and a family, take a look at Linda McCartney-wife, mother, photographer, activist, entrepreneur, recording artist, self-made millionaire, etc etc etc- and think again.
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