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Mary Cox was born August 4, 1946 in Liverpool, England to Joseph and Florence Cox. She was an only child.
As a teenager, Mary started to call herself Maureen, dropped out of school to become a hairdresser and became a regular at the Cavern club, where she met Ringo Starr from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
Maureen was dating Hurricanes` guitarist Johnny Brynne, however at one point they broke up in the early 1960s when Rory Storm and the Hurricanes began traveling up to Hamburg, Germany. In 1962, after Ringo joined the Beatles, Maureen was dared to kiss Paul from a friend when he came out of the dressing room. She did, however she also waited for Ringo to kiss him as well.
Not long after, Maureen saw Ringo outside the Cavern and got his autograph and copied down his car`s license plate number which she had memorized all her life.
Soon, Maureen and Ringo started their relationship as the Beatles got more famous and Ringo moved to London. Maureen continued her job as a hairdresser until the jealous Beatles` fans kept coming over and harrassing her she had to quit. Whenever Ringo had off from the Beatles` work, he spent his day offs with her.

In 1963, without informing her parents, she went to Greece with Ringo, Paul, and Jane Asher. Her parents eventually found out about it, approving their relationship and allowing her to travel to London to see Ringo.
In 1964, Ringo collapsed and had his tonsils taken out. Maureen went to visit him and stayed with his mother, Elise. While her visit, Ringo asked her if she wanted to get married and she said yes, however he didn`t propose to her until January of 1965 at a nightclub. On February 11, 1965, at Caxton Hall in London, England, Ringo and Maureen were married early morning to avoid the press and fans. They had their honeymoon at David Jacobs` home in London where the press interviewed and took pictures of the newlyweds.
In April of 1965, there was a press release announcing that Ringo and Maureen were expecting their first child together. On September 13, 1965, Maureen gave birth to Zak Starkey at Queen Charlotte`s Maternity Hospital in London, England. Ringo was home in time to be at his son`s birth after just getting home from a tour days before.
In 1966, the Beatles quit touring and Ringo concentrated on his family. On August 19, 1967, Maureen gave birth to Jason Starkey at Queen Charlotte`s Maternity Hospital in London, England. She had stayed behind in London while her husband, along with the Beatles and their family, went to Greece, but Ringo cut his time there short to be there for Maureen and the birth.
In 1968, Ringo left the Beatles after feeling left out and depressed and Maureen took him out on a holiday. When they arrived back, Ringo rejoined the Beatles and Maureen started coming over to the recording studio and meetings. In 1970, the Beatles broke up and Ringo and Maureen welcomed Lee Parkin Starkey into their family on November 11, 1970 at Queen Charlotte`s Maternity Hospital in London, England.

After the Beatles broke up, Ringo had released a couple of solo albums and started to make movies. He was depressed and started to drink heavily (he got sober in 1988) and the marriage was starting to have problems. Ringo left for California in 1974 and had numberous public affairs. Maureen did not want a divorce but Ringo and his lawyers were pressuring her, so Maureen filed for divorce, citing Ringo`s affair with Nancy Andrews. Maureen got custody

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