The ex-wife of Blur drummer Dave Rowntree left almost £1million in her will after travelling to Switzerland to end her life.
Paola Marra, 53, had been struck with terminal breast and bowel cancer and opted to end her life at the Dignitas clinic in March last year, using her final statement to call for a change in UK law to legalise assisted dying.
She ultimately chose to travel to Switzerland alone for fear that anyone who came with her would be considered an accessory to her death – before asking the star to come after all. She then changed her mind again – and died alone the next day.
Records show Ms Marra’s estate was valued at £1.2million before expenses such as funeral costs and mortgages are deducted – leaving a net value of £941,004.
Her last will and testament reveals that she wished to donate her body and organs to medicine and science – and that she would then be cremated and her ashes spread on Hampstead Heath a short distance from her modest north London home.
Canada-born Ms Marra left most of her fortune to her brothers and sisters, some of whom still reside across the Atlantic – but also bestowed a number of gifts upon Mr Rowntree, 60, with whom she remained close after their split.
As well as a gift of £50,000, she also left him all of her artworks and the contents of her home in Finchley.
She also donated £4,000 apiece to Wigs for Heroes, A Space Between and Secondary Sisters, each of which supports people with cancer, as well as animal rescue charity Greyhound Gap.
Another £10,000 was given to another friend in Cornwall to cover the cost of looking after her pets, including elderly whippet Stanley, after she was gone.
Ms Marra, with the support of her musician ex, both strongly called for changes to assisted dying laws in Britain as her cancer worsened.
Mr Rowntree branded the current laws ‘psychopathic’ and saw people struggling to live with chronic health conditions ‘creep(ing) around like a criminal’.
The drummer and qualified lawyer, who also lost his father John to bowel cancer last year, told the Guardian: ‘It is the system washing its hands of difficult problems in a way that I can’t stomach.
‘This is psychopathic, where we are now, because the whole point of this (should be) to try to make things easier for the real victim in this – the terminally ill person.
‘Not only that, but when the time comes, if they do decide to die with dignity and end their life at a time of their choosing, and in a way of their choosing, they have to do it unsupported by anyone, on their own, not able to hold anyone’s hand, not able to hug somebody and say goodbye.’
‘Not only that, but when the time comes, if they do decide to die with dignity and end their life at a time of their choosing, and in a way of their choosing, they have to do it unsupported by anyone, on their own, not able to hold anyone’s hand, not able to hug somebody and say goodbye.’
A video released after Ms Marra’s death featured a poignant message from beyond the grave – in which she called for the law to change so people could ‘reclaim control’ over their lives when given a terminal diagnosis.
In the video, Ms Marra said: ‘When you watch this, I will be dead. I’m choosing to seek assisted dying because I refuse to let a terminal illness dictate the terms of my existence.
‘(A terminal illness) is a slow erosion of dignity: the loss of independence; the stripping away of everything that makes life worth living.
‘Assisted dying is not about giving up. In fact, it’s about reclaiming control. It’s not about death – it’s about dignity.’
‘It’s about giving people the right to end their suffering on their own terms, with compassion and respect.’
Ms Rowntree first found she had breast cancer in 2017, then bowel cancer three years later – and she was told it was incurable by 2021.
She described her treatment as ‘brutal’ and said she could no longer take many painkillers.
Terminally-ill broadcaster Esther Rantzen is an advocate for reform in the UK, as are a swathe of other well-known names including author Terry Pratchett and actors Susan Sarandon and Patrick Stewart.
But critics say any reform could open the way for ‘state-sanctioned killing’.
Paola had spent her final days in Britain living well, enjoying some of the capital’s finest restaurants and afternoon teas.
She had told the Guardian: ‘I’m not scared to die. I’m scared of dying in pain.’
Assisted dying is legal for terminally ill people in several US states, as well as large chunks of , and in New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Spain and Ecuador. A handful of other countries have broader euthanasia laws for the seriously ill.
Assisted dying laws were been passed by parliament on the Isle of Man on Tuesday and are awaiting Royal Assent.
Proposals are also moving forward on Jersey, while MPs voted in support of a proposal to legalise it in England and Wales last November.
Similar legislation is being discussed in Scotland but may require work with the UK Government to enshrine it in law after Scottish ministers said it may not be in Holyrood’s competence.
Although the couple divorced around two decades before her death, Mr Rowntree had supported Ms Marra before her final journey.
The Blur drummer joined Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Alex James to form Blur in 1989, but has enjoyed an eccentric career as a Labour councillor, film composer, lawyer, pilot, broadcaster and general election candidate.
The band engaged in the famous Battle of Britpop with rivals Oasis in the mid 90s and bagged seven UK number one albums.
They recently reunited for a second time, with Dave also pursuing a solo career in the last three years.
His interest in politics led him to two unsuccessful general election campaigns in 2010 and 2024.