Hollywood loves a wedding—and lives off an acrimonious divorce even more so. Three marriages too much? In Hollywood, that’s essentially the warm-up round. Stars have made marriage a second feature, complete with whirlwind Vegas weddings, fairytale commitments, and soap-opera finales. Here’s a list of the most married celebrities in Hollywood history, from six times walking down the aisle to a whopping nine.
10. Pamela Anderson (6 Marriages)
Pamela Anderson’s romance has been nearly as legendary as her Baywatch swimsuit. She notoriously married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee a mere four days after meeting him in 1995—a roller-coaster relationship that collapsed in 1998. Since then, she married Kid Rock, poker player Rick Salomon (twice), film producer Jon Peters (although she later admitted it wasn’t official), and bodyguard Dan Hayhurst. That adds up to six ceremonies in total. Anderson quipped that she might not be finished yet.
9. Billy Bob Thornton (6 Marriages)
Oscar-winning Billy Bob Thornton has been down the aisle six times, with romantic relationships as vibrant as his life. His wives have been Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams, Pietra Dawn Cherniak, Angelina Jolie (recall the infamous vials of blood?), and Connie Angland, whom he married in 2014 after over a decade together. For Thornton, it seems like marriage number six could be the winner.
8. Rue McClanahan (6–7 Marriages)
Playing Golden Girls’ Blanche Devereaux, Rue McClanahan was notorious for her flirtations—and the real-life credentials caught up with the character. She married a minimum of six men, and possibly seven, including Tom Bish, Norman Hartweg, Peter DeMaio, Gus Fisher, Tom Keel, and Morrow Wilson. She even named her memoir My First Five Husbands. And the Ones Who Got Away. That says it all.
7. Lana Turner (8 Marriages)
One of the great leading ladies of Old Hollywood, Lana Turner, had eight marriages to seven grooms. Among them were her whirlwind affairs with musician Artie Shaw for four months, two marriages to Joseph Stephen Crane, and subsequent marriages to Bob Topping, Lex Barker, Fred May, Robert Eaton, and Ronald Pellar. Her love life was as dramatic as those in her movies.
6. Elizabeth Taylor (8 Marriages)
Elizabeth Taylor was well-nigh Hollywood’s patron saint of marriage. She married eight times to seven men: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice!), John Warner, and Larry Fortensky. Her passionate, diamond-spangled romance with Burton—two marriages and two divorces—is the stuff of legend.
5. Mickey Rooney (8 Marriages)
Legendary actor Mickey Rooney lived nearly a century and packed in eight marriages along the way. His first was to Ava Gardner, followed by Betty Jane Phillips, Martha Vickers, Elaine Devry, Barbara Thomason, Marge Lane, Carolyn Hockett, and finally Jan Chamberlin. Rooney once joked, “Weddings? I’ve been to a lot of them”—a serious understatement.
4. Larry King (8 Marriages)
Broadcasting icon Larry King was nearly as famous for his suspenders as for his serial nuptials. He married eight times to seven women, including two marriages to Alene Akins. His final marriage to Shawn Southwick was unraveling at the time of his death in 2021. King summed it up best: “I got married a lot. In my head, I’m not a marrying guy.”
3. Jennifer O’Neill (9 Marriages)
Actress Jennifer O’Neill, most famously known for Summer of ’42, has the record for one of Hollywood’s busiest bride histories—nine marriages to eight grooms. She married for the first time at 17 years old and even remarried one ex-husband, Richard Alan Brown, after a previous breakup. Her life is the testimony that hope springs eternal when it comes to “the one.”
2. Zsa Zsa Gabor (9 Marriages)
As far as wedlock goes, Zsa Zsa Gabor is still Hollywood royalty. She married nine times, with a list that ranged from Turkish politician Burhan Asaf Belge, to hotel tycoon Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders, banker Herbert Hutner, oil trust heir Joshua S. Cosden Jr., Mattel co-founder Jack Ryan, attorney Michael O’Hara, actor Felipe de Alba (brief one-day marriage), and lastly Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, who stayed with her until she passed on at 99. Ninth time truly was the charm.
1. Honorable Mentions
While these top the charts, many others have their own significant track records. Richard Pryor was married seven times (to five women), always going back to the exes. Joan Collins, Martin Scorsese, and David Foster each boast five marriages. Nicolas Cage has also uttered “I do” five times—his briefest marriage lasted four days in Vegas. And the stars who double-dipped with the same partner: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Richard Pryor and Jennifer Lee, Larry King and Alene Akins.
The reasons are different—some point to growing apart, others the immense pressure of fame, hectic schedules, or simply seeking love over and over. Marriage is in Hollywood both a romantic gesture and a high-risk gamble. Yet if there’s something that these stories are guaranteed to prove, it’s that in Tinseltown, hope of finding forever love never really dies—no matter how many wedding rings it may require.