Lucy Birley – the former wife of singer-songwriter Bryan Ferry – has died aged 58.
A statement on behalf of her husband Robin Birley and her children said: “On Monday Lucy Birley (nee Helmore) passed away whilst on holiday in Ireland, surrounded by her beloved dogs, Daisy, Peg and Daphne.
“Her husband Robin, and her sons – Otis, Isaac, Tara and Merlin – are understandably devastated and request that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”
No further comment will be given, a family spokesman said.
Birley, whose four sons are from her relationship with Roxy Music founder Ferry, married him in 1982 and they divorced in 2003.
She was known as a model and society heiress in her younger days, and later dabbled in photography.
She married businessman Robin Birley, the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and nightclub owner Mark Birley, in 2006.
In 2011, Birley told The Guardian that she retreated from public life following the breakdown of her 21-year marriage to Ferry and for other personal reasons, including the furore around their son Otis’s storming of the Commons chambers to protest against the fox-hunting ban.
She told the newspaper: “I didn’t want to be put in the spotlight.
“My family’s attitude to the press and publicity was very much that it was frowned upon. You only appeared in papers if you were born, married or had died. That affected me when I got married to Bryan.
“I didn’t want to reveal myself and, actually, probably there wasn’t much to reveal at that point.”