Hermione Farthingale

Hermione Farthingale is an actress and dancer. She was born Hermione Dennis and grew up in Edenbridge, Kent. Her father was a solicitor. When Farthingale was training to be a ballet dancer, she was a student of the British dancer Lindsay Kemp. She eventually became a classically trained ballet dancer. Farthingale was a dancer for the company Kemp Theatre Group in London.

After becoming a trained dancer, she aspired to be an actress. Her debut was in 1969 in the film Dancing Shoes.

Farthingale first met English singer David Bowie in late 1967 in one of Lindsay Kemp’s dancing classes. They both starred in the BBC play The Pistol Shot. They began a relationship shortly afterwards and two weeks later they were living in a flat in South Kensington, London, together.

Farthingale, Bowie and guitarist John Hutchinson formed a group named Feathers; between September 1968 and early 1969 the trio gave a small number of concerts combining folk, Merseybeat, poetry, and mime. Hutchinson wrote in his autobiography that he thought the band was a matching “set of three”. A photo of the band was taken by Clive Arrowsmith and was later published in article written by Sheila More titled “The Restless Generatoon:2” which included interviews by the band members in The Times on 11 December 1968.

In 1969, Farthingale ended the relationship with Bowie and focused on starring in the film Song of Norway.

After the break-up, Bowie wrote the song “Letter to Hermione” to express his feelings which was recorded on his David Bowie (1969 album). Bowie commented about the song:

I once wrote a letter I never sent to Hermione, who was a dancer with the Lindsay Kemp mime company. I thought I’d record it instead and send her the record. I think she’s in Greenwich Village now.

She is believed to be the “girl with the mousy hair on” Bowie’s song Life on Mars. Also, she is credited for his song An Occasional Dream.