Ihlen was born on 18 May 1935 in Larkollen, Norway , the elder of the two children of Ingeborg Louise (née Kloed, 29 April 1909 – 5 September 2003) and Nils Ihlen (27 October … See more

While her father had hoped that she would become a doctor or lawyer, Ihlen did not know what she wanted to do, so opted to take business studies at the Oslo Municipal Trade School. Graduating at the age of 19 Ihlen took a number of jobs, including as … See more

By chance, while Jensen was in Athens he met the "new" Marianne, falling in love with her again. He immediately asked her to marry him and she accepted. They married on 22 October 1958 in the Anglican Church in Athens, against her parents' wishes. … See more

In 1973 Ihlen returned with her son to live a permanent, more structured life in Oslo, though she and Cohen stayed in touch periodically for the rest of her life. Whenever he … See more

In mid-November, over her parents' objections, the reunited couple departed by train for Greece, with plans to be away for a year, with Jensen intending to spend the time writing. Disembarking from the train in Hamburg, they purchased a second-hand See more

While Ihlen had been in Norway, Leonard Cohen had moved to Hydra, renting a house for US$14 a month. While he had noticed her following her return, they had never been … See more

She was diagnosed with leukemia in late July 2016. Her close friend Jan Christian Mollestad contacted Cohen to tell him Ihlen was dying. He wrote a poignant email to her, which is often misquoted by the media and others. However, the widely circulated version … See more