Maureen Starkey was Ringo Starr’s first wife, married to the Beatles’ drummer from 1965 to 1975, during the height of Beatlemania and the years that followed it. She met Starr in Liverpool before he was a global star, and she remained connected to the Beatles’ story through their three children, even after their divorce.
She was known to friends as “Mo,” and she was a hairdresser by training, not a performer. That ordinary starting point is part of why her story stands out among Beatles wives: she entered the most famous band in the world from a job in Liverpool, not from the stage.
Her Early Life and Meeting Ringo Starr
Maureen Starkey was born Mary Cox on August 4, 1946, in Liverpool, England. She was a trainee hairdresser in Liverpool when she met Ringo Starr at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles were playing.
Starr proposed to her at the Ad-Lib Club in London on January 20, 1965. They married three weeks later, on February 11, 1965, at the Caxton Hall Register Office in London. The best man was Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, and the reception was held at Epstein’s house.
Maureen was 18 at the time of the wedding, and she had found out in late January 1965 that she was pregnant. That pregnancy, and the speed of the wedding, were part of the story from the start, but the marriage itself lasted a decade.
Their Three Children
Maureen and Ringo Starkey had three children together:
- Zak Starkey, born September 13, 1965, at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, the same day the Beatles’ single “Yesterday” was released in the United States. Zak became a drummer in his own right.
- Jason Starkey, born August 19, 1967
- Lee Parkin Starkey, born November 11, 1970
All three children were born in London hospitals, and all three grew up with a father who was one of the most recognisable musicians in the world, and a mother who tried to keep their home life as normal as possible.
The End of the Marriage
The marriage came under strain in the 1970s, as Starr’s drinking and extramarital affairs became part of the public record of the period. Maureen did not want a divorce at first, according to later accounts, but eventually accepted it.
Their divorce was finalised on July 17, 1975, on the grounds of Starr’s affair with American fashion model Nancy Lee Andrews. Starr agreed to give Maureen custody of their children, along with a one-off payment of £125,000, plus £23,000 a year and £2,500 a year for each of their children, as reported in biographical accounts.
The end of the marriage depressed her deeply, according to those accounts. That is a human detail worth noting without turning it into speculation about her private feelings beyond what was reported.
Her Second Marriage and Later Life
After her divorce from Starr, Maureen began a relationship with Isaac Tigrett, a co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues. They lived together from 1976 and married on May 27, 1989, in Monaco. They had one daughter together, Augusta King Tigrett, born January 4, 1987, in Dallas, Texas.
Maureen therefore had four children in total: Zak, Jason, and Lee with Ringo Starr, and Augusta with Isaac Tigrett.
Her Death in 1994
Maureen Starkey Tigrett died on December 30, 1994, at the age of 48, from leukaemia. She had received treatment at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, including a bone marrow transplant from her son Zak.
Accounts of her death agree on one poignant detail: her four children, her mother, her husband Isaac Tigrett, and her ex-husband Ringo Starr were at her bedside when she died. That gathering, after a divorce almost 20 years earlier, says something about the family ties that remained after the marriage ended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Maureen Starkey?
She was Ringo Starr’s first wife, born Mary Cox, a Liverpool hairdresser who married him in 1965.
When did Maureen and Ringo Starr marry and divorce?
They married on February 11, 1965, in London, and their divorce was finalised on July 17, 1975.
How many children did they have?
Three together: Zak, Jason, and Lee. Maureen later had a fourth child, Augusta, with her second husband, Isaac Tigrett.
When did Maureen Starkey die?
She died on December 30, 1994, at the age of 48, from leukaemia.
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