Cat Power

Cat Power biography

Relationships

When Marshall was working as a waitress in Atlanta her boyfriend died, causing her to have a breakdown. She says this coupled with the prevalence of heroin use amongst her friends and the loss of her best friend to AIDS was the impetus for her moving to New York. Her boyfriend in New York helped her get a job in a restaurant, but she realised he was having an affair with the owner, a married woman with two children.

In late 1996, following a three-month tour co-headlining with the band Guv'ner, Marshall disappeared from the music scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with then boyfriend Bill Callahan. The plan was to permanently retire from public performance but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs and returned to recording.

In 2001 Marshall was romantically involved with a runway model named Daniel, who was seven years younger than her. He left her in 2003 at a time when her drink and drug use was out of control. Marshall referred to him as "the ex-love of my life". Following the release of "The Greatest", Marshall cancelled previously arranged live shows in North America and Europe. She was struggling with a relationship with a young Miami investment banker.

According to an interview in January 2011, Marshall has been in a relationship with actor Giovanni Ribisi since 2009 and lives with Ribisi and his 14 year old daughter in L.A..

By the turn of the century, Marshall's live performances had become erratic and unpredictable, with The New Yorker suggesting, "It is foolhardy to describe a Cat Power event as a concert," citing "rambling confessions" and "talking to a friend's baby from the stage." Marshall later attributed this period to a drinking problem, telling HARP magazine in 2006 "I didn't know I was messed up." Marshall has admitted abusing alcohol in the past; in a 2006 interview with The New York Times, she declared herself to be sober, which she defined as having had "seven drinks in seven months."

Following the cancellation of the arranged tour of "The Greatest" album in 2006, Marshall used the hiatus to recover from what she described as a "psychotic break," brought on by mental exhaustion and alcohol abuse, which had left her feeling suicidal. As part of her recovery, she was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Miami's Mount Sinai Medical Center but left after a week, stating "being in there wasn't me." She later likened the experience to "a pit of hell."

  • Dear Sir (1995)
  • Myra Lee (1996)
  • What Would the Community Think (1996)
  • Moon Pix (1998)
  • The Covers Record (2000)
  • You Are Free (2003)
  • The Greatest (2006)
  • Jukebox (2008)
  • Sun (2012)


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