We’re sad to report that Dr. Rachel Owen, longtime partner of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, has passed away today at the age of 48. Yorke and Owen were together for 23 years, but they parted ways in August of 2015. According to the report of her death from Pembroke College Oxford, her death was caused by cancer. She leaves behind two children, Noah and Agnes, aged 15 and 12 respectively.
Dr. Owen was a renowned artist known for her printmaking, but earned her PhD in medieval Italian literature. Her knowledge of artistry paved the way for her thesis, examining illustrations from the earliest manuscripts of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. She studied at Exeter where she would meet Thom Yorke, as well as the Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood. Though the two were together for 23 years, they never married.
According to Pembroke, Dr. Owen taught despite her failing health, and continued teaching until her final days. She will be missed. Rest in peace.