A Hollywood marriage originally meant a glamorous high society marriage between celebrities involved in the US 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. The term developed the negative connotations fairly early; by the 1930s, a "Hollywood marriage" was a marriage both glamorous and short-lived.
Issues 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.
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. 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."
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. 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."
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 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. 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. A Forbes article placed "professional athletes and entertainers" together and with a high divorce rate.
A study of American couples in Demography found that, on the whole, wealth correlates against divorce, at least for couples with a net worth of up to $400,000.
Entertainers married a year or less 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.)
Couple Duration Dates Notes Source Britney Spears and Jason Alexander 56 hours January 2004 Annulled Nicolas Cage and Erika Koike 4 days March 23–27, 2019 Annulled Elliott Lewis and Ann Wigton 5 days August 30 – September 4, 1940 Annulled Michelle Phillips and Dennis Hopper 8 days October 31 – November 8, 1970 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. Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg 9 days July 12–21, 1998 Evans's fifth of seven marriages. Annulled. Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters 12 days January 20 – February 1, 2020 Marriage certificate never officially enacted. 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. Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds 2 weeks January 2008 Mario Lopez and Ali Landry 18 days April 24 – May 2004 Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas 19 days February–March 1994 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. Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman 42 days June 27 – August 4, 1964 Separated August 4, divorce mutually requested October 21 and granted November 18. Kim Darby and James Westmoreland 47 days 1970 Harlan Ellison and Loretta Patrick 7 weeks 1966 Ellison's third and shortest of five marriages. Ethel Merman and William Smith 2 months 1940–1941 Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews 2 months 1992 Annulled Chris Kattan and Sunshine Deia Tutt 2 months 2008–2009 Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries 72 days 2011 Divorce was finalized in 2013 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. 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 Michael Kopech and Vanessa Morgan 157 days January 4 – June 19, 2020 Drew Barrymore and Tom Green 163 days July 7 – December 17, 2001 Shannen Doherty and Ashley Hamilton > 6 months 1993 – March 1994 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, 1998 – April 1999 Rodman filed for an annulment 9 days later but they reconciled before mutually agreeing to divorce 6 months later. Connie Francis and Bob Parkinson < 7 months June – unknown end, 1985 Francis's fourth and final marriage. "Diana Ross Preparing Nuptials", New York Daily News. October 25, 1985. Retrieved July 8, 2020. 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. Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus 8 months December 2018 - August 2019 Carly Pearce and Michael Ray 8 months October 6, 2019 – June 19, 2020 Rick Salomon and Shannen Doherty 9 months 2002–2003 Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton Jr. 205 days May 6 – November 27, 1950 Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd 218 days September 2001 – June 2002 Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly 10 months September 1996 – July 1997 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. Connie Francis and Izzy Marion 10 months January – November 1971 Francis's second of four marriages. Eder, Shirley. "'Marigolds' Sends Patient for a Change", Detroit Free Press. October 31, 1971. p. 33. Rick Salomon and Pamela Anderson 10 weeks 1 year 2007–2008, 2014–2015 Married and remarried Desi Arnaz Jr. and Linda Purl < 1 year 1979 – January 3, 1980 Connie Francis and Dick Kanellis < 1 year 1964 Francis's first of four marriages, undertaken after Francis was unable to get her father's blessing to marry her first choice Bobby Darin.Nolasco, Stephanie. "Connie Francis reflects on her romance with Bobby Darin before his untimely death", Fox News. February 9, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2021. "Inside Track", Billboard. June 23, 1973. p. 86. Retrieved July 8, 2020. James Caan and Sheila Marie Ryan > 1 year 1976–1977 Son: Scott Caan Angela Lansbury and Richard Cromwell > 1 year September 27, 1945 – September 1946 Her second marriage would last 53 years. 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. 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 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. Martin Scorsese and Julia Cameron 1 year 1976–1977 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 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. 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
Entertainers married 50 years or more, active Entertainment couples whose relationships last for decades, and/or life, are occasionally used as a counterpoint when referring to "Hollywood marriage". 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 monogamous marriages. Tom Jones, for example, had many extramarital affairs throughout his marriage.)