From Jennifer Lopez to Nicholas Cage: Stars Who've Been Married Four Times or More

Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jennifer Lopez and Billy Bob Thornton are among the celebrities who have made multiple trips down the aisle

Many celebrities have walked down the aisle more than once over the years.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics suggest a rise in marriages and a slight dip in divorces, most relationships often stray from fairy-tale endings.

Despite their glamorous lives, celebrities face the same trials in love as everyone else — whether being stuck in less-than-ideal situations, evolving beyond their spouse or leading opposite lives. Yet, some take multiple spins at marriage in hopes of finding lasting love.

"What I can teach my children is that real love exists," Jennifer Lopez, a four-time bride, told PEOPLE in February 2022. "Some things can be forever, but it doesn't mean they just have a straight line."

From Elizabeth Taylor's eight marriages to seven men to Nicolas Cage's five divorces, here are the stars who've said "I do" four or more times.

Jennifer Lopez

Number of Marriages: 4

When it comes to saying "I do," Lopez has been around the block four times. After her 11-month union to actor Ojani Noa ended in 1998, the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" singer and Shotgun Wedding star married backup dancer Cris Judd in 2001 before divorcing in 2003. She was then married to actor and singer Marc Anthony — with whom she shares two children, Emme and Max — for a decade before the pair finalized their divorce in June 2014.

Upon rekindling their relationship (which first transpired in the early aughts), Lopez and actor Ben Affleck wed in an intimate ceremony in July 2022.

"I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him," she told PEOPLE. "It's a beautiful love story that we got a second chance."

Ben Folds

Number of Marriages: 5

Singer-songwriter Ben Folds has been married and divorced five times. His first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart (songwriter Anna Goodman), which lasted from 1987 to 1992. He was then married to Kate Rosen from 1996 to 1997, musical artist Frally Hynes — with whom he shares twins, Louis and Gracie — from 1999 to 2006 and Fleur Stanbrook from 2007 to 2011.

In 2017, Folds married former Royal Ballet dancer Emma Sandall, and the pair divorced after six years of marriage in February 2024.

Jim Edmonds

Number of Marriages: 4

The former professional baseball center fielder Jim Edmonds and realtor Kortnie O'Connor tied the knot in September 2022 in front of 32 guests at the Giardino del Mosaico, a 19th-century villa in Lake Como, Italy.

"The best part of the wedding is I now get to spend the rest of my life with Kortnie," Edmonds told PEOPLE. "For the first time in my life, I finally understand true happiness."

He was previously married to The Real Housewives of Orange County's LeeAnn Horton, who died of cancer in July 2015, and to Allison Jayne Raski, in a marriage that lasted from 2008 to 2014. He had two kids each from both relationships.

Edmonds' third marriage was to Meghan King, which was showcased on The Real Housewives of Orange County. The two married in 2014 and split in 2019. They share three kids: twin boys Hart and Hayes and daughter Aspen.

Nicolas Cage

Number of Marriages: 5

Cage was married to Patricia Arquette from 1995 to 2001. He followed that up with a short-lived union with Lisa Marie Presley, whom he married in 2002 and filed for divorce just a few months later. The actor was then married to Alice Kim from 2004 to 2016, with whom he shares a son named Kal-El.

In 2019, he married make-up artist Erika Koike but requested a divorce just four days after their Las Vegas elopement. The marriage was annulled two months later.

He surprised fans on March 5, 2021, when news broke he'd wed for a fifth time. The actor and girlfriend Riko Shibata quietly tied the knot on Feb. 16, 2022, in a small ceremony at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. In September of that same year, they welcomed a daughter named August, Cage's third child. (He also shares a son, Weston, with his ex-girlfriend, Christina Fulton.)

"I'm really happily married," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2022. "I know five is a lot, but I think I got it right this time."

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Number of Marriages: 9

Zsa Zsa Gabor leads the pack of stars who have been married the most. She married Turkish politician Burhan Asaf Belge in 1935 and divorced him in 1941. She was then married to Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton from 1942 to 1947. Next was actor George Sanders from 1949 to 1954; then investment banker Herbert Hutner, with whom she tied the knot in 1962. Six days after splitting from Hunter on March 3, 1966, she married Joshua S. Cosden Jr., whom she divorced in 1967.

She wouldn't marry again until she wed designer Jack Ryan in 1975. The pair divorced on Aug. 24, 1976, and she married Michael O'Hara on Aug. 27, followed by another divorce in 1983. Then came her short-lived marriage to actor Felipe de Alba — from April 13, 1983, to April 14, 1983 — which was annulled because her divorce was not yet finalized.

Finally, she wed Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt in 1986; the pair were together until she died at age 99 in 2016. In 2021, von Anhalt traveled to her birthplace of Budapest to bury her ashes.

"That's what she wanted, and that's what she had in her last will," he told Reuters in 2021. "She definitely wanted to be in Budapest because her father is buried here too."

Jennifer O'Neill

Number of Marriages: 9

Jennifer O'Neill was married nine times to eight men, the first of whom, Dean Rossiter, she wed in 1965 at just 17. They divorced in 1971, and the actress married her second husband (Joseph Koster) a year later. Following the couple's separation in 1974, O'Neill was married to Chippendales choreographer Nick De Noia — who also served as her manager and was not out at the time — from 1975 until their divorce in 1976. Two years later, she married singer Jeff Barry, whom she divorced in 1979.

Later that year, the actress married John Lederer, though the couple split in 1983. Three years later, she married Richard Alan Brown, and they divorced in 1989. Her next husband was actor Neil L. Bonin, whom she married in 1992; the marriage was annulled a year later. In 1993, she re-married her ex-husband Brown, but the pair divorced again three years later.

Since 1996, she has been married to record producer Mervin Sidney Louque, Jr.

Mickey Rooney

Number of Marriages: 8

To sum up his love life, Mickey Rooney joked to PEOPLE in 1993: "Weddings? I've been to a lot of them."

The actor's first of eight marriages was to actress Ava Gardner in 1942, which ended in 1943. He then married Betty Jane Phillips in 1944 — with whom he had two children — and they divorced in 1949. Shortly thereafter, he was wed to model Martha Vickers from 1949 to 1951. He followed that up by marrying actress Elaine Mahnken a year later, whom he divorced in 1958.

In 1958, Rooney married actress Barbara Ann Thomason — who was murdered in 1966 by a stuntman and actor whom she had been having an affair with. Rooney married his late wife's best friend, Marge Lane, but the pair divorced after just 100 days together. He was then married to Carolyn Hockett from 1969 to 1975. In 1978, he wed singer Jan Chamberlin, and the pair remained married until he died in 2014 (though they had separated in 2012 due to Rooney alleging elder abuse by Chamberlin's son, Christopher Aber).

When PEOPLE asked Rooney in 1993 if he'd marry all these women again, he said, "Absolutely. I loved every one of them."

Larry King

Number of Marriages: 8

Larry King was married eight times to seven women, beginning with a high school sweetheart in his late teen years until his wife, Shawn Southwick, from whom he was estranged at the time of his death.

"I got married a lot. In my head, I'm not a marrying guy," the late icon told PEOPLE in 2020. "When I grew up, nobody lived together. If you fell in love, you got married. And so I married the ones that I loved. But what I loved at 20 is not what I loved at 30, and what I loved at 30 is not what I loved at 40."

In 1952, King married Freda Miller, but their marriage was allegedly annulled by their disapproving parents. Then, King was married to Annette Kaye for less than one year in 1961. That same year, he married Alene Akins (for the first time), and the pair divorced in 1963. He wed Mickey Sutphin in 1964, but she divorced him two years later in 1967.

He married Akins again in 1968, and the pair split in 1971. In 1976, he married Sharon Lepore, though the pair divorced in 1983. Six years later, King married Julie Alexander, but the pair separated in 1990 and divorced in 1992. In 1997, he and Southwick tied the knot, and the pair were together until King filed for divorce in 2019. The two were amid divorce proceedings when King died in January 2021.

Elizabeth Taylor

Number of Marriages: 8

Known for her impressive number of marriages, Taylor was married to seven men and had eight weddings. She was just 18 when she married hotel heir Conrad Hilton, Jr. in 1950, but the pair divorced eight months later. In 1952, she wed actor Michael Wilding — who was 20 years her senior — and the pair announced their separation in 1956 and were divorced in 1957.

One month after her divorce was finalized, Taylor married theater producer Mike Todd, who passed away tragically in a plane crash in 1958. One year later, following a scandalous affair, she married singer Eddie Fisher, who had been married to her friend Debbie Reynolds. They divorced in 1964, and Taylor married frequent costar Richard Burton 10 days later. They divorced for the first time 10 years later in 1974, only to remarry in 1975 and split for a final time in 1976.

She then married former U.S. senator John Warner in 1976, a relationship that ended with their 1982 divorce. She married her eighth and final husband, Larry Fortensky, in 1991, and they divorced in 1996. (She died at age 79 in 2011.)

Lana Turner

Number of Marriages: 8

Lana Turner was married eight times. In 1939, the classic Hollywood beauty eloped with composer Artie Shaw, a relationship that lasted only four months.

In 1942, she married actor Joseph Stephen Crane, then had their marriage annulled in 1943 when she found out that he was not really divorced from his wife, Carol Ann Kurtz. They remarried when Turner discovered she was pregnant with their daughter, but they divorced in 1944.

Turner married socialite Henry J. Topping, Jr. in 1948, and they divorced in 1952. A year later, she married actor Lex Barker, and they divorced in 1957. Then followed marriages (and divorces) to businessman Fred May (1960 to 1962), former CEO of Chrysler Corporation Robert Eaton (1965 to 1969) and hypnotist Ronald Dante (1969 to 1972). She remained unmarried until her death in 1995.

Richard Pryor

Number of Marriages: 7

Richard Pryor made it to the altar seven times, marrying and remarrying a few of his exes.

He was first married to Patricia Price in 1961, though the union only lasted one year. In 1967, he married Shelley Bonis, but they divorced in 1969. In 1977, he married actress Deborah McGuire, and the pair divorced the following year. Pryor was then married to Jennifer Lee from 1981 to 1982. In 1986, Pryor married actress Flynn Belaine, divorcing her in 1987 and giving it another go from 1990 to 1991. In 2001, Pryor again married Jennifer Lee, and they were married until his death in 2005.

"I did return in the summer of '94, and we eventually remarried," Lee recalled to PEOPLE in March 2019. "[Richard] kept apologizing for some of the things that he'd done. He kept saying, 'Jennifer, I hurt you. I was horrible to you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am.' There you've got a man sick sitting in a wheelchair, shadow of his former self, dealing with his life and looking back, happy to deal with it. He came to terms with it, and so did I."

Rue McClanahan

Number of Marriages: 6

Rue McClanahan was married enough times that she wrote the book on it! No, really, she wrote the 2008 memoir First Five Husbands … and the Ones Who Got Away. 

The Golden Girls actress was married to Tom Bish from 1958 to 1959, actor Norman Hartweg from 1959 to 1961 and Peter DeMaio from 1964 to 1971. In 1976, she married Sam "Gussie" Fisher, but their marriage ended in 1979. After McClanahan married Tom Keel in 1984, the pair divorced in 1985.

She wouldn't marry again until 1997 when she wed actor Morrow Wilson, and the two remained together until she died at age 76 in 2010.

Billy Bob Thornton

Number of Marriages: 6

From 1978 to 1980, Billy Bob Thornton was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, with whom he had a daughter, Amanda Brumfield. He then wed Toni Lawrence from 1986 to 1988.

In 1990, he tied the knot with Cynda Williams, but their marriage ended two years later. Thorton also shares two sons with former Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak, whom he was married to from 1993 to 1997.

Following his divorce from actress Angelina Jolie in 2003, Thornton welcomed a daughter named Bella with Connie Angland, whom he dated for 12 years before they tied the knot in 2014.

Gary Oldman

Number of Marriages: 5

Gary Oldman, who has been married to writer Gisele Schmidt since 2017, has a few marriages under his belt. He was previously married to actress Lesley Manville — with whom he shares their son Alfie — from 1987 to 1990, and then actress Uma Thurman from 1990 until 1992. Oldman married model Donya Fiorentino in 1997, and the pair welcomed two sons before they divorced in 2001. In 2008, he tied the knot with singer and actress Alexandra Edenborough, a union that ended with their 2015 divorce.

David Foster

Number of Marriages: 5

Before marrying Katharine McPhee in 2019 (the pair welcomed a child in 2020), David Foster was previously married to singer B.J. Cook from 1972 to 1981, Rebecca Dyer from 1982 to 1986, songwriter Linda Thompson from 1991 to 2005 and former model Yolanda Hadid from 2011 to 2017.

In March 2024, the father of six told PEOPLE, "[Marriage] is a moving target, as you probably know," adding that his fifth marriage with McPhee doesn't have "any hard and fast rules."

Rita Hayworth

Number of Marriages: 5

Rita Hayworth was married to promoter Edward C. Judson from 1937 to 1942 before her marriage to director Orson Welles from 1943 to 1947. After their split, the Hollywood starlet married socialite Prince Aly Khan in 1949, though the pair divorced in 1953. Shortly thereafter, Hayworth married actor Dick Haymes, and the pair divorced following a public altercation in which Haymes struck Hayworth in 1955. She married producer James Hill in 1958 but filed for divorce in 1961. (She died in 1987.)

Pamela Anderson

Number of Marriages: 6-ish

Pamela Anderson married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in 1995 after knowing him for just 96 hours. The pair separated in 1998 after having two kids together. Anderson married musician Kid Rock in July 2006, but the pair broke up that November.

Later that year, the Baywatch alum married professional poker player Rick Salomon but had the marriage annulled less than six months later. Anderson and Salomon remarried in 2014, only to divorce a few months afterward. In January 2020, Anderson secretly wed movie producer Jon Peters — only for the pair to announce their split two weeks later and confirm they were never legally married. On Christmas Eve 2020, Anderson married bodyguard Dan Hayhurst, but PEOPLE later confirmed the pair had split after one year of marriage.

During a February 2023 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel asked Anderson whether she may get married again.

"God, what a crazy question," Anderson said. "I don't know, I hope so. I still have a lot of life to live."

Kenny Rogers

Number of Marriages: 5

Kenny Rogers was married five times and had five children before he died at age 81.

The late singer was married to his first wife, artist Janice Gordon, from 1958 to 1960. Then, he was married to Jean Rogers from 1960 to 1963. He was next married to Margo Anderson from 1964 to 1976 and actress Marianne Gordon from 1977 to 1993. For the fifth (and final) time, he tied the knot with Wanda Miller in 1997. They were married for 22 years until his death.

Joan Collins

Number of Marriages: 5

Joan Collins' first husband was actor Maxwell Reed, whom she married in May 1952 and divorced in 1956. Then, she was married to Anthony Newley from 1963 to 1971 and Ron Kass from 1972 to 1983. The Dynasty star next married Swedish singer Peter Holm in 1985, and the pair divorced in 1987. In February 2002, she married her fifth and current husband, Percy Gibson, who she told PEOPLE in March 2002 is "the most honorable man [she's] ever met."

"I kissed a lot of frogs before I found my prince," Collins wrote in her 2011 memoir The World According to Joan. "For those women who are looking for a life partner, that old saying that men are like buses and 'if you wait long enough, the right one will come along' is true for a reason."

George Foreman

Number of Marriages: 5

Before he and Mary Joan Martelly tied the knot in 1985, famed boxer George Foreman was married to Adrienne Calhoun (from 1971 to 1974), Cynthia Lewis (from 1977 to 1979), Sharon Goodson (from 1981 to 1982) and Andrea Skeete (from 1982 to 1985). He has five sons (all named George) and seven daughters from his relationships.

James Cameron

Number of Marriages: 5

James Cameron (known for blockbuster films like Titanic and the Avatar franchise) was married to his first wife, Sharon Williams, from 1978 to 1984. Then, he was wed to Gale Ann Hurd from 1985 to 1989. Later that year, the filmmaker married director Kathryn Bigelow, though they would divorce in 1991. In 1997, he married Linda Hamilton, though the pair separated in 1999.

Since 2000, Cameron has been married to former model and actress Suzy Amis.

"Being attracted to strong independent women has the downside that they're strong independent women — they inherently don't need you," he told The Guardian in August 2017. "Fortunately, I'm married now to a strong, independent woman who does believe she needs me."

Martin Scorsese

Number of Marriages: 5

Director Martin Scorsese married his first wife, Laraine Marie Brennan, in 1965, and the pair split in 1972. In 1977, he divorced author Julia Cameron after one year of marriage. He was then married to actress Isabella Rossellini from 1979 to 1982 and Barbara De Fina from 1985 to 1991.

He has been married to Helen Morris — with whom he shares a daughter named Francesca — since 1999.

"You make a family with a person like Helen," Scorsese told Talk Magazine. "She's someone I want to be with, she's a companion. I learn a great deal from her."

Billy Joel

Number of Marriages: 4

Billy Joel has been married four times, first to his former manager Elizabeth Weber from 1973 to 1982 and then to his "Uptown Girl" Christie Brinkley from 1985 to 1994. The piano man married chef Katie Lee in 2004, but the pair split in 2010. He and Alexis Roderick tied the knot at his estate in 2015 and have since welcomed two daughters, Della Rose and Remy Anne. (Joel also shares a daughter, Alexa Ray, with Brinkley.)

Frank Sinatra

Number of Marriages: 4

Frank Sinatra had his fair share of marriages. From 1939 to 1951, he was married to his childhood sweetheart, Nancy Barbato, with whom he had three children. He then married Ava Gardner in 1951, divorcing six years later. In 1966, he married actress Mia Farrow, and the pair divorced in 1968 (though she revealed to Vanity Fair in 2013 that they "never really split up"). He married Barbara Marx in 1976; they were together until his death in 1998.

Melanie Griffith

Number of Marriages: 4

Melanie Griffith has said "I do" four times and stated she won't try for a fifth marriage.

"I really don't think it's relevant for anyone anymore. But especially if you're 60 and you have four kids, and you're living the life you've always wanted," she told InStyle magazine in August 2018. "Then why get married? It's, like, I would love to fall in love and have a romance, a relationship, but I haven't. I keep looking. I've had a couple of lovers but not a relationship."

She was married to actor Don Johnson for six months in 1976 and followed up with a marriage to actor Steven Bauer from 1981 to 1989. In 1989, she married Johnson again, and the pair stayed together until 1996. Later that year, Griffith married actor Antonio Banderas before the two split in 2015. 

Geena Davis

Number of Marriages: 4

Geena Davis has made the trip down the aisle four times: first to director restaurateur Richard Emmolo from 1982 to 1983, then to actor Jeff Goldblum in a short-lived marriage from 1987 to 1990, followed by director Renny Harlin from 1993 to 1998 and then surgeon Reza Jarrahy — with whom she shares three children — from 2001 to 2017.

Liza Minnelli

Number of Marriages: 4

Liza Minnelli has wed four times. The showstopping actress' first marriage was to musician Peter Allen from 1967 to 1974, then to producer Jack Haley Jr. from 1974 to 1979, then to sculptor Mark Gero from 1979 to 1992 and to film producer David Gest from 2002 to 2007.

Barbara Walters

Number of Marriages: 4

Before Barbara Walters died at 93 in December 2022, she was married four times to three different husbands. The legendary journalist's first marriage to Robert Henry Katz ended in 1955, after less than a year together. In 1963, she married theater producer Lee Guber, and the pair welcomed their daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, before divorcing in 1976. Walters then married TV producer Merv Adelson twice — first from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992.

Christie Brinkley

Number of Marriages: 4

Brinkley has been married four times. Previous spouses include architect Jean-François Allaux (1973 to 1981), Joel (1985 to 1994), real estate developer Richard Taubman (1994 to 1995) and architect Peter Cook (1996 to 2008).

Though the supermodel entrepreneur "remains open" to another relationship, she told PEOPLE in January 2024 that she's "pretty comfortable with [her] life the way it is."

She added, "I always said my whole life that I think that you have to be happy alone so that you get with a man for the right reasons and you're not clinging to him because you need to, you know?"

Lisa Marie Presley

Number of Marriages: 4

The only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie married her first husband, musician Danny Keough (with whom she shared Riley Keough), in 1988 — splitting in 1996. Days later, she married music sensation Michael Jackson, though they would divorce that same year. Presley then married Cage in 2002, and the pair filed for divorce three months later — their divorce was finalized in 2004.

Presley married Michael Lockwood in 2006. Together, the pair had twin daughters, Harper and Finley, and divorced in 2016 — before she died at age 54 in January 2023.

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