Tag Archives: NICO

Nico (born Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988) was a German singer, lyricist, composer, 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.
She was related to Hermann Päffgen, who founded the Päffgen brewery in 1883 in Cologne. Nico died in July 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycling accident while vacationing in Ibiza with her son.
Nico was born Christa Päffgen in Cologne just several years after the Nazi takeover of 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…