“the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen … I gasped, unable to dissemble my amazement”.

She was born in the Dutch East Indies and would become a style icon, in such a short life.

When you look at her, she seemed to form a magical mix of everything suited for the times.  The long multi-coloured jacket, white harem pants and the white and cream boots, this Moroccan-inspired look catapulted Miss Talitha into becoming a pivotal figure in the world of “Bohemian” fashion.

Many a man came under Miss Talitha’s (nee Pol) spell. One man even sent her large bouquets of flowers to her hotel room every two hours! Another man who came under Pol’s spell was the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.  They say that they were both so moved by each other that Mr. Nureyev claimed that he “had never felt so erotically stirred by a woman”. Indeed! He went on to tell  several people that he wished to marry her.  Unfortunately for him, destiny was going to have her own way.

Nurey

ev was to attend a dinner party given by the great Claus von Bülow. Mr. Ballet Dancer was supposed to be seated next to Pol and since he could not attend, Mr.Bülow invited  Mr. John Paul, son of  the oil tycoon Paul Getty, instead.

John Paul Getty, was considered to be a alcoholic swinging playboy who drove fast cars and experimented with drugs. Not surprisingly, Mr. John Paul eschewed the family business.

I don’t know if it was his looks, or his charm, but they soon married. Money does have a way of making someone look and feel intox

icating. Non? She was married in a white mini-skirt, trimmed with mink.

But, of course!

As expected, the Gettys became part of “Swinging” London’s scene, becoming friends with Mick Jagger and his then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull and soon, Mrs.Getty was considered one of the “beautiful people”.

I often wondered if we judge people too soon. Just because they were a part of the swinging sixties, doesn’t mean they did a lot of drugs. Then I read their son’s full name- Tara Gabriel Gramophone Galaxy.

Egads!

It wasn’t all about living a hedonistic life or being a fashion guru. Talitha Getty was also an actress. She appeared in several films, including Barbarella, where she had a minor uncredited role of a girl smoking a pipe.

Miss Talitha died of a heroin overdose in Rome, Italy on July 14, 1971.  She was only thirty. She died within the same twelve month period as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Edie Sedgewick and Jim Morrison.

They all used the same drug dealer.

For a time, Mr. Getty went mad.

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