- published: 20 Jun 2013
- views: 303525703
Nico (born Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988) was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s. She is known for both her vocal collaboration on The Velvet Underground's debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), and her work as a solo artist from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. She also had roles in several films, including a cameo in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966), as herself. Nico died in July 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in a cycling accident while vacationing in Ibiza with her son.
Nico was born Christa Päffgen in Cologne, five years after the Nazis came to power in Germany. When she was two years old, she moved with her mother and grandfather to the Spreewald forest outside of Berlin. Her father was enlisted as a soldier during the war, and sustained head injuries that caused severe brain damage; he died in a concentration camp. In 1946, Nico and her mother relocated to downtown Berlin, where Nico worked as a seamstress. She attended school until the age 13, and then began selling lingerie in the exclusive department store KaDeWe, eventually getting modeling jobs in Berlin. Standing at five feet, ten inches tall and with chiseled features and porcelain skin, Nico rose to prominence as a fashion model as a teenager.