Nico, born Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938, probably in Cologne, died Ibiza, 18 July 1988, was a German singer-songwriter, film actress and fashion model. She sang three songs on the first album by the Velvet Underground, billed separately as 'and Nico', and recorded Chelsea Girls, her own first album, with members of the band.
Her most acclaimed albums, The Marble Index and Desertshore, feature her voice and harmonium on her own compositions, with extra instrumentation and production by John Cale.