15 Longest Celebrity Marriages & Relationships

Quick Facts

It is not uncommon for celebrities who looked perfect as a couple to get divorced as fast as they got married. Some like  and and were able to hold things together for some time before it finally came crashing. Also, there are those like the  and  union which lasted for 55 hours, Carmen Electra and  who were married for 9 days, and  and Kris Humphries for 72 days. In spite of what these guys tell us about the world of celebrities and love, there are many celebrities who have married and remained together for a very long period of time, with only death separating them. Below are some of the longest celebrity marriages and relationships.

Longest Celebrity Marriages & Relationships

1. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara

Married: September 14, 1954 – May 23, 2015

Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were a comedy duo that was famous in the 1960s and 1970s for their show, The Ed Sullivan Show. The two were married for over sixty years until death did them part in 2015 with the death of Anne.

Their love story did not begin with laughter but tears. They first met in the 1950s when Meara was still a struggling actress who came out of the office of an agent who was hitting on her crying. To comfort her, Stiller who was dating a very tall woman took her for a cup of coffee and that was how their love began.

Their union was blessed with two children, Ben Stiller, and Amy Stiller.

2. Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens

Married: May 29, 1954

While Kirk is an American actor who had his best days into the 1980s, his wife Anne Buydens is a producer and actress. Before the couple met, Douglas was first married to American actress Diana Douglas from 1943 to 1951.

Kirk and Anne met in Paris when they were both working on Lust For Life with Kirk as an actor while Anne was taking charge of PR. The next year, the couple got married and had two sons; Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas who died in 2004.

3. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee

Married: 1948 – February 4, 2005

Davis and Dee also share what was one of the longest celebrity marriages in Hollywood. Both actors and civil rights activists, they were together for 57 years until the death of Ossie in 2005.

They met in 1946 in New York when Davis starred in a play called Jeb while she was an understudy for another role. The got married two years later. Their union was blessed with three children – Guy, Nora, and Hasna.

4. James Garner and Lois Clarke

Married: August 17, 1956 – July 19, 2014 

American actor, producer, and voice artist, James Garner has a unique love story with the woman he was married to for close to 60 years before his death in 2014.

The two met in 1956 and only 14 days later, they became man and wife. Clarke was previously married with a daughter and while she was Jewish, he was Methodist so their marriage was objected by their families but they went ahead with it. 14 years into the union, they separated for three months before finally coming back until the death of the actor in 2014.

5. Bob and Ginny Newhart

Married: January 12, 1963

Legendary stand-up comedian and actor, Bob Newhart met his wife, Virginia Quinn – the daughter of American film actor Bill Quinn – through Buddy Hackett who set them on a blind date.

They got married on January 12, 1963. Their union is blessed with four children – Robert, Timothy, Jennifer, and Courtney.

6. Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft

Married August 5, 1964 – June 6, 2005

Even though Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft enjoyed one of the longest celebrity marriages, they had both been married and divorced before they got married in 1964 and had remained together until the death of Anne in 2005.

It was during the rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show that the couple met in 1961 and then three years later, they got married. Their union was blessed with a son, Max Brooks.

7. Don and Barbara Rickles

Married: March 14, 1965 – April 6, 2017 

When he was in his 20s, American stand-up comedian, actor, and author, Don Rickles had problems romantically. However, when he was 30, he met Barbara Sklar through his agent. In no time, he fell for her and then when he was 39, he got married to her; this was in 1965.

They remained together until the death of the comedian in 2017. They were blessed with Mindy and Larry Rickles as their children.

8. Johnny Cash and June Carter

Married: May 1, 1968 – May 15, 2003

Country music royalty, Johnny Cash and June Carter had one of the most amazing love stories. Nonetheless, before their union, Carter was married twice while cash was married once. The first time they met was in 1956 before she got married the second time.

12 years later, the couple got married and remained together until the death of June in 2003. Only four months after her, Johnny Cash also died. They had a son together, John Carter Cash.

9. Ron and Cheryl Howard

Married: June 7, 1975 – Present

Academy Award-winning director and actor Ron Howard and actress Cheryl Alley got married in 1975 having met when they were still teenagers. Because of how early they met, Ron didn’t believe that their union was going to work out, but it did.

Their marriage is blessed with four children – Bryce Dallas Howard, Paige Howard, Reed Howard, and Jocelyn Howard.

10. Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston Bridges

Married: 5 June 1977 – Present

When he was in his 20s, American singer and actor Jeff Bridges was terrified of marriage, believing it to be a big step towards death. Because of that, he put in all the efforts to resist it.

However, when he met Susan Geston in 1975 when he was shooting for Rancho Deluxe, he just knew he was going to get married to her. Even though Susan had a broken nose and black eyes from an accident, he still fell for her and asked her out but she turned him down. They met again and that began their journey together.

They have three children – Isabelle Annie, Jessica Lily, and Haley Roselouise.

11. Meryl Streep and Don Gummer

Married: 30 September 1978

Streep is one of those very few people who are successful at almost everything they do. With much success in her professional life, her personal life with her sculptor husband, Don Gummer is also very successful. In 1978, she lost her partner of three years, John Cazale who succumbed to lung cancer.

After the death of Cazale, she left the home they shared and rented an apartment from her brother’s friend, Don Gummer. Only six months later, to the utter shock of many, they two were married. More than 4 decades later, they share four children together – Henry, Mamie, Grace, and Louisa.

12. Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson

Married: 14 January 1980 – Present

Unthinkable actor, and his wife LaTanya Richardson who is an actress and producer have been married since 1980. They met when the actor was still at Morehouse College. LaTanya played an important role in the life of the actor, helping him to get over drug addiction when she returned home to find him passed out. She got him to rehab and fixed him.

Their union is blessed with a daughter, Zoe Jackson who was born in 1982.

13. Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman

Married: January 28, 1982 – Present

Two weeks after they met in 1971, Devito and Rhea Perlman moved in together. They were in a relationship for the next 11 years before they finally tied the knot.

The couple briefly separated in 2012 and after they came back together, they remained even closer than they had ever been. They have three children together, Lucy Chet DeVito who is also an actress, Grace Fan DeVito, and Jacob Daniel DeVito.

14. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

Married: 4 July 1982 – Present

The marriage between and was not the most perfect as it was filled with infidelity, drugs, violence, and lies. In fact, after Sharon discovered his extramarital affairs, she only remained with Ozzy because she loved him and didn’t think anyone else would ever want her.

The couple met in 1979 when Sharon was only 18 and immediately, they began dating. Three years later, they were man and wife. They have three children – Aimee, Kelly, and Jack.

This is one of the not too many longest celebrity marriages mostly because of how much Sharon Osbourne was willing to take.

15. Denzel and Pauletta Washington

Married: June 25, 1983 – Present

Yet another of the longest celebrity marriages and relationships in Hollywood is that of Golden Globe-winning actor Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington. Like a good number of other couples in Hollywood, Denzel and Pauletta met on set when they were working on the TV film Wilma in 1977. A year later, they began dating.

Denzel asked his wife to marry him three times before she finally accepted and then in 1983, they got married. Their children are John David, Katia, and twins Olivia and Malcolm.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.