Beloved London beggar, 'Soho Pam,' dies

Facebook.com: Screen grab. Soho Pam: Screen grab of Pam Jennings became a fixture in London's Soho district. IMAGE

1/22/13 By Michelle McGuinness, MSN News

Pam Jennings became a fixture in London's Soho district, inspiring paintings, photography and even postcards.

A beloved character in London's Soho district died Dec. 18 at age 48, The Telegraph reported.

Pam Jennings was a professional beggar so popular among the clientele of Soho's trendy bars and establishments that she had her own Twitter page. The shaven-headed drifter, who became known as "Soho Pam," inspired paintings, photography and even local literature.

According to The Telegraph, in 2005, artist Rupert Shrive created a watercolor portrait of Jennings that he then printed on postcards, some of which were "autographed."

While the short, bespectacled Jennings was a frequent presence in Soho, The Telegraph said she revealed very few biographical details about herself. According to the newspaper, Jennings, born in 1964, "suffered a personal crisis" in the 1990s after her parents died. That's when she cut ties with her siblings and became homeless, The Telegraph reported.

Soho, on the west end of London, is a fashionable district with upscale restaurants, night life and a reputation for sex shops.

Bar Italia, in Soho, posted a farewell to Jennings Monday. "Pam was a very familiar face in the area who popped up every day looking for a 'donation' which she was known to sometimes pay back, bless her," the bar wrote.

Twitter also memorialized the popular figure, with users lamenting her loss.

"I was rather sad to hear of the passing of Soho character 'Pam,'" user Jonny Owen wrote Monday. "She would always tell me what she liked on TV when I saw her."

Twitter user Pete Jones said, "She had a terrible start in life but was always smiling RIP."

Her Twitter page says she liked "cuddles and money" and encourages people to donate to CentrePoint, a charity for homeless youth.

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