A Hollywood marriage originally meant a glamorous high society marriage between celebrities involved in the U.S. film industry, as "Hollywood" is a common metonymous term for that industry; such marriages are more commonly known as supercouples in modern parlance. However, the term has grown to also have strong negative connotations of a marriage that is of short duration and quickly ends in separation or divorce.[1] The term developed the negative connotations fairly early; by the 1930s, a "Hollywood marriage" was a marriage both glamorous and short-lived.[2] [3]
Sympathetic views of celebrities point out that in Hollywood, it is mostly the bad marriages that are documented by the media, giving a skewed perspective that might make "Hollywood marriages" appear to have a worse success rate than they have in reality. In 1972 Bob Thomas of the Associated Press remarked specifically about the tendency to ignore lasting celebrity marriages with the examples he gave including Bob Hope's marriage to Dolores Hope and Rosalind Russell's marriage to producer Frederick Brisson.[4]
Negative views of Hollywood marriages take the position that the divorce rates are indeed unusually high among celebrities and that this is caused by faults within Hollywood as a culture or by personal faults of the celebrities themselves. They point to the usage of weddings as publicity stunts, the egotism or immaturity of celebrities or "celebrity culture", and high rates of infidelity or promiscuity. Bee Wilson, in an article for The Daily Telegraph, critiqued "Hollywood marriages" for often being based on the unrealistic dreams of what she termed "permanent children", although she points to some classic Hollywood couples—such as Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, or Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward—as exceptions to these criticisms.[5] While the introduction to the Cultural Sociology of Divorce: An Encyclopedia edited by Robert E. Emery specifically mentions Hollywood divorces as epitomizing a "consumerist, throw-away-marriage view found in the West."[6]
The actors and entertainers themselves vary in perspective on the commonality or reason for divorce in Hollywood. In 1961 Anne Baxter stated Hollywood was "the most difficult place in America for marriage" due, in part, to the "terrible extremes of success and failure" both spouses may face.[7] In a 1964 interview Mitzi Gaynor, who would remain married to the husband mentioned in the interview until his death (in 2006), took the more "defensive" position that "Hollywood" couples look different mostly because "everything we do is magnified." However, she conceded they might be slightly different because "you have to be a little off-center to get into this business in the first place."[8]
Beyond anecdote or opinion, the actual evidence on the matter is complicated by differing definitions of who qualifies as a "celebrity" or "Hollywood." A study from Radford University placed "dancers and choreographers" as the occupations having the highest percent currently divorced[9] with "Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other" still being above average at tenth. That placed them between "Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides" at ninth and "Baggage porters and concierges" at eleventh.[10] In 1900, even before the modern film industry had coalesced, in an era where concert saloons and minstrel shows were the predominant form of entertainment, "actors, professional showmen" were listed as having the highest divorce rate of occupations.[11] A Forbes article placed "professional athletes and entertainers" together and with a high divorce rate.[12]
The idea that the term "Hollywood marriage" equates to something short-term is sometimes displayed by citing celebrities who had marriages that ended in divorce, separation, or annulment within approximately one year. The following examples of that are primarily restricted to marriages involving a notable actor, entertainer or director linked to "Hollywood" in some way and which ended in divorce or annulment. Note that the vast majority of the examples are from the 1970s onward; this is in part because no-fault divorce became legalized in that era, which increased the ease and number of divorces overall. (In much of the early 20th century, there was a one-year waiting period to finalize a divorce in California, which was later repealed.)
| Names | Length | Marriage | Notes | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britney Spears and Jason Alexander | 56 hours | January 2004 | Annulled | [13] [14] [15] | |
| Nicolas Cage and Erika Koike | 4 days | March 23–27, 2019 | Annulled | [16] [17] | |
| Elliott Lewis and Ann Wigton | 5 days | August 30 – September 4, 1940 | Annulled | [18] | |
| Michelle Phillips and Dennis Hopper | 8 days | October 31 – November 8, 1970 | [19] [20] | ||
| Francesca Eastwood and Jordan Feldstein | 8 days | November 17–25, 2013 | Annulled. Feldstein was the brother of actors Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein; Eastwood is the daughter of Clint Eastwood and Frances Fisher. | [21] | |
| Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg | 9 days | July 12–21, 1998 | Evans's fifth of seven marriages. Annulled. | [22] | |
| Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters | 12 days | January 20 – February 1, 2020 | Marriage certificate never officially enacted. | [23] | |
| Patty Duke and Michael Tell | 13 days | June 26 – July 9, 1970 | Annulled. Marriage produced a child, Sean Astin, whom Duke mistakenly believed to be fathered by Desi Arnaz, Jr. at the time. | [24] [25] [26] | |
| Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds | 2 weeks | January 2008 | |||
| Mario Lopez and Ali Landry | 18 days | April 24 – May 2004 | [27] | ||
| Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas | 19 days | February–March 1994 | [28] | ||
| Ken Strong and Rella Harrison | <1 month | December 1929 | Strong, a pro football player, and Harrison, a stage actress legally known as Amelie Hunneman, separated during their honeymoon. | [29] | |
| Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman | 42 days | June 27 – August 4, 1964 | Separated August 4, divorce mutually requested October 21 and granted November 18. | [30] | |
| Kim Darby and James Westmoreland | 47 days | 1970 | [31] | ||
| Harlan Ellison and Loretta Patrick | 7 weeks | 1966 | Ellison's third and shortest of five marriages. | [32] | |
| Ethel Merman and William Smith | 2 months | 1940–1941 | |||
| Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews | 2 months | 1992 | Annulled | [33] | |
| Chris Kattan and Sunshine Deia Tutt | 2 months | 2008–2009 | [34] | ||
| Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries | 72 days | 2011 | Divorce was finalized in 2013 | [35] [36] | |
| Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson | 121 days | July 29 – November 27, 2006 | |||
| Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley | 108 days | 2002 | Divorce took over a year to be finalized. | [37] [38] | |
| Bill Harrah and Bobbie Gentry | <4 months | December 18, 1969 – April 16, 1970 | One of Harrah's seven marriages. Fictionalized in Gentry's hit song "Fancy." | ||
| Colin Farrell and Amelia Warner | > 4 months | July 17 – November 2001 | |||
| Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito | 4 months | 2006–2007 | |||
| Renée Zellweger and Kenny Chesney | 4 months | May 2005 – 2005 | Annulled | ||
| Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray | 5 months | April–September 2005 | Separated (September 2005). Bush unsuccessfully petitioned for annulment (February 2006). Divorced (December 2006). | ||
| Charlie Sheen and Donna Peele | 5 months | September 1995 – 1996 | [39] [40] | ||
| 157 days | January 4 – June 19, 2020 | [41] | |||
| Drew Barrymore and Tom Green | 163 days | July 7 – December 17, 2001 | [42] [43] | ||
| Shannen Doherty and Ashley Hamilton | > 6 months | 1993 – March 1994 | [44] [45] | ||
| R. Kelly and Aaliyah | 6 months | August 1994 – February 1995 | Marriage annulled by Aaliyah's parents. | ||
| Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman | 6 months | November 14 – April 1999 | Rodman filed for an annulment 9 days later but they reconciled before mutually agreeing to divorce 6 months later. | [46] [47] | |
| Kim Darby and James Stacy | 7 months | 1968–1969 | |||
| Harlan Ellison and Lori Horowitz | 8 months | 1976–1977 | Ellison's fourth of five marriages. His fifth marriage would last 32 years until his death. | [48] | |
| Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus | 8 months | December 2018 - August 2019 | |||
| Carly Pearce and Michael Ray | 8 months | October 6, 2019 – June 19, 2020 | [49] | ||
| Rick Salomon and Shannen Doherty | 9 months | 2002–2003 | |||
| Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton Jr. | 205 days | May 6 – November 27, 1950 | [50] | ||
| Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd | 218 days | September 2001 – June 2002 | [51] | ||
| Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly | 10 months | September 1996 – July 1997 | [52] [53] | ||
| Woody Harrelson and Nancy Simon | 10 months | 1985–1986 | Married in Tijuana with the intent of getting a Mexican divorce afterward. The divorce did not occur until ten months later as the "divorce stand" was closed. | [54] | |
| Rick Salomon and Pamela Anderson | 10 weeks 1 year | 2007–2008, 2014–2015 | Married and remarried | [55] [56] | |
| Desi Arnaz Jr. and Linda Purl | < 1 year | 1979 – January 3, 1980 | [57] | ||
| James Caan and Sheila Marie Ryan | > 1 year | 1976–1977 | Son: Scott Caan | [58] | |
| Angela Lansbury and Richard Cromwell | > 1 year | September 27, 1945 – September 1946 | Her second marriage would last 53 years. | [59] [60] | |
| Lana Wood and Jack Wrather III | > 1 year | 1962–1963 | Annulled, as Wood was under the age of consent at the time of the marriage. Wrather III was the son of Jack Wrather Jr. | [61] | |
| Lana Wood and Stephen Oliver | <1 year | 1966 | Annulled. | ||
| Lana Wood and Stanley Vogel | <1 year | 1968 | |||
| Kelsey Grammer and Leigh-Anne Csuhany | 1 year | September 1992 – 1993 | [62] | ||
| Lorenzo Lamas and Victoria Hilbert | 1 year | 1981–1982 | His second marriage, to Michele Smith, did not last two years but did lead to children.[63] | [64] | |
| Martin Scorsese and Julia Cameron | 1 year | 1976–1977 | [65] | ||
| Robert Evans and Phyllis George | 1 year | 1977–1978 | Evans's fourth of seven marriages. | ||
| Robert Evans and Victoria White | 1 year | 2005–2006 | Evans's seventh and final marriage. | ||
| Mickey Rooney and Ava Gardner | 1 year+ | 1942–1943 | [66] | ||
| Gloria Swanson and Wallace Beery | 1 year | March 27, 1916–1917 | Swanson, age 17 at the time, was an unwilling party to the marriage but was unable to have it annulled. Due to California laws, the divorce would not be finalized until December 1918. It was the first of Swanson's six marriages.[67] | ||
| Gloria Swanson and William M. Davey | 1 year | January 25, 1945–1946 | Swanson's fourth of six marriages, made solely for financial reasons. The two were in the midst of divorce proceedings when Davey died. | ||
| Richard Mulligan and Rachel Ryan | <1 year | April 27, 1992 – "early 1993" | Mulligan's fourth and final marriage. | [68] [69] |
Entertainment couples whose relationships last for decades, and/or life, are occasionally used as a counterpoint when referring to "Hollywood marriage".[70] Listed are a selection of entertainers who have or had marriages that lasted over 50 years.
(Note that in a few of these cases, the entertainers were not necessarily in faithful marriages. Tom Jones, for example, had many extramarital affairs throughout his marriage.)
Legend:
| Names | Length | Marriage | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irving Benson and Lillian Waldowsky | 79 years, 105 days | November 19, 1936 – March 3, 2016 (her death) | ||
| Norman Lloyd and Peggy Lloyd | 75 years, 65 days | June 29, 1936 – August 30, 2011 (her death) | [71] | |
| Art Linkletter and Lois Linkletter | 74 years, 172 days | November 25, 1935 – May 16, 2010 (his death) | [72] [73] | |
| Johnnie Wright and Kitty Wells | 73 years, 332 days | October 30, 1937 – September 27, 2011 (his death) | [74] | |
| William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett | June 30, 1951 − present | [75] | ||
| Charles Lane and Ruth Covell Lane | 71 years, 233 days | April 12, 1931 – November 30, 2002 (her death) | ||
| Karl Malden and Mona Greenberg | 70 years, 195 days | December 18, 1938 – July 1, 2009 (his death) | [76] | |
| Joan Evans and Kirby Weatherly | 70 years, 137 days | August 15, 1952 – January 1, 2023 (his death) | [77] | |
| Pete Seeger and Toshi Aline Ohta | 69 years, 354 days | July 20, 1943 - July 9, 2013 (her death) | [78] | |
| Monty Hall and Marilyn Doreen Plottel | 69 years, 260 days | September 28, 1947 – June 5, 2017 (her death) | ||
| Stan Lee and Joan Boocock | 69 years, 214 days | December 5, 1947 – July 6, 2017 (her death) | [79] | |
| Nehemiah Persoff and Thia Persoff | 69 years, 163 days | August 22, 1951 − February 1, 2021 (her death) | [80] | |
| Bob Hope and Dolores Reade | 69 years, 158 days | February 19, 1934 – July 27, 2003 (his death) | [81] | |
| Chuck Berry and Thelmetta "Toddy" Suggs | 68 years, 141 days | October 28, 1948 – March 18, 2017 (his death) | [82] | |
| Frank Cady and Shirley Katherine Jones | 68 years, 68 days | June 15, 1940 – August 22, 2008 (her death) | ||
| Slim Whitman and Alma Crist Whitman | 67 years, 233 days | June 28, 1941 – February 16, 2009 (her death) | [83] [84] | |
| Iris Apfel and Carl Apfel | 67 years, 161 days | February 22, 1948 – August 1, 2015 (his death) | ||
| Alan Alda and Arlene Alda | March 15, 1957 − present | [85] | ||
| William Schallert and Rosemarie D. "Lia" Waggner | 66 years, 190 days | February 26, 1949 − September 3, 2015 (her death) | [86] [87] [88] [89] | |
| Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach | 66 years, 111 days | March 5, 1948 – June 24, 2014 (his death) | [90] [91] [92] | |
| Gigi Parrish and John Weld | 66 years+ | 1937 – June 14, 2003 (his death) | [93] [94] | |
| Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens | 65 years, 253 days | May 29, 1954 − February 5, 2020 (his death) | [95] [96] | |
| Pat Boone and Shirley Foley | 65 years, 66 days | November 7, 1953 − January 11, 2019 (her death) | [97] | |
| Eva Marie Saint and Jeffrey Hayden | 65 years, 57 days | October 28, 1951 − December 24, 2016 (his death) | [98] | |
| Jane Wyatt and Edgar Bethune Ward | 64 years, 364 days | November 9, 1935 - November 8, 2000 (his death) | [99] [100] | |
| Walter Cronkite and Betsy Cronkite | 64 years, 350 days | March 30, 1940 – March 15, 2005 (her death) | ||
| Danny Aiello and Sandy Cohen | 64 years, 329 days | January 8, 1955 − December 13, 2019 (his death) | [101] | |
| Mary Carlisle and James Blakely | 64 years, 323 days | March 14, 1942 – January 30, 2007 (his death) | [102] | |
| Carl Reiner and Estelle Reiner | 64 years, 306 days | December 24, 1943 − October 25, 2008 (her death) | [103] | |
| Lydia Clarke and Charlton Heston | 64 years, 19 days | March 17, 1944 − April 5, 2008 (his death) | [104] [105] | |
| Doris Belack and Philip Rose | 64 years+ | 1946 – May 31, 2011 (his death) | ||
| James Cagney and Frances Willard Vernon | 63 years, 181 days | September 28, 1922 – March 30, 1986 (his death) | [106] [107] | |
| Conrad Bain and Monica Sloan | 63 years, 176 days | September 4, 1945 – February 26, 2009 (her death) | ||
| Ed Nelson and Patricia Miller Nelson | 63 years, 62 days | June 9, 1951 – August 9, 2014 (his death) | ||
| Edna Mae Cooper and Karl Brown | 63 years+ | 1922 – June 27, 1986 (her death) | ||
| Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay | 62 years, 208 days | Jan 4, 1926 – July 29, 1988 (her death) | [108] | |
| Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss | October 26, 1961 − present | [109] [110] | ||
| Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton | December 23, 1961 − present | [111] [112] | ||
| Mark Margolis and Jacqueline Margolis | 61 years, 64 days | June 3, 1962 − August 3, 2023 (his death) | [113] | |
| Francis Ford Coppola and Eleanor Coppola | 61 years, 70 days | February 2, 1963 − April 12, 2024 (her death) | [114] [115] [116] | |
| Dick Van Patten and Patricia Poole | 61 years, 59 days | April 25, 1954 − June 23, 2015 (his death) | [117] [118] | |
| Jamie Farr and Joy Ann Richards | February 16, 1963 - present | [119] | ||
| Lee Grant and Joseph Feury | 61 years+ | 1962 – present | ||
| Brenda Lee and Ronnie Shacklett | April 24, 1963 – present | [120] [121] | ||
| Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara | 60 years, 251 days | September 14, 1954 – May 23, 2015 (her death) | [122] | |
| Kristine Miller and William Schuyler | 60 years, 136 days | July 27, 1953 − December 10, 2013 (his death) | [123] | |
| Bob Newhart and Virginia Quinn | 60 years, 101 days | January 12, 1963 − April 23, 2023 (her death) | [124] [125] | |
| Bill Cosby and Camille Hanks Cosby | January 25, 1964 – present | [126] | ||
| Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin | 60 years, 34 days | May 15, 1948 – June 17, 2008 (her death) | ||
| Chubby Checker and Catharina Lodders | April 12, 1964 – present | |||
| Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Dean | 59 years, 147 days | October 15, 1938 – March 10, 1998 (his death) | ||
| Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade | 59 years, 102 days | June 26, 1955 — October 5, 2014 (his death) | ||
| Adolph Zukor and Lottie Kaufman | 59 years, 89 days | January 10, 1897 – April 7, 1956 (her death) | [127] [128] | |
| Tom Jones and Melinda Trenchard | 59 years, 39 days | March 2, 1957 – April 10, 2016 (her death) | [129] | |
| William Christopher and Barbara O'Connor | 59 years+ | 1957 − December 31, 2016 (his death) | [130] [131] [132] | |
| Larry Hagman and Maj Axelsson | 58 years, 341 days | December 18, 1954 − November 23, 2012 (his death) | ||
| James Garner and Lois Clarke | 57 years, 336 days | August 17, 1956 − July 19, 2014 (his death) | ||
| Dolly Parton and Carl Dean | May 30, 1966 − present | [133] | ||
| Margia Dean and Felipe Alvarez | 57 years, 299 days | August 29, 1965 – June 23, 2023 (her death) | ||
| Vince McMahon and Linda Edwards | August 26, 1966 − present | |||
| Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Spence | 57 years, 107 days | March 16, 1940 − July 1, 1997 (his death) | [134] [135] | |
| Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee | 57 years, 57 days | December 9, 1948 − February 4, 2005 (his death) | [136] | |
| Laurence Irving and Rosalind Frances Woolner | 57 years+ | 1920 – December 14, 1978 (her death) | [137] | |
| Joel McCrea and Frances Dee | 57 years, 0 days | October 20, 1933 - October 20, 1990 (his death) | [138] | |
| Engelbert Humperdinck and Patricia Healey | 56 years, 307 days | April 18, 1964 − February 18, 2021 (her death) | [139] | |
| Cecil B. DeMille and Constance Adams | 56 years, 158 days | August 16, 1902 − January 21, 1959 (his death) | ||
| René Auberjonois and Judith Mihalyi | 56 years, 51 days | October 19, 1963 – December 8, 2019 (his death) | ||
| Darryl F. Zanuck and Virginia Fox | 55 years, 333 days | January 24, 1924 – December 22, 1979 (his death) | ||
| Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé | 55 years, 224 days | December 29, 1957 − August 10, 2013 (her death) | ||
| Shane Rimmer and Sheila Logan | 55 years, 190 days | September 21, 1963 – March 29, 2019 (his death) | [140] | |
| John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan | 55 years, 158 days | 26 August 1935 – 30 January 1991 (his death) | ||
| Lupita Tovar and Paul Kohner | 55 years, 138 days | 31 October 1932 – 16 March 1988 (his death) | ||
| Mary Kay Jones and Johnny Stearns | 55 years, 113 days | 11 August 1946 − December 1, 2001 (his death) | [141] | |
| Christopher Walken and Georgianne Walken | 55 years, 3 months | January 1969 – present | ||
| Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo | July 26, 1969 – present | [142] | ||
| Shirley Temple and Charles Alden Black | 54 years, 232 days | December 16, 1950 – August 4, 2005 (his death) | ||
| Yakima Canutt and Minnie Audrea Yeager | 54 years, 194 days | November 12, 1931 – May 24, 1986 (his death) | ||
| Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling | 54 years, 190 days | November 21, 1951 − May 30, 2006 (his death) | [143] | |
| Bruce Dern and Andrea Beckett | October 20, 1969 − present | |||
| Grant Whytock and Leotta Whytock | 54 years, 135 days | June 1, 1918 – October 13, 1972 (her death) | ||
| Phil Harris and Alice Faye | 54 years, 3 months | May 1941 – August 11, 1995 (his death) | [144] | |
| Christopher Lee and Birgit Krøncke | 54 years, 82 days | March 17, 1961 – June 7, 2015 (his death) | [145] | |
| Frances Chaney and Ring Lardner Jr. | 54 years, 34 days | September 28, 1946 – October 31, 2000 (his death) | ||
| Ann Blyth and Dr. James Vincent McNulty | 53 years, 320 days | June 27, 1953 – May 13, 2007 (his death) | [146] | |
| Billy Crystal and Janice Goldfinger | June 4, 1970 - present | [147] | ||
| Barry Gibb and Linda Gray | September 1, 1970 – present | |||
| Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw | 53 years, 170 days | August 12, 1949 – January 29, 2003 (his death) | [148] [149] | |
| Ray Milland and Muriel Weber | 53 years, 162 days | September 30, 1932 — March 10, 1986 (his death) | ||
| Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville | 53 years, 149 days | December 2, 1926 — April 29, 1980 (his death) | ||
| Roger Corman and Julie Corman | December 23, 1970 – May 9th, 2024 (his death) | |||
| Stephen King and Tabitha Spruce | January 2, 1971 – present | [150] | ||
| Marlene Dietrich and Rudolf Sieber | 53 years, 39 days | May 17, 1923 – June 24, 1976 (his death) | ||
| Burt Mustin and Frances Woods | 53 years+ | 1915 – August 18, 1969 (her death) | [151] | |
| Cara Williams and Asher Dann | 53 years+ | 1964 - March 18, 2018 (his death) | ||
| Henry Hathaway and Blanche Gonzalez | 52 years, 337 days | March 12, 1932 – February 11, 1985 (his death) | ||
| Barbara Anderson and Don Burnett | June 15, 1971 - present | [152] | ||
| Billy Wilder and Audrey Young | 52 years, 271 days | June 30, 1949 – March 27, 2002 (his death) | [153] | |
| Susan Lucci and Helmut Huber | 52 years, 196 days | September 13, 1969 — March 28, 2022 (his death) | [154] [155] | |
| Frank Capra and Lucille Warner | 52 years, 152 days | February 1, 1932 – July 1, 1984 (her death) | ||
| Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan | 52 years, 93 days | March 4, 1952 − June 5, 2004 (his death) | [156] | |
| Don Rickles and Barbara Sklar | 52 years, 23 days | March 14, 1965 − April 6, 2017 (his death) | [157] | |
| Mitzi Gaynor and Jack Bean | 52 years, 16 days | November 18, 1954 − December 4, 2006 (his death) | [158] [159] | |
| Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy | 52 years+ | 1942 – September 11, 1994 (her death) | [160] | |
| John Howard Lawson and Susan Edmond Lawson | 52 years+ | 1925 – August 11, 1977 (his death) | [161] [162] | |
| Martha Scott and Mel Powell | 51 years, 276 days | July 23, 1946 – April 24, 1998 (his death) | ||
| Norman Jewison and Margaret Ann Dixon | 51 years, 139 days | July 11, 1953 – November 26, 2004 (her death) | ||
| Alexander Knox and Doris Nolan | 51 years, 117 days | December 30, 1944 – April 25, 1995 (his death) | ||
| Louise Lovely and Albert Bertie Cowen | 51 years, 113 days | November 26, 1928 – March 17, 1980 (her death) | [163] [164] | |
| Jean Speegle Howard and Rance Howard | 51 years+ | 1949 − September 2, 2000 (her death) | [165] | |
| Lewis Milestone and Kendall Lee | 51 years+ | 1926 – July 30, 1978 (her death) | ||
| Mary Lou Metzger and Richard Maloof | 50 years, 320 days | June 16, 1973 — May 1, 2024 (his death) | [166] | |
| Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman | 50 years, 241 days | January 29, 1958 − September 26, 2008 (his death) | [167] | |
| John Forsythe and Julie Warren | 50 years, 241 days | December 18, 1943 – August 15, 1994 (her death) | ||
| Walter Lantz and Grace Stafford | 50 years, 201 days | August 29, 1941 – March 17, 1992 (her death) | ||
| Rosemary Harris and John Ehle | 50 years, 154 days | October 21, 1967 – March 24, 2018 (his death) | [168] | |
| Regis Philbin and Joy Philbin | 50 years, 145 days | March 1, 1970 – July 24, 2020 (his death) | [169] | |
| Christopher Plummer and Elaine Taylor | 50 years, 124 days | October 2, 1970 – February 2, 2021 (his death) | [170] | |
| Ann-Margret and Roger Smith | 50 years, 27 days | May 8, 1967 – June 4, 2017 (his death) | [171] | |
| Joan Leslie and William Caldwell | 50 years, 20 days | March 17, 1950 – April 5, 2000 (his death) | ||
| Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk | 12 April 1974 – present | [172] | ||
| 50 years, 1 day | October 30, 1943 – October 31, 1993 (his death) | [173] | ||
| Ben E. King and Betty Davis | 50 years+ | 1964 − April 30, 2015 (his death) | ||
| Lee Phillip and William J. Bell | 50 years+ | 1954 – April 29, 2005 (his death) |