In 2008, biographer Philip Norman wrote that Drane was the inspiration for John Lennon's composition "Norwegian Wood", recorded by The Beatles in 1965.
Born Sonnhild Spielhagen in Berlin, Germany, in 1939, Drane grew up in Great Britain during post-World War II years.
She is described by writer Philip Norman as having been an early 1960s model "with impish looks and a rangy physique that perfectly set off the new 'fun' fashions of young designers like Mary Quant.
"[2] Photographed in Majorca by her first husband Robert Freeman, images of her were prominently featured in the inaugural 1964 Pirelli Calendar as the calendar-girl for the months of February, March, May, July, September and October.
In 1963, while she was married to Robert Freeman (who had recently begun his professional relationship with the Beatles), John Lennon was looking for a home to rent in London for himself and his wife Cynthia.