Cindy Breakspeare

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Cindy Breakspeare
Born
Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare

(1954-10-24) 24 October 1954 (age 66)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
EducationImmaculate Conception High School
Occupation
  • Singer
  • musician
  • model
Years active1972–present
TitleMiss World 1976
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 1995)​
Rupert Bent II
​
​
(m. 1999)​
Children3; including Damian Marley
Musical career
Genres

Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare (born October 24, 1954) is a Canadian-Jamaican jazz singer, musician and beauty queen. Breakspeare was crowned Miss World 1976. Breakspeare is the mother of reggae musician Damian Marley, through her relationship with Bob Marley, who remained married to Rita Marley until his death. Bob Marley is said to have written the songs ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ and 'Waiting in Vain' about her.[1][2]

Life and career[]

Breakspeare was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to a Jamaican father, Louis Breakspeare, who was a British-Jamaican of multiracial ancestry, and a white Canadian mother of British origin, Marguerite Cochrane. She has three brothers and one sister.[3] Breakspeare moved to Jamaica when she was four years old, and attended the Immaculate Conception High School, graduating in 1973. As a teenager, Breakspeare participated in beauty pageants, including Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful and Miss Universe Bikini. She was invited to participate in the Miss World competition in 1976 held in London, and won the title on November 19, 1976,[4] becoming the second Jamaican to do so.[5]

Personal life[]

Breakspeare had a relationship with reggae musician Bob Marley beginning in 1977, lasting until his death in 1981. From their relationship she gave birth to a son, Damian Marley (aka Jr. Gong), in 1978.[6] Three years later, Breakspeare married senator Tom Tavares-Finson in 1981 with whom she has a son Christian (b. 1982) and a daughter Leah (b. 1986). Breakspeare and Tavares-Finson later divorced in 1995. Breakspeare married musician Rupert Bent II in 1999. Breakspeare has been pursuing her career as a recording artist and entrepreneur. She founded a Rastafarian craft store called Ital Craf in Jamaica. Breakspeare has four grandsons from her three children.[7] Breakspeare remains a personality in Jamaica, occasionally featuring in local media.[8]

Filmography[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Jamaican Hall of Fame: Cindy Breakspeare". Jamaicans.com. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  2. ^ "When Bob Marley Came To Britain". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Cindy Breakspeare-Bent". Jamaica Gleaner. 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  4. ^ Meredith Dixon. "Lovers and Children of the Natural Mystic: The Story of Bob Marley, Women and their Children". The Dread Librarypublisher=Uvm.edu. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  5. ^ "Social - Cindy Breakspeare makes the big 5-O!". Jamaica Gleaner. 2004-10-31. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  6. ^ Robert Roskind, Rasta Heart: A Journey Into One Love, One Love Press, 2008, p. 71
  7. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Cindy Breakspeare-Bent". Jamaica Gleaner. 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  8. ^ Jamaica Observer article, 2014

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Puerto Rico Wilnelia Merced 		Miss World
1976 		Succeeded by
Sweden Mary Stävin
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