Melanie Susan Potier (14 November 1947 – 23 June 1981), better known as Suki Potier, was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
.
Early life
Potier was born in
Surrey, England. Her father was Gilbert Potier, and her mother was Mary (nee Moore) Potier. Potier had one sibling, Sarah Sally Rosemary Potier (born 12 February 1946).
Modelling
As a teenager, Potier was a model for many English designers and agencies, including English Boy, an agency on the King's Road in
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Chelsea histori ...
, England. In 1967, she modelled for
Ossie Clark's April 1967 collection.
Potier had a small acting role in the 1968 psychedelic film ''
Wonderwall'', and archive footage of her was also used in a 2011 music documentary ''
George Harrison: Living in the Material World''.
Personal life
In 1966, Potier was dating
Tara Browne
Tara Browne (4 March 1945 – 18 December 1966) was a London-based Irish socialite and heir to the Guinness fortune. His December 1966 death in a car crash was an inspiration for the Beatles' song " A Day in the Life".
Early life
Browne was ...
, an heir to the
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ...
fortune. On 18 December 1966, aged 19, Potier was a passenger in his turquoise
Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...
when he was driving through
South Kensington
South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with t ...
. Browne collided with a parked truck and died from his injuries the next day. Potier was not injured in the accident.
The
Beatles song "
A Day in the Life" is often considered to allude to this incident.
Potier had a relationship with
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
(1942-1969), the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
guitarist, living with him in Sussex, England.
Potier met Robert Ho, future
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
businessman, the eldest son of Macau gaming tycoon
Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong- Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which ...
, while he was a student at the London School of Business,
and subsequently married him. Potier and her family lived in Hong Kong. They had two daughters, Sarah Ho and Faye Ho.
Potier's daughters were raised in Macau,
and Sarah is a jewellery designer in London, United Kingdom.
Death
On 23 June 1981, Potier and her husband both died in a car crash while on holiday in Portugal.
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References
External links
1967 Image of Suki Potier and Brian Jones
1969 Image of Suki Potier at Brian Jones's funeral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potier, Suki
English female models
1946 births
1981 deaths
Road incident deaths in Portugal
Ho family