A former model, journalist, astrologer, agony aunt and DJ born into a poverty-stricken family, has died at the age of 78.

Cassandra Nye's eventful life led to her mingling with a string of famous names, such as Charlton Heston, Joanna Lumley, David Hamilton, John Cleese and Norman Wisdom.

At the height of her catwalk career, she was photographed by celebrity snapper David Bailey and made an appearance on the Benny Hill Show as one of his "dolly bird" extras. But her life did not start off so glamorously.

Her Rochester-based parents Winifred and Harry, who was shell-shocked while serving in the First World War, struggled to cope financially and their daughter, born Valerie Alison Sharp, was briefly sent to an orphanage.

But when she left school at the age of 14, she was determined to widen her horizons.

She married local jazz musician Brian Nye when she was 16 and started modelling for a London agency, working with brands like L'Oreal.

Blessed with good looks, she joked at the time she got all the jobs supermodel Jean Shrimpton turned down.

She featured in TV adverts for a deodorant and accepted an ad for a cigarette brand, despite being a non-smoker.

After the marriage failed, she wed another musician, Jim Hall, who did session work with Paul McCartney, Alison Moyet and Dave Quincy. They had two daughters, Alison and Elizabeth, but separated in 1971.

She gave up work to raise her young family and then met John Patterson, the founder of the first UK dating agency, Dateline.

She worked for him promoting the singles' holidays side of the business where she met John Cleese during a celebrity appearance.

Mr Patterson was a keen pilot and the couple both had light aircraft licences – flying all over Europe and to Morocco.

They also had an upmarket wine bar in central London where Monty Python star Cleese was among the customers.

The couple married in 1974 had a son Jonathan, divorced in the 1980s, but remained friends until his death in 1997.

In the 1980s, she took a journalism course at the London College of Printing and wrote short stories, agony aunt columns and horoscopes for magazines and newspapers.

Using the names, Cassandra or Sandy, she got to interview some famous names, such as Norman Wisdom.

She then trained in broadcasting, cutting her teeth in hospital radio before moving on to BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio Norfolk.

Three-times married, she moved a lot between London and East Anglia, where she renovated an old house, and enjoyed travelling abroad.

But time and time again she returned to her beloved Rochester where in her latter years she moved in with her sister Vera and became involved in local issues.

Such was her passion for the town that she opposed late-night licences and buildings which she thought would detract from its charm.

At one point she moved to the sunshine Greek island of Corfu where she had a house built and where she had many friends.

But a heart condition forced her back to the UK for medical treatment.

And it was here she spent her last years living a stone's throw from where she was born at Theobald's Square, now La Providence in the High Street.

It is then that she got involved in the community, opposing planning applications for buildings that might blight the appearance of the historic town. She also supported conservation projects at Restoration House and Eastgate House.

Eventually her poor health got the better of her and she died earlier this month.

She leaves four children, Elizabeth (Wiz), Alison, Jonathan and Amber and six grandchildren.

In the eulogy, her family wrote: "She was a loving mother, a fierce personality who didn't suffer fools (or men).

"She surrounded herself with people who she found inspiring, never stopped learning, never stopped moving forward.

"She was a maverick from a young age, carving herself the life she wanted to live and to be the person she wanted to be."

Her funeral is at 10am today (Thursday) at Medway Crematorium, Blue Bell Hill.