Author: Freya

Susan Brewer is best known as the first wife of Peter Fonda, the actor and filmmaker who became a symbol of 1960s counterculture through Easy Rider. But Susan’s story reaches beyond that famous marriage. She came from a well-connected family, studied at Sarah Lawrence College, developed creative interests of her own, and became the mother of actress Bridget Fonda and Justin Fonda. Susan married Peter on October 8, 1961, when his acting career was only beginning. They remained married for nearly 13 years before their divorce was finalized on April 15, 1974. Afterward, Susan largely avoided celebrity attention. She later…

Katherine Carpenter is best known as the second wife and eventual widow of actor David McCallum, the Scottish star remembered for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS. But Katherine had her own career long before she became part of one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting marriages. A successful fashion model in the 1960s, Katherine met McCallum during a Glamour magazine photo shoot in 1965. They married on September 16, 1967, and remained together until his death on September 25, 2023. Their marriage lasted 56 years, while their relationship stretched across almost six decades. Together, Katherine and David had two children, Peter and…

Susanne Gregard is best known as the only woman ever married to Dodi Fayed, the Egyptian film producer who later became famous around the world because of his relationship with Princess Diana. But Susanne had her own life before and after that short marriage. She worked as a model and actress, later became a photographer and mixed-media artist, remarried, and built a much quieter family life in Los Angeles. Susanne and Dodi married at the end of 1986 after a fast-moving romance. Their marriage lasted only about eight months before ending in 1987. Years later, Susanne spoke about Dodi with…

Mary Mandel is best known as the first wife of legendary Four Seasons singer Frankie Valli. Their relationship began before Valli became one of the most recognizable voices in American pop music, making Mary an important part of the story behind his rise to fame. Mary already had a young daughter, Celia, when she married Valli. Frankie adopted Celia, and the couple later welcomed two daughters of their own, Antonia and Francine. Their marriage lasted around 13 years before ending in divorce in 1971. Mary’s story is also tied to one of the darkest periods in the Valli family. In…

MaryAnn Hannigan is best known as the second wife of legendary singer Frankie Valli, the unmistakable falsetto voice behind the Four Seasons. Their relationship began around 1970, when Valli was already famous for hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Walk Like a Man,” but his personal life was entering a difficult period. MaryAnn and Valli married in 1974 and remained together until 1982. Unlike Valli’s first and third marriages, their relationship produced no publicly documented children. Although MaryAnn sometimes appeared beside him during the height of his 1970s success, she never developed a celebrity career of her own.…

Bonni Sue Chalkin is best known as the second wife of Judd Hirsch, the award-winning actor famous for Taxi, Ordinary People, Independence Day, and The Fabelmans. But Bonni has an identity beyond being the former wife of a Hollywood star. She has worked in fashion, later became involved in Reiki and energy healing, and eventually published a memoir filled with stories from her own life. Bonni and Hirsch married on December 24, 1992, in a Jewish ceremony. They had two children together, daughter Montana and son London, before divorcing in 2005 after roughly 13 years of marriage. Unlike Hirsch, Bonni…

Helen Morris is best known as the fifth wife of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, but her life has never revolved only around Hollywood. Long before marrying the director of Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and The Departed, Helen had built a serious career in New York publishing and worked as a book editor at Random House. Helen and Scorsese met professionally in 1995 while she was working on the memoirs of British filmmaker Michael Powell. Their relationship slowly became personal, and they married on July 22, 1999. Later that year, their daughter, Francesca Scorsese, was born. The marriage has now lasted more…

Eboni Mills is best known as the first wife of RZA, the rapper, producer, filmmaker, and founding leader of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. But unlike her famous former husband, Eboni has spent most of her life outside entertainment headlines. Eboni and RZA married in 2000 and divorced in 2006 after roughly six years together. Major biographical records consistently identify her as his first wife, while RZA later married Talani Rabb in 2009. What makes Eboni interesting is the contrast between their lives. RZA built a career around music, movies, touring, and public appearances. Eboni moved in the opposite direction, maintaining…

Lois Hardwick, more fully known as Lois May Hardwick, is remembered today mainly as the first wife of acclaimed Canadian actor Donald Sutherland. But the most interesting part of her story is that much of what appears online about her is wrong. She was not the silent-film child actress who appeared in Walt Disney’s early Alice Comedies. She was a Canadian-born educator who later built a long teaching career in London. Lois married Donald Sutherland in 1959, before he became an international film star. Their marriage ended in 1966, and they had no children together. Sutherland later became famous through…

Marge Cooney, also known as Margaret Cooney, is best remembered as the first wife of legendary American television host Phil Donahue. Long before Donahue became one of daytime television’s most influential programs, Marge was part of Phil’s life as he moved from a young broadcaster to a nationally recognized television personality. Marge and Phil married in 1958 and had five children together: Michael, Kevin, Daniel, James, and Mary Rose. Their marriage lasted until 1975. After the divorce, their four sons primarily lived with Phil, while Mary Rose moved with Marge to New Mexico. What happened afterward is less clear. Marge…