Groupies majorly shaped the backstage world of rock ’n’ roll, often lurking in the shadows of legendary tours and infamous parties. While many are remembered only as footnotes, some became pivotal characters whose actions rippled through music history.

How Groupies Majorly Changed Rock

From backstage romances to scandal‑fueling headlines, these ten women left a mark that still echoes in today’s rock lore.

10 Sable Starr: The Queen Of The Baby Groupies

Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco in LA was the hunting ground for rock stars who coveted pre‑teen girls. The venue became the hangout for “baby groupies,” youngsters willing to sleep with anyone wielding a guitar and a record deal.

Sable Starr rose to the top of that scene, earning the nickname “big groupie in LA.” She didn’t have to chase rock stars; they chased her.

At just 12, Sable lost her virginity to the guitarist of Spirit, making her one of the youngest entrants into the groupie world. By age 14 she’d been with icons from Iggy Pop to David Bowie.

Her story carries a dark edge. After being rebuffed by punk pioneer Wayne County, Sable slit her wrists and tried to drown herself in a pool. She survived, but the turmoil continued.

She later dated New York Dolls’ Johnny Thunders, a jealous, drug‑addicted menace who would beat her when paranoia struck. Thunders got her pregnant and even proposed, but Sable aborted the baby and slipped away from the rock‑and‑roll vortex.

9 Lori Maddox: Jimmy Page’s 14‑Year‑Old Girlfriend

Lori Maddox, sometimes spelled Mattix, was only 14 when Jimmy Page invited her to his hotel. She was already a seasoned “baby groupie,” having lost her virginity to David Bowie, but Page was the first to claim more than a one‑night fling.

Page told the teenage Maddox that he was in love with her, and she believed him. He even called her mother to ask permission to date her, and Mrs. Maddox, dreaming of a Led Zeppelin‑rich future, gave her blessing.

The relationship almost landed Page in legal trouble. Rumors of a high‑school romance sparked an FBI investigation, seeking evidence of statutory rape. The pair managed to keep the affair under wraps enough to avoid charges.

Maddox later called Page “one of the great loves of her life,” insisting she didn’t view herself as underage. The public, however, often labeled the story with the word “rapist” next to Page’s name.

8 Bebe Buell: The Mother Of Liv Tyler

Page and Maddox’s romance fell apart, but the real twist came when Maddox walked in on Page with Bebe Buell, who would later become Liv Tyler’s mother.

Before her fame as a mother, Bebe was one of America’s most notorious groupies. Her career launched when Jimi Hendrix spotted her on the street, rolled down his window, and shouted, “Hey, girls, you wanna come with us to the show?” From there she mingled with Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and more.

She later entered an on‑and‑off relationship with Todd Rundgren, but became pregnant with Steven Tyler’s child. For eleven years, Liv believed Rundgren was her father until she met Steven and recognized their likeness. Buell eventually revealed the truth to her daughter.

Liv initially resented her mother for the secrecy, but she now says she’s forgiven her, noting that “she had two men who didn’t really want her. She did the best she could.”

7 Pamela Des Barres: The Inspiration Behind Almost Famous

Pamela Des Barres carved out a legend of her own, moving from Mick Jagger to Keith Moon. Her life eventually inspired the cult classic film Almost Famous, with Kate Hudson keeping a picture of Des Barres in her dressing room for motivation.

She coined the term “band‑aid,” explaining that groupies did more than share a bed—they shopped, stitched shirts, watched TV, and generally took care of the musicians while they were in town.

Frank Zappa turned Pamela into a minor rock star, forming the GTOs—a band composed entirely of groupies—with her as the frontwoman. He also hired her as a nanny for his children, Dweezil and Moon Unit.

Not everyone approved of her lifestyle. When criticized, Des Barres snapped back, “Sorry you didn’t get to sleep with Mick Jagger. That’s probably what you really wanted to do, and I’m sorry you couldn’t do that. It was an awesome experience.”

6 Connie Hamzy: The Groupie Who Gave Bill Clinton His First Scandal

Connie Hamzy earned a place in rock lore when Grand Funk Railroad immortalized her in the lyric “Sweet, Sweet Connie doin’ her act.”

Her notoriety grew years after her groupie days, when she crossed paths with future President Bill Clinton in 1984. By then she made a living recounting lurid tales of the celebrities she’d shared beds with, opening stories with lines like, “So I’m out on the tour, smokin’ dope and blowing roadies, and who comes into the back lounge? Neil f—‑ing Diamond.”

According to Hamzy, Clinton sent someone to proposition her for sex. She leaked the story to tabloids in 1991. Clinton brushed it off, claiming she ran up to him topless and asked, “What do you think of these?”

Whether true or not, the scandal haunted the Clintons, resurfacing during Hillary’s presidential bid with the infamous 1991 remark, “We have to destroy her story.”

5 Cynthia Albritton: The Plaster Caster

Cynthia Albritton, better known as “Plaster Caster,” earned her nickname when an art professor assigned a plaster cast of “something hard.” She took the brief literally, marching to a Jimi Hendrix concert and convincing him to let her cast his… “something hard.”

She turned the project into a passport into the groupie circuit, amassing a collection of penis molds from everyone from Wayne Kramer to Jello Biafra, and even getting a few bronzed.

Frank Zappa funded her artistic escapades, helping her sleep her way through the music scene as a living art project. KISS wrote a song about her, and two documentaries chronicled her life, cementing her status as a minor celebrity.

In 2000, a SoHo gallery displayed her molds as “life art,” treating the intimate casts as legitimate works. By sleeping with rock stars and preserving their anatomy, Albritton truly became an artist.

4 Annette Walter‑Lax: The Last Person to See Keith Moon Alive

Annette Walter‑Lax met Keith Moon at a club packed with rock royalty. She’d been invited by David Bowie’s manager and spent the night flirting with Rod Stewart, but it was Moon who whisked her home.

The two dated, but Moon’s volatile, drunken temperament soon turned deadly. After a party thrown by Paul McCartney, where Moon announced plans to marry Annette, he returned home, demanded steak for breakfast, and when she complained, snarled, “If you don’t like it, you can f‑‑ off!” He then chugged more than ten times the recommended dose of Heminevrin.

Annette, angry at his outburst, refused to join him in bed. She discovered his body the next morning, finding the Who’s legendary drummer dead.

3 Cleo Odzer: The Super Groupie

Cleo Odzer was just 14 when she began sneaking into New York’s hottest nightclubs with a fake ID, chasing rock stars. She flitted from the Rolling Stones to Cream to Deep Purple, noting, “Every two weeks there was a new band, and every two weeks I had a new boyfriend.”

Her romance with Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer finally gave her a lasting relationship. Emerson even proposed.

But the media blew up when TIME published an article dubbing her “Super Groupie Cleo.” Emerson, unaware of her extensive past, called off the wedding upon learning her history.

Undeterred, Cleo vowed to become the most famous groupie ever. She kept moving through rock circles and even recorded a spoken‑word album that simply listed every man she’d been with.

2 Anita Pallenberg: The Reason Brian Jones Left The Rolling Stones

Anita Pallenberg was 21 when she first met the Rolling Stones backstage. She won them over by handing out poppers and immediately caught the eye of Brian Jones.

Jones, already feeling alienated by his bandmates, saw Anita as an angelic figure. He confessed, “I don’t know who you are, but I need you,” and then sobbed in her arms rather than sleeping together.

She steered the band toward a darker, “evil” persona, even inspiring “Sympathy for the Devil” and providing backup vocals. Her fascination with black magic—garlic to ward off vampires—became part of the Stones’ mystique.

Pallenberg also introduced Jones to LSD, which drove him further into madness. While he was hospitalized, she cheated on him with guitarist Keith Richards. She eventually left Jones for Richards, marrying him and bearing his children, while Jones was ousted from the band and later drowned in a swimming pool.

1 Cathy Smith: The Woman Who Killed John Belushi

Cathy Smith started as the Band’s devoted groupie, trailing them from age 16 and sleeping with multiple members. When she became pregnant, the father was a mystery, earning her child the nickname “The Band’s Baby.”

She first crossed paths with John Belushi when the Band performed on Saturday Night Live.

By the 1980s, Smith had slipped into heroin dealing, supplying stars with the drug. In 1982, she handed Belushi 11 speedballs during a wild party that even made Robin Williams uneasy. After the binge, she put Belushi to bed, and he died the next morning.

Smith confessed to providing the lethal dose, served a year in prison, and later inspired Gordon Lightfoot’s song “Sundown.” Her legacy, however, is forever linked to the tragic end of a comedy legend.