Astrid Kirchherr

Kirchherr was a young photography assistant in her native Hamburg, Germany, when she saw the Beatles playing a residency at the Kaiserkeller Club in 1960. The band members at the time were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best. She became close friends in Hamburg with the Beatles, taking many now famous photographs of the band. She has been called the sixth Beatle and was an influence on the band’s choice of hairstyle and clothes. She dated Stuart Sutcliffe and was engaged to him when he died in 1962 from a brain hemorrhage. In 1964, Kirchherr took candid photos behind the scenes when the Beatles were filming “A Hard Day’s Night.” She later operated her own photography business.