History Main / TheMuse

!!Examples of real-life muses:

* Surrealist artist Creator/SalvadorDali ''obsessed'' over his wife, Gala, putting her either abstractly or more recognizably into nearly ''all'' of his paintings.
* Beatrice to Creator/DanteAlighieri. Even after her death and he was married to someone else, he still wrote about her. He even went so far to make her the one responsible for the journey through the Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven in his masterpiece, ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''.
* Laura to Petrarch.
* Alma Mahler, to more than one man, most notably Music/GustavMahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel. And [[Music/TomLehrer one]] she never met.
* Norwegian poet Creator/HenrikWergeland combined four women in one muse. All four were girls he had pined for in his late teens and early twenties. The name of the muse was Stella. See {{all love is unrequited}}.
* Creator/MonicaVitti to Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni
* Creator/MarleneDietrich to Joseph von Sternberg.
* Regine Olsen to Creator/SorenKierkegaard. Kierkegaard's failed relationship with her profoundly impacted his philosophical ideas.
* Edie Sedgwick to Creator/AndyWarhol
** See also Music/BobDylan's entry below.
** And don't forget [[Music/VelvetUnderground Lou Reed]] with "All Tomorrow's Parties."
* Creator/DavidFincher to Creator/BradPitt, and vice versa.
* June Miller to Henry Miller and Anais Nin
* Creator/JeanMarais to his lover Creator/JeanCocteau.
* Music/{{Eminem}}'s ex-wife Kim Mathers was certainly a muse, but since he wrote about killing her she probably wished she wasn't.
* Anita Pallenberg inspired Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} songs "Wild Horses" and "You Got Silver", and "Angie" is rumored to be about her though others say it was about Angela Bowie.
** Music/MarianneFaithfull and Marsha Hunt were also Stones muses
** Several of Bryan Ferry's songs both with Music/RoxyMusic and as a solo artist were about Jerry Hall, including at least one about her leaving him for Mick Jagger.
* Music/NickCave sought much creativity from Anita Lane during his tenure in The Birthday Party and throughout The Bad Seeds.
* Rosanna Arquette inspired ''Rosanna'' by Toto and ''In Your Eyes'' by Peter Gabriel
* Bob Dylan had several muses, including Edie Sedgwick (about whom he wrote "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Just Like a Woman"), Music/JoanBaez, Suze Rotolo, and Sara Lowndes (about whom he wrote not one but two whole albums, including the incredibly heartfelt and desperate song "Sara", from ''Desire'').
** It should be noted that "Like a Rolling Stone" has been discussed to no end, and to this day there are many likely candidates as to who inspired Dylan to write it.
** Considering the brutal TakeThat which these and "Positively 4th Street" are, some of them also probably would rather not to have been Dylan's muse.
** In her tune, Baez wrote "Diamonds and Rust" about Dylan. She describes him is a bit of a jerk though...
* Music/RoyOrbison's wife Claudette inspired the songs "Claudette" and "Pretty Woman".
* The Suede song "Animal Lover" and the Blur album ''13'' were both inspired by Justine Frischman.
* Pattie Boyd was a muse to Music/GeorgeHarrison ("Something") and Music/EricClapton ("Wonderful Tonight").
** She was a muse for Clapton while she was ''still married'' to his good friend Harrison. ([[Music/LaylaAndOtherAssortedLoveSongs ''Layla'']])
* Music/JoniMitchell was an accomplished songwriter in her own right, but served as muse for other musicians like [[Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash Graham Nash]] ("Our House", which he wrote while the two were living together) and Music/LedZeppelin ("Going to California").
* Creator/WoodyAllen has had a few, especially Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow and Creator/ScarlettJohansson.
* Gong Li to Creator/ZhangYimou.
* Maggie Cheung to Olivier Assayas.
* Fanny Brawne to Creator/JohnKeats.
* Creator/PedroAlmodovar has Carmen Maura and Creator/PenelopeCruz (putting them together for arguably his best film, ''Film/{{Volver}}''), but there is no romantic involvement whatsoever, seeing as he's gay.
* Frances [=McDormand=] to (her husband) [[Creator/TheCoenBrothers Joel Coen]]
* GenderFlip: Tom [=LeFroy=] to Creator/JaneAusten. He was partially the inspiration for [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice Mr. Darcy]].
* Creator/QuentinTarantino refers to Creator/UmaThurman as his muse, but their relationship is "strictly platonic."
* Creator/JoeyLaurenAdams to Creator/KevinSmith.
* Sarah Brightman to Creator/AndrewLloydWebber
* Creator/TimBurton and Lisa Marie... and Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter. And Creator/JohnnyDepp. And Creator/VincentPrice.
* Peter Pears to Benjamin Britten.
* [[HeterosexualLifePartners Curt Smith to Roland Orzabal]], both members of Music/TearsForFears. Orzabal, while [[https://www.vice.com/en/article/65jvzr/how-we-wrote-our-first-record-tears-for-fears-revisit-the-hurting discussing]] how he and Smith work together to write music, referred to Curt as his: "He's always been my muse." Smith has truly been a lifelong inspiration to Orzabal because their friendship and musical partnership began when they were both [[ChildhoodFriends 13 years old]]. During their first meeting, Roland heard Curt singing to Music/BlueOysterCult's "Then Came the Last Days of May", and the former was so impressed that he immediately asked the latter if he wanted to be the lead singer of his band. (This is the exact moment when the artist discovers his muse.) Curt replied yes, and the rest is history.
** Intriguingly, even after Smith's departure from the group due to the MuseAbuse he experienced, Orzabal's [[https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/talk-big-chair creativity continued to be fueled by his absent muse.]]
--->'''Orzabal''': But really, I never stopped writing for him. It would have been very easy to get Curt in on ''Elemental'' and sing those songs. They were built for him. I hadn't stopped writing for his voice. I was just singing them myself.
* Creator/AlfredHitchcock considered Creator/GraceKelly to be his muse.
* Creator/MillaJovovich to Creator/LucBesson until they divorced. Since then she has become Creator/PaulWSAnderson's muse in the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries''.
* The lead singer for The Knack, Doug Fieger, [[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124397021 fell for a then-17-year-old Sharona Alperin]] and wrote the band's [[OneHitWonder biggest and only hit]] "My Sharona" in her honor. She even graced the single's cover shot.
* Music/{{Rihanna}} to Music/{{Drake}}, who wrote several songs ("Firework", "Take Care" and possibly "Made Man") based on their relationship and frequently collaborate with her.
* Creator/StanLee's wife Joanie was widely regarded as his muse. She made appearances alongside Stan in both animated and live-action Marvel adaptations, most notably as Madame Web in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' and a posthumous appearance in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.
* Music/CarlySimon wrote "You're So Vain" as a friendly-yet-jabbing aside about a self-absorbed lover that is a composite of three men Carly befriended: the only thing we know for certain is that one of them is Creator/WarrenBeatty, and that Music/MickJagger is not one of them.
* Creator/EthanHawke to Creator/RichardLinklater.
* The LFO song "Girl on TV" was written by Rich Cronin after he started dating Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt, and the song is about falling in love with a movie star. Jennifer Love Hewitt then starred in the accompanying music video.
* Creator/AnnaMayWong was an inspiration to many writers. ''Eight Poems of Li Po'' was written in her honor by Constant Lambert. She inspired "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" as well. The lead role in ''Film/DaughterOfShanghai'' was written for her, and the film's working title was ''The Anna May Wong Story''.
* Bobby Calloway wrote ''WebVideo/TheGumdrops'' specifically for Rebecca Rose Flynn, and some of the scripts would have the stage direction [[HarpoDoesSomethingFunny 'Rebecca will make it funny']]. Likewise the film ''WebVideo/{{Aaron}}'' was created entirely for Thomas Fitzgerald, and he says it wouldn't have been made if he hadn't played the role.
* German director Creator/RainerWernerFassbinder had a muse in actress Creator/HannaSchygulla.
* Music/SelenaGomez's on-and-off exboyfriend Music/JustinBieber is a frequent inspiration for her songs, most notably on ''Rare''. She herself is speculated to be the inspiration for several song of her ex-boyfriend Music/TheWeeknd ''My Dear Melancholy''.
* Fashion Designer UsefulNotes/YvesSaintLaurent had many muses throughout his career, including Creator/CatherineDeneuve, Victoire Doutreleau, Betty Catroux, Talitha Pol Getty and Loulou de la Falaise. The films about his life, ''Film/YvesSaintLaurent'' and ''Film/SaintLaurent'', portray some of these relationships, often as nonsexual romances or at the least very intense friendships.

* Anita Pallenberg inspired Music/TheRollingStones songs "Wild Horses" and "You Got Silver", and "Angie" is rumored to be about her though others say it was about Angela Bowie.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_kiss_of_the_muse.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The Kiss of the Muse'' by Paul Cézanne]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_kiss_of_the_muse.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The Kiss of the Muse'' by Paul Cézanne]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', an aspiring writer captures one of the bona fide, Myth/ClassicalMythology Muses. He imprisons her, and while raping her, is gifted with fantastic inspiration, and he soon becomes a renowned, and extremely wealthy, writer. Unfortunately for him, this particular muse is the former lover of The Dreamlord, Morpheus, and when she calls to him for help, he [[AndIMustScream sympathizes with her plight]]. Needless to say, the author is soon 'convinced' to release his captive... and the Dreamlord takes [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor appropriate revenge]].

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', Lucy ''wants'' to be this to Schroeder. And note that she did inspire at least one of his compositions--"The Fussbudget Sonata".
* ComicStrip/{{Nero}}: In ''De Ring van Petatje'' Nero starts writing poetry in an insane asylum and is visited by a literal muse with wings and a toga. Though she is a subversion of this trope: an obese bespectacled woman, with nevertheless a good heart.

[[folder: Theatre ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* In ''WebComic/{{Cheer}}'', the artist Tselsebar's AuthorAvatar is frequently beset by an Anti-Muse, who hits him with a hammer and prevents him from getting the ideas to make new comics. He later does get an actual muse which, despite the Anti-Muse complaining that her job was too easy earlier, has her calling the muse a "hussy" and demanding "her" Tselsebar back.

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* This trope is {{Parodied}} by the Website/{{Twitter}} blog ''Blog/WorstMuse'', which only gives bad advice to writers.
--> "It's not racist! It's EDGY!"\\

"If it's based on a true story, you don't need to worry about whether it's believable."

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Creator/MarleneDietrich to Joseph [[TheVonTropeFamily Von]] Sternberg

* Creator/JeanMarais to his lover Creator/JeanCocteau

* Creator/MillaJovovich to Luc Besson until they divorced. Now she is Paul W.S. Anderson's muse in the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries''.

* The WebVideo/SpongebobConspiracy has a twisted example with the...thing inside Alex's house, as it gives him the ideas for the theory videos.

* The WebVideo/SpongebobConspiracy has a twisted example with the...thing inside Alex's house, as it gives him the ides for the theory videos.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', muses are the most stable theme/RunningJoke. E.g. [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2006-12-18 this]] mini-arc and the page after it. [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2005-01-05 Or this one.]]

** The situation is [[https://www.oglaf.com/muse/ eventually resolved.]]

* Creator/MillaJovovich to Luc Besson until they divorced. Now she is Paul W.S. Anderson's muse in the ''Film/ResidentEvil'' [[MoneyDearBoy series.]]

* Happens literally in ''Film/{{Xanadu}}'': a struggling artist is inspired by (and falls in love with) an authentic Greek Muse (goddess).

* In Albert Brooks' film ''The Muse'' he gets a real Muse.

* ''The Sack of Rome'' (1992). The painter played by Franco Nero uses his much younger mistress as his muse. Despite being played by the stunningly beautiful Creator/VittoriaBelvedere this causes him some guilt, as she's not as pure and innocent as she looks, and thus not quite an appropriate model for heavenly angels in the religious paintings that he's famous for.

** Intriguingly, even after Smith's departure from the group, Orzabal's [[https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/talk-big-chair creativity continued to be fueled by his absent muse.]]

--->But really, I never stopped writing for him. It would have been very easy to get Curt in on ''Elemental'' and sing those songs. They were built for him. I hadn't stopped writing for his voice. I was just singing them myself.

** Intriguingly, even after Smith's departure from the group, Orzabal's creativity continued to be fueled by his absent muse.

* [[HeterosexualLifePartners Curt Smith to Roland Orzabal]], both members of Music/TearsForFears. Orzabal, while [[https://www.vice.com/en/article/65jvzr/how-we-wrote-our-first-record-tears-for-fears-revisit-the-hurting discussing]] how he and Smith work together to write music, referred to Curt as his: "He's always been my muse." Smith has truly been a lifelong inspiration to Orzabal because their friendship and musical partnership began when they were both 13 years old. During their first meeting, Roland heard Curt singing to Music/BlueOysterCult's "Then Came the Last Days of May", and the former was so impressed that he immediately asked the latter if he wanted to be the lead singer of his band. (This is the exact moment when the artist discovers his muse.) Curt replied yes, and the rest is history.

* [[HeterosexualLifePartners Curt Smith to Roland Orzabal]], both members of Music/TearsForFears. Orzabal, while [[https://www.vice.com/en/article/65jvzr/how-we-wrote-our-first-record-tears-for-fears-revisit-the-hurting discussing]] how he and Smith work together to write music, referred to Curt as his: "He's always been my muse." Smith has truly been a lifelong inspiration to Orzabal because their friendship and musical partnership began when they were both 13 years old. During their first meeting, Roland heard Curt singing to Music/BlueOysterCult's "Then Came the Last Days of May", and the former so impressed that he immediately asked the latter if he wanted to be the the lead singer of his band. Curt replied yes, and the rest is history.

* Creator/AnnaMayWong was an inspiration to many writers. ''Eight Poems of Li Po'' was written in her honor by Constant Lambert. She inspired "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" as well. The lead role in ''Film/DaughterOfShanghai'' was written for her, and the film's working title was 'The Anna May Wong Story'.

Not to be confused with the British rock band Music/{{Muse}}. Or MuseAbuse, though it often follows. See also ManicPixieDreamGirl. For someone who functions as the opposite and is also the artist's love interest, see LoveMakesYouUncreative. When athletes need inspiration, it is often rallied by [[PomPomgirl pom squads]].

* Anita Pallenberg inspired Music/TheRollingStones songs ''Wild Horses'' and ''You Got Silver'', and ''Angie'' is rumored to be about her though others say it was about Angela Bowie.

** Several of BryanFerry's songs both with Music/RoxyMusic and as a solo artist were about Jerry Hall, including at least one about her leaving him for Mick Jagger.

* Rosanna Arquette inspired the ''Rosanna'' by Toto and ''In Your Eyes'' by Peter Gabriel
* Bob Dylan had several muses, including Edie Sedgwick (about whom he wrote "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Just Like A Woman"), Music/JoanBaez, Suze Rotolo, and Sara Lowndes (about whom he wrote not one but two whole albums, including the incredibly heartfelt and desperate song "Sara", from ''Desire'').
** It should be noted that "Like A Rolling Stone" has been discussed to no end, and to this day there are many likely candidates as to who inspired Dylan to write it.

* Music/RoyOrbison's wife Claudette inspired the songs ''Claudette'' and ''Pretty Woman''
* The Suede song ''Animal Lover'' and the Blur album ''13'' were both inspired by Justine Frischman.

* Music/JoniMitchell was an accomplished songwriter in her own right, but served as muse for other musicians like [[Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash Graham Nash]] ("Our House", which he wrote while the two were living together) and Music/LedZeppelin ("Going To California").

* Curt Smith to Roland Orzabal of Music/TearsForFears. Roland, while [[https://www.vice.com/en/article/65jvzr/how-we-wrote-our-first-record-tears-for-fears-revisit-the-hurting discussing]] how he and Curt work together to write music, referred to Curt as his. "He's always been my muse."

* Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Music/TearsForFears. Roland, while [[https://www.vice.com/en/article/65jvzr/how-we-wrote-our-first-record-tears-for-fears-revisit-the-hurting discussing]] how he and Curt work together to write music, referred to Curt as his. "He's always been my muse."

* Music/SelenaGomez's on-and-off exboyfriend Music/JustinBieber is a frequent inspiration for her aongs, most notably on ''Rare''. She herself is speculated to be the inspiration for several song of her ex-boyfriend Music/TheWeeknd ''My Dear Melancholy''.

* Music/SelenaGomez's on-and-off exboyfriend Music/JustinBieber is a frequent inspiration for her aongs, most notably on ''Rare''. She herself is speculated to be the inspiration for several song of her exboyfrienx Music/TheWeeknd ''My Dear Melancholy''.