What happened to Rita Marley after ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ ends?

Bob Marley: One Love, the long-awaited biopic about the reggae icon, has finally arrived in UK cinemas, but what happened to Rita Marley after the end of the film? 

British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir (Peaky Blinders, One Night in Miami) plays Marley, with Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die, Captain Marvel) taking the role of his wife Rita and James Norton (Happy Valley, Grantchester) playing Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. 

The film has been made in partnership with Marley’s family, and is directed by King Richard’s Reinaldo Marcus Green. 

The synopsis for the biopic reads: “Bob Marley: One Love celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music.” 

The film includes 17 of Marley’s signature songs. Ben-Adir performed the songs on set during the shooting of the film, but in the final edit we hear the original Marley recordings. 

What happened to Rita Marley after Bob Marley: One Love ends? 

In the film, we see Rita and Bob living their lives together. As the film ends, Bob receives his cancer diagnosis. He would eventually pass away in May 1981 at the age of 36. 

Following his death, Rita purchased the Federal Records recording studio and converted it into the Tuff Gong Studio, one of Jamaica’s largest recording and mastering studios, with its own pressing plant, booking agency and offices. 

She converted Bob’s home into the Bob Marley Museum in 1986, and became the chair of the Robert Marley Foundation and Bob Marley Trust. 

In 2000, she created the Rita Marley Foundation, a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation that strives to alleviate poverty and hunger in the developing world, focusing specifically on child poverty in Africa. 

She has been given many prestigious honours, including Jamaica’s Order of Distinction and the Order of Jamaica. 

In 2016, Rita suffered a stroke and largely withdrew from public life. She is currently 77 years old. 

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