Marianne Faithfull, Singer and Mick Jagger Ex, Hospitalized After Positive Coronavirus Diagnosis

Singer Marianne Faithfull, a major figure during the British Invasion of the 1960s and ex-girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus. The 73-year-old performer's representatives told Rolling Stone Saturday she is in a London hospital. She is now in stable condition.

"Marianne Faithfull's manager Francois Ravard has confirmed that Marianne is being treated for COVID-19 in hospital in London," the statement reads. "She is stable and responding to treatment. We all wish her well and a full and speedy recovery."

Faithfull's friend Penny Arcade told Rolling Stone she was self-quarantining at home after the U.K. government issued a stay-at-home order. She developed a cold, and checked herself into a hospital out of precaution on Monday, Arcade said. She tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus and has been hospitalized since developing pneumonia.

Faithfull has battled health issues for years, including anorexia and heroin addiction during the 1970s. She was also diagnosed with hepatitis C and survived a fight with breast cancer in 2016.

Faithfull shot to fame with the 1964 single "As Tears Go By," written by Jagger, Keith Richards and their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. She was famous for her smoky voice, which was later affected by her drug use and severe laryngitis. She has written three books about her life, and released her most recent album, the critically acclaimed Negative Capability, in 2018. She dated Jagger from 1966 to 1970.

Several other musicians have tested positive for the coronavirus. Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, country star Joe Diffie and jazz legend Ellis Marsalis Jr. have died after contracting the virus. Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross said he tested positive, while singer-songwriter John Prine was hospitalized for double pneumonia and showed symptoms of COVID-19.

"He is receiving excellent medical care and being treated with kindness and compassion by the entire team looking after him day and night. I cannot be with him which makes this nightmare all the more distressing," Prine's wife Fiona Prince wrote in her latest update on Thursday. "As you know, John was put on a ventilator last Saturday. He still needs quite a bit of help with his breathing. Like many patients currently in ICU beds all around the world, John has pneumonia in both lungs. He has also developed some peripheral issues that are being treated with meds, including antibiotics. He is very ill and yet I remain hopeful that he can continue to fight this devastating virus and come home where we can care for him."

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