Stevie Nicks' Life in Photos

Stevie Nicks — who turns 75 on May 26, 2023 — found success with the band Fleetwood Mac, and then continued to make a name for herself as a solo artist. Look back at her incredible life and career in photos

Early 1970s: The Rise of Stevie Nicks

Born Stephanie Lynn Nicks on May 26, 1948, in Phoenix, Arizona, Stevie Nicks began her music career in 1966 when she joined the band Fritz, which included her future boyfriend and bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham. The band opened for stars like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, but disbanded in 1972.

1975: Joining Fleetwood Mac

After Fritz disbanded, Nicks and Buckingham formed a duo, Buckingham/Nicks, though the pair didn't find success on their own. On Dec. 31 1974, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac called Buckingham, hoping to convince him to play guitar for the band, but Buckingham insisted Nicks join as well.

Buckingham told PEOPLE in 2017, "Mick called me — he had heard my guitar playing and then a couple of weeks later [guitarist] Bob Welch decided he was going to leave the band. Mick actually asked me to join first, and I said, 'Well, you've gotta take my girlfriend too.' And he says, 'I'll get back to you on that.' "

Late 1970s: Fleetwood Mac's Success

Though Fleetwood Mac was already an established band by the time Nicks and Buckingham joined, Nicks is responsible for writing some of the band's greatest and most recognizable hits. The singer-songwriter penned "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" on the group's first album, Fleetwood Mac, as well as "Dreams," "Gypsy" and "The Chain" on the band's wildly successful Rumours.

1978: Fleetwood Mac at the Grammys

The band took home a Grammy Award for Rumours in 1978, winning album of the year.

They were nominated again at the Grammys 20 years later for best pop album, best pop performance for Nicks' song, "Silver Springs" and best rock vocal performance for "The Chain."

Late 1970s: Rumors Start to Fly

The band's successes weren't without their fair share of drama. Following the success of their first album as bandmates — Fleetwood Mac was the band's 10th album but their first with Nicks and Buckingham — the members' personal lives began to fall apart, just as they were recording Rumours.

The band's keyboardist and singer Christine McVie and her husband, bassist John McVie, were legally separated after seven years of marriage, Mick Fleetwood got divorced from his wife of six years, and Nicks and Buckingham ended their eight-year relationship.

Nicks told Rolling Stone in 1997, "I don't even remember what the issues were; I just know that it got to the point where I wanted to be by myself. It just wasn't good anymore, wasn't fun anymore, wasn't good for either of us anymore. I'm just the one who stopped it."

1977: Drama on Stage

The band continued to perform together, though Nicks and Buckingham's relationship was tumultuous.

While on tour for Rumours, the pair fought on stage. The band recounted the event Rolling Stone, 20 years later. Christine McVie told the publication, "I think [Buckingham's] the only person I ever, ever slapped. I actually might have chucked a glass of wine, too. I just didn't think it was the way to treat a paying audience. I mean, aside from making a mockery of Stevie like that. Really unprofessional, over the top. Yes, [Nicks] cried. She cried a lot."

Trouble with the band continued as Fleetwood and Nicks started — and quickly ended — an affair while on tour.

1981: Going Solo

Nicks continued to perform with Fleetwood Mac, with the band releasing their albums Tusk and Mirage in 1979 and 1982, respectively. At the same time, Nicks began her solo career.

In 1981, Nicks released Bella Donna, which included songs like "Edge of Seventeen" and "Leather and Lace." Her solo venture was a success, with the album reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

She followed up Bella Donna with The Wild Heart in 1983 and Rock a Little in 1985.

Stevie Nicks' Friendship with Tom Petty

Nicks even wrote a song with Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Their friendship was a long time in the making, with Nicks saying in Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes, "I just fell in love with his music and his band. I would laughingly say to anyone that if I ever got to know Tom Petty and could worm my way into his good graces, if he were ever to ask me to leave Fleetwood Mac and join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I'd probably do it — and that was before I even met him!"

"She came into my life like a rocket, just refusing to go away," Petty wrote of Nicks in his biography. The pair stayed friends for four decades until Petty's death in 2017.

1982: Nicks' Short-Lived Marriage

In 1982, Nicks' best friend, Robin Anderson, died of leukemia, leaving behind a son, of whom Nicks was the godmother. Nicks soon married Anderson's widower Kim Anderson, as she was convinced that it was what Robin would have wanted of her.

"It was a terrible, terrible mistake," Nicks said to Vulture. "We didn't get married because we were in love, we got married because we were grieving and it was the only way that we could feel like we were doing anything."

The pair divorced three months later.

1985: Stevie Nicks Checks Into Rehab

Fleetwoods Mac's history with drugs is well-documented (the band considered thanking their drug dealer in the album credits for Rumours) but in 1985, the lifestyle caught up with Nicks, who ultimately checked herself into rehab.

Nicks shared of her experience with addiction in 2021, "I managed to save myself. I got through some pretty scary moments, but I saved me, nobody else saved me. I survived me. I survived my cocaine. I survived by myself."

"I checked myself into rehab. Nobody did that for me. I did it and that's like with my whole life," she continued. "So I would dance over those parts just to give the wisdom out to people."

1990: Leaving Fleetwood Mac (for Now)

Nicks continued creating music with Fleetwood Mac while also pursuing her solo career. In 1988, she released her fourth solo album, The Other Side of the Mirror, and toured Europe as a solo act for the first time.

After Fleetwood Mac's 1990 world tour, Nicks left the group —partly because Mick Fleetwood wouldn't allow her to release her song "Silver Springs" on her own — and in 1991 released Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks on the 10th anniversary of her solo debut. "Silver Springs" ended up being released on the band's greatest hits album, 25 Years – The Chain.

1998: Fleetwood Mac Is Inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame

After reuniting for a 1997 tour that coincided with the 20th anniversary of Rumours, the band once again was met with success. They were nominated for another Grammy and, in 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2003: Fleetwood Mac Releases Say You Will

In 2003, Fleetwood Mac released Say You Will, though this time they did it without bandmate Christine McVie. The band embarked on a world tour in 2004. A documentary about the making of the album was released that year, entitled Destiny Rules.

2006: Stevie Nicks on Tour

Nicks continued to perform solo, following up her time on the Say You Will tour with a show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in May 2005 and embarking on her own Gold Dust tour that year. In 2006, Nicks performed at Bonnaroo with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

In 2007, she released Crystal Visions — The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, and it debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard charts. All the while, Nicks continued to collaborate with Fleetwood Mac, touring with the band again in 2009.

2010: Performing with Taylor Swift at the Grammys

In 2010, Nicks joined Taylor Swift onstage for a performance of "Rhiannon" and "You Belong with Me" at the Grammy Awards.

2011: Stevie Nicks Returns with In Your Dreams

The singer released her first solo album in a decade in 2011 with In Your Dreams.

2013: Fleetwood Mac on Tour (Again)

The band once again hit the road for a European and North American tour in 2013.

2014: Stevie Nicks on American Horror Story

In 2014, Stevie Nicks made an appearance as a fictional version of herself in American Horror Story: Coven. She returned to the show in 2018 for American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

The appearance was a nod to the fact that Nicks' signature style (fringe, bohemian, lots of black) led to some rather silly rumors about her being a witch.

She told the Los Angeles Times in 2013, "In the beginning of my career, the whole idea that some wacky, creepy people were writing, 'You're a witch, you're a witch!' was so arresting. And there I am like, 'No, I'm not! I just wear black because it makes me look thinner, you idiots.' "

2018: Another Fleetwood Mac Shake-Up

The band's journey — particularly Nicks' relationship with Buckingham — has always been a bit rocky, but five years later, in 2018, they made headlines once more when Buckingham was fired from the group.

The rocker told PEOPLE in September 2021 that he'd be open to a reunion with his bandmates, contingent on a reconciliation with Nicks.

2019: Two-Time Hall of Famer, Stevie Nicks

In March 2019, Nicks became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, this time earning the accolade for herself as a solo artist. She was awarded the honor by none other than Harry Styles, who also joined the singer on stage for a duet of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

2022: Still Going Strong

In April 2022, Nicks announced four new concerts as part of a limited summer and early fall tour, marking her first live shows since before the COVID-19 pandemic's onset in 2020.

In late 2022, Nicks mourned the death of friend and bandmate McVie, who died at 79 following a short illness.

"See you on the other side, my love. Don't forget me," Nicks wrote in part in a moving Instagram tribute.

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