Unearth The Voyage
Hollywood has always been a place where love stories begin with fireworks and sometimes end just as dramatically. Some celebrities have walked down the aisle not once or twice, but five, six, or even nine times.
Their personal lives often made just as many headlines as their professional achievements. Here is a look at 15 famous names whose marriage records might genuinely surprise you.
1. Zsa Zsa Gabor: 9 Marriages
Few names in Hollywood history carry as much romantic legend as Zsa Zsa Gabor. The Hungarian-born actress and socialite was married nine times across her long and glamorous life, making her one of the most married celebrities in entertainment history.
Her husbands included hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders, and several other prominent figures. Zsa Zsa never shied away from discussing her love life publicly and often made witty, self-aware jokes about her many marriages.
She once famously quipped that she was a great housekeeper because every time she divorced, she kept the house. Born in 1917 in Budapest, she became as well known for her sparkling personality and sharp humor as for her acting roles.
Her extraordinary romantic history remains unmatched in Hollywood to this day.
2. Lana Turner: 8 Marriages
Lana Turner was one of the biggest stars of classic Hollywood, known for films like “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and her magnetic screen presence. Off screen, her personal life was equally dramatic, with eight marriages to seven different men throughout her lifetime.
Her husbands ranged from musicians to restaurateurs to actors, and her relationships were frequently covered by fan magazines and gossip columns of the era. Turner herself acknowledged that she fell in love quickly and deeply, sometimes to her own detriment.
Her life was also marked by genuine tragedy, including a highly publicized incident in 1958 involving her daughter Cheryl and Turner’s boyfriend Johnny Stompanato. Despite the turbulence, she remained a working actress well into the 1970s and 1980s, proving her staying power in an industry that rarely forgives personal scandal.
3. Elizabeth Taylor: 8 Marriages
Elizabeth Taylor is arguably the most celebrated actress in the history of Hollywood, and her personal life was just as legendary as her performances. She married eight times, tying the knot with seven different men, which included two separate marriages to Welsh actor Richard Burton.
Their on-again, off-again romance captivated the world throughout the 1960s and 1970s and became one of the most talked-about love stories in entertainment history. Taylor’s other husbands included hotel heir Nicky Hilton, actor Michael Wilding, producer Mike Todd, singer Eddie Fisher, politician John Warner, and construction worker Larry Fortensky.
Each marriage brought its own wave of public fascination. Taylor won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and starred in timeless films like “Cleopatra” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” She remained a global icon until her passing in 2011 at age 79.
4. Mickey Rooney: 8 Marriages
Mickey Rooney had one of the longest careers in Hollywood history, spanning nearly nine decades from silent films to modern blockbusters. Along the way, he also managed to marry eight times, a personal record that rivaled even some of the most romantic figures in Tinseltown.
His first wife was actress Ava Gardner, whom he married in 1942 when both were young MGM stars. The marriage lasted only a year, but it set the tone for a lifetime of headline-making relationships.
His subsequent marriages included women from various walks of life, none lasting particularly long until his final marriage to Jan Chamberlin in 1978, which endured until his death in 2014.
Rooney once joked that marriage was his hobby. Despite his complicated personal life, he earned an honorary Academy Award in 1983 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild later in his career.
5. Larry King: 8 Marriages
Larry King was one of the most recognizable faces in American television journalism, hosting his flagship CNN program for more than 25 years. Behind the camera, his romantic life was equally eventful, with eight marriages to seven different women over the course of his lifetime.
His marriages included unions with Alene Akins, whom he married twice, and his final wife Shawn Southwick, with whom he had two sons. King was refreshingly candid about his complicated romantic history, acknowledging in interviews that he was not always the easiest person to live with given the demands of his career.
He married his first wife, Freda Miller, in 1952 when he was just 18 years old. King passed away in January 2021 at the age of 87.
He is remembered as a broadcasting legend whose long-running interview show featured virtually every major world figure of the late 20th century.
6. Richard Pryor: 7 Marriages
Richard Pryor is widely considered one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, known for his raw honesty and fearless storytelling on stage and screen. That same intensity carried over into his personal life, where he married seven times, including two women he wed twice each.
He married Jennifer Lee in 1981, divorced, and then remarried her in 2001, a relationship that lasted until his death in 2005. He also married actress Flynn Belaine twice during the late 1980s.
His other wives included Shelley Bonus, Deborah McGuire, and Patricia Price.
Pryor never pretended his personal life was simple. He openly discussed his struggles with addiction, health issues, and relationships in his comedy and in interviews.
Despite the personal chaos, his artistic output was extraordinary. Films like “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy” cemented his place as a beloved Hollywood star.
7. Jerry Lee Lewis: 7 Marriages
Jerry Lee Lewis earned the nickname “The Killer” for his electrifying piano performances and wild stage energy. His personal life was equally turbulent, featuring seven marriages that brought him both joy and serious controversy throughout his long career.
His third marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown in 1957 nearly destroyed his career before it had fully launched. The scandal caused a massive public backlash in the United States and United Kingdom, effectively derailing his early rock and roll momentum for years.
Lewis later rebuilt his career as a country music artist and continued performing well into his 80s. His marriages after Myra included Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate, Shawn Stephens, Kerrie McCarver, and finally Judith Brown in 2012.
Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and remained a polarizing but undeniably influential figure in music history until his death in 2022.
8. Billy Bob Thornton: 6 Marriages
Billy Bob Thornton built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable and genuinely talented figures, earning an Academy Award for writing “Sling Blade” in 1996. His personal life has been equally unconventional, with six marriages spread across several decades.
His most publicized relationship was his marriage to actress Angelina Jolie from 2000 to 2003, which became tabloid gold due to their famously eccentric public behavior, including wearing vials of each other’s blood as pendants. Before Jolie, he was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams, and Pietra Dawn Cherniak.
His sixth and current wife is Connie Angland, whom he married in 2014. By all accounts, this has been his most stable and low-key partnership.
Thornton has spoken openly about his struggles with OCD, various phobias, and past personal difficulties, all of which shaped the complex characters he portrays on screen.
9. Pamela Anderson: 6 Marriages
Pamela Anderson rose to global fame through her role on “Baywatch” and became one of the most recognized faces of the 1990s. Her romantic life moved at a similarly fast pace, featuring six marriages, some of which were famously brief or unexpectedly repeated.
Her most talked-about marriage was to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee in 1995, a union that lasted four years and produced two sons. She later married Kid Rock in 2006, though that marriage ended after just five months.
She also married poker player Rick Salomon twice, in 2007 and again in 2014.
In 2020, she married film producer Jon Peters, but the relationship ended after just 12 days. She then married her longtime bodyguard Dan Hayhurst in 2021, followed by a brief marriage to producer and friend Adil Rami.
Anderson has been candid about her romantic choices in her 2023 Netflix documentary.
10. Joan Collins: 5 Marriages
Joan Collins became a household name around the world through her iconic role as Alexis Carrington on the 1980s primetime soap opera “Dynasty.” Her real-life love story was nearly as dramatic as anything her character got up to on television, with five marriages over the decades.
Her first husband was actor Maxwell Reed, whom she married in 1952 and later described as controlling and manipulative. She went on to marry actor Anthony Newley, businessman Ronald Kass, and Swedish singer Peter Holm before finally finding lasting happiness with Percy Gibson, whom she wed in 2002.
Gibson is 32 years younger than Collins, a fact that drew considerable media attention at the time of their marriage. Collins has said he is the love of her life.
Now in her 90s, she remains active in television and film and continues to be celebrated as a timeless style icon.
11. James Cameron: 5 Marriages
James Cameron is one of the most commercially successful directors in film history, responsible for blockbusters like “Titanic,” “Avatar,” and “The Terminator.” Behind the camera, he has also navigated five marriages, each one tied to a different chapter of his professional life.
His first wife was Sharon Williams, whom he married in 1978. He then married director Kathryn Bigelow in 1989, a union that lasted two years.
Bigelow later became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010. Cameron also married producer Gale Anne Hurd and actress Linda Hamilton, with whom he has a daughter.
His fifth and current wife is actress Suzy Amis, whom he met on the set of “Titanic” and married in 2000. They have three children together.
Cameron has spoken about how his intense work ethic and demanding personality contributed to the difficulties in his earlier relationships.
12. Martin Scorsese: 5 Marriages
Martin Scorsese is universally regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers who ever lived, with a body of work that includes “Goodfellas,” “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” and “The Departed.” His personal life, however, has been considerably less polished than his films, with five marriages over the years.
He was first married to Laraine Marie Brennan in 1965, then to actress Julia Cameron in 1975. His third wife was Isabella Rossellini, daughter of legendary actress Ingrid Bergman.
He then married Barbara De Fina, who also worked as a film producer, before finally marrying writer Helen Morris in 1999.
Scorsese and Morris have a daughter together and appear to have found a stable partnership. He has been open about his Catholic upbringing and how his faith, personal struggles, and complicated emotional life have all found their way into his filmmaking in deeply meaningful and sometimes unexpected ways.
13. Dennis Hopper: 5 Marriages
Dennis Hopper was the living embodiment of Hollywood counterculture, best remembered for co-writing, directing, and starring in “Easy Rider” in 1969, a film that changed American cinema forever. His personal life was equally wild and unpredictable, including five marriages across several turbulent decades.
His first wife was actress Brooke Hayward, daughter of legendary Hollywood agent Leland Hayward, whom he married in 1961. He later married Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, though that marriage lasted only eight days, making it one of the shortest celebrity marriages on record at the time.
He also married Daria Halprin, Katherine LaNasa, and finally Victoria Duffy in 1996, with whom he had a daughter. His final years were marked by a bitter and very public divorce battle with Duffy while he was suffering from prostate cancer.
Hopper passed away in May 2010 at the age of 74.
14. Nicolas Cage: 5 Marriages
Nicolas Cage is one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable and fascinating actors, known for swinging between art-house dramas and big-budget action films with equal commitment. His romantic life has followed a similarly erratic path, with five marriages, some of which became famous for their sheer brevity.
His first marriage was to actress Patricia Arquette in 1995, lasting until 2001. He then married singer Lisa Marie Presley in 2002, but that union lasted only 107 days.
His third wife was waitress Alice Kim, with whom he has a son, Kal-El, named after Superman’s birth name.
He married Erika Koike in Las Vegas in 2019, but filed for annulment just four days later. His fifth and current wife is Riko Shibata, whom he married in 2021 and with whom he has a daughter.
Cage won an Oscar for Best Actor for “Leaving Las Vegas” in 1996 and remains one of the most distinctive performers of his generation.
15. Kenny Rogers: 5 Marriages
Kenny Rogers was one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with hits like “The Gambler,” “Lucille,” and “Islands in the Stream” making him a country music institution. He was also refreshingly honest about the fact that balancing superstardom with a stable home life was something he found genuinely difficult throughout his career.
Rogers married five times over the decades. His wives included Janice Gordon, Jean Rogers, Margo Anderson, and Marianne Gordon, the last of whom he was married to for 16 years before their 1993 divorce.
His fifth and final wife was Wanda Miller, whom he married in 1997 and who remained by his side until his death.
Rogers and Wanda had twin boys in 2004, when the singer was 65 years old. He spoke warmly about fatherhood later in life, saying those boys gave him a new sense of purpose.
Rogers passed away peacefully in March 2020 at the age of 81.
