My partner, Karen de Groot, who has died aged 69, after suffering from emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was a freelance journalist, researcher and scriptwriter.

From the late 1960s, she wrote for Top Pops (later known as Music Now) and was immersed in the world of music journalism, writing reviews, attending gigs and press parties, interviewing artists, and taking on what was probably the first weekly reggae page. The paper was the unfortunate victim of a prolonged postal strike that interrupted its cashflow. The final edition was produced in February 1971.

Karen was born in Edgware, north London, to Ruth (nee Weber), who was also known by her Polish nickname, Dziuna, and Ernest de Groot. The family moved to Esher, Surrey, in the early 1960s and Karen attended Claremont school for girls. She left aged 18 to work in the offices of her father’s company, Codeg, a toy manufacturer and wholesaler, which had been co-founded by her grandfather Albert in 1919.

It was not long before her ability and enthusiasm landed her a job as an editorial assistant at DC Thomson, on Fleet Street, the publisher of newspapers, comics and magazines. When a colleague left to join Top Pops, he offered her the chance in 1969 to become one of its team reviewing records, writing features and reporting the latest news, and Karen soon proved her integrity and worth.

After Music Now closed down, Karen, with a wealth of experience, a host of useful contacts and a keen instinct for a story, set up as a freelance journalist, researcher and scriptwriter under the name KdeG Services. She contributed to books such as Lusitania (1972) by Colin Simpson, Search For Nirvana (1975) by Robin Maugham, and the Collins Encyclopedia of Antiques, as well as the 1973 BBC TV miniseries Jack the Ripper produced by Paul Bonner. She was part of the all-female team assembled for Women of Britain, a series for the Observer Magazine in 1975.

In 1981-82 she spent some time working her way around the US, and on her return to the UK set up a catering company with a partner. She devoted more than a decade to this enterprise before moving in the late 1990s to live on the Kent coast, where she and I met.

Generous-hearted with a mischievous sense of humour, Karen liked to indulge her passion for art in all its forms. Among her pursuits were drawing, painting, sculpture and photography. She was a devoted animal lover, caring for a succession of pets.

She is survived by me, a sister, Nikki, and her aunt Irena.