Nora Forster

Nora Maier Forster (née Maier; 6 November 1942 – 6 April 2023) was a German-British music promoter, publishing heiress, actress, and model. Before moving to London in the late 1960s, she worked in West Germany with Jimi Hendrix, Wishbone Ash, and Yes. In London, she helped to financially support the punk bands the Slits, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. She was married to John Lydon of the Sex Pistols.

Early life Nora Maier Forster was born 6 November 1942 in Munich, Germany, to a wealthy publishing family. Her father, Franz Karl Maier, worked as a "prosecutor who helped bring wartime Nazis to justice."

Career Forster began her work as a music promoter in Munich. Her home there became a meeting place for "rock royalty". Some of the acts she worked with in West Germany were Jimi Hendrix, Wishbone Ash, and Yes. She found German society to be too restricting and decided to move to London with her daughter in the latter half of the 1960s. Starting in the late 1960s, Forster's home in Shepherd's Bush became a crash pad, salon, and meeting place for rock musicians including Joe Strummer of the Clash, Jimi Hendrix, Jon Anderson of the band Yes, and many other bands.

In 1970, Forster began to promote music gatherings in London.

Personal life Forster's first husband was , a West German popular music singer, with whom she had a daughter, Ariane,

In 1975, Forster met John Lydon of the Sex Pistols in west London at Vivienne Westwood's clothing store, Sex, on the Kings Road. The store was co-owned at the time by rock impresario Malcolm McLaren who managed the Sex Pistols. but later Lydon claimed they were never married. Forster and Lydon moved to California in the 1980s. In 1988, Forster and Lydon were booked to travel on 21 December Pan Am Flight 103 that was destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, but missed the flight due to packing delays.

Previously, she was the girlfriend of musician and producer Chris Spedding.

Forster was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2018. She lived in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, with Lydon, who was her full-time caregiver when he was not on tour. In February 2023, Lydon entered Eurosong 2023 as part of Public Image Ltd with the song "Hawaii", a song dedicated to Forster.

Her death was announced on 6 April 2023; she was 80.