Hollywood marriage
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, 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.| 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. Bush unsuccessfully petitioned for annulment. Divorced. | |
| 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, to date, final marriage. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| 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
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.Legend:
| Couple | Duration | Dates | Source |
| Irving Benson and Lillian Waldowsky | 79 years, 105 days | November 19, 1936 – March 3, 2016 | |
| Peggy Craven and Norman Lloyd | 75 years, 65 days | June 29, 1936 – August 30, 2011 | |
| William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett | June 30, 1951 − present | ||
| Art Linkletter and Lois Linkletter | 74 years, 172 days | November 25, 1935 – May 16, 2010 | |
| Johnnie Wright and Kitty Wells | 73 years, 332 days | October 30, 1937 – September 27, 2011 | |
| Charles Lane and Ruth Covell Lane | 71 years, 233 days | April 12, 1931 – November 30, 2002 | |
| Karl Malden and Mona Greenberg | 70 years, 195 days | December 18, 1938 – July 1, 2009 | |
| Inga Swenson and Lowell Harris | 70 years, 152 days | February 21, 1953 – July 23, 2023 | |
| Joan Evans and Kirby Weatherly | 70 years, 137 days | August 15, 1952 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Pete Seeger and Toshi Aline Ohta | 69 years, 354 days | July 20, 1943 – July 9, 2013 | |
| Monty Hall and Marilyn Doreen Plottel | 69 years, 260 days | September 28, 1947 – June 5, 2017 | |
| Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim | 69 years, 214 days | January 22, 1945 – August 24, 2014 | |
| Stan Lee and Joan Boocock | 69 years, 214 days | December 5, 1947 – July 6, 2017 | |
| Nehemiah Persoff and Thia Persoff | 69 years, 163 days | August 22, 1951 − February 1, 2021 | |
| Bob Hope and Dolores Reade | 69 years, 158 days | February 19, 1934 – July 27, 2003 | |
| Arlene Weiss and Alan Alda | March 15, 1957 − present | ||
| Chuck Berry and Thelmetta "Toddy" Suggs | 68 years, 141 days | October 28, 1948 – March 18, 2017 | |
| Frank Cady and Shirley Katherine Jones | 68 years, 68 days | June 15, 1940 – August 22, 2008 | |
| Slim Whitman and Alma Crist Whitman | 67 years, 233 days | June 28, 1941 – February 16, 2009 | |
| Iris Apfel and Carl Apfel | 67 years, 161 days | February 22, 1948 – August 1, 2015 | |
| Mike Connors and Mary Lou Willey | 67 years, 138 days | September 10, 1949 – January 26, 2017 | |
| Gary Conway and Marian McKnight | December 21, 1958 − present | ||
| William Schallert and Rosemarie D. "Lia" Waggner | 66 years, 190 days | February 26, 1949 − September 3, 2015 | |
| Bob Hastings and Joan Rice-Hastings | 66 years, 156 days | January 25, 1948 − June 30, 2014 | |
| Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson | 66 years, 111 days | March 5, 1948 – June 24, 2014 | |
| John Weld and Gigi Parrish | 66 years+ | 1937 – June 14, 2003 | |
| Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens | 65 years, 253 days | May 29, 1954 − February 5, 2020 | |
| Pat Boone and Shirley Foley | 65 years, 66 days | November 7, 1953 − January 11, 2019 | |
| Eva Marie Saint and Jeffrey Hayden | 65 years, 57 days | October 28, 1951 − December 24, 2016 | |
| Jane Wyatt and Edgar Bethune Ward | 64 years, 364 days | November 9, 1935 − November 8, 2000 | |
| Walter Cronkite and Betsy Cronkite | 64 years, 350 days | March 30, 1940 – March 15, 2005 | |
| Danny Aiello and Sandy Cohen | 64 years, 329 days | January 8, 1955 − December 13, 2019 | |
| Mary Carlisle and James Blakely | 64 years, 323 days | March 14, 1942 – January 30, 2007 | |
| Estelle Lebost and Carl Reiner | 64 years, 306 days | December 24, 1943 − October 25, 2008 | |
| Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall | 64 years, 196 days | January 25, 1960 – August 8, 2024 | |
| Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss | October 26, 1961 − present | ||
| Lydia Clarke and Charlton Heston | 64 years, 19 days | March 17, 1944 − April 5, 2008 | |
| Philip Rose and Doris Belack | 64 years+ | 1946 – May 31, 2011 | |
| Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton | December 23, 1961 − present | ||
| James Cagney and Frances Willard Vernon | 63 years, 181 days | September 28, 1922 – March 30, 1986 | |
| Conrad Bain and Monica Sloan | 63 years, 176 days | September 4, 1945 – February 26, 2009 | |
| Neil Sedaka and Leba Strassberg | September 11, 1962 – present | ||
| Ed Nelson and Patricia Miller Nelson | 63 years, 62 days | June 9, 1951 – August 9, 2014 | |
| Anthony Zerbe and Arnette Jens | October 7, 1962 – present | ||
| Karl Brown and Edna Mae Cooper | 63 years+ | 1922 – June 27, 1986 | |
| Jamie Farr and Joy Ann Richards | February 16, 1963 – present | ||
| Brenda Lee and Ronnie Shacklett | April 24, 1963 – present | ||
| Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay | 62 years, 208 days | January 4, 1926 – July 29, 1988 | |
| Lorraine Gary and Sid Sheinberg | 62 years, 200 days | August 19, 1956 – March 7, 2019 | |
| George Gaynes and Allyn Ann McLerie | 62 years, 57 days | December 20, 1953 – February 15, 2016 | |
| Alec Guinness and Merula Salaman | 62 years, 46 days | June 20, 1938 – August 5, 2000 | |
| Lee Grant and Joseph Feury | 62 years+ | 1962 – present | |
| Philip Bosco and Nancy Ann Dunkle | 61 years, 335 days | January 2, 1957 – December 3, 2018 | |
| James B. Sikking and Florine Caplan | 61 years, 315 days | September 1, 1962 – July 13, 2024 | |
| Bill Cosby and Camille Hanks Cosby | January 25, 1964 – present | ||
| Chubby Checker and Catharina Lodders | April 12, 1964 – present | ||
| Eleanor Neil and Francis Ford Coppola | 61 years, 70 days | February 2, 1963 − April 12, 2024 | |
| Mark Margolis and Jacqueline Margolis | 61 years, 64 days | June 3, 1962 − August 3, 2023 | |
| Dick Van Patten and Patricia Poole | 61 years, 59 days | April 25, 1954 − June 23, 2015 | |
| Robert Young and Betty Henderson | 61 years, 29 days | March 6, 1933 – April 4, 1994 | |
| Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara | 60 years, 251 days | September 14, 1954 – May 23, 2015 | |
| F. Murray Abraham and Kate Hannan | 60 years, 226 days | April 7, 1962 – November 19, 2022 | |
| Kristine Miller and William Schuyler | 60 years, 136 days | July 27, 1953 − December 10, 2013 | |
| Jonathan Winters and Eileen Winters | 60 years, 122 days | September 11, 1948 − January 11, 2009 | |
| Bob Newhart and Virginia Quinn | 60 years, 101 days | January 12, 1963 − April 23, 2023 | |
| Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin | 60 years, 34 days | May 15, 1948 – June 17, 2008 | |
| Harold Gould and Lea Shampanier-Vernon | 60 years, 22 days | August 20, 1950 – September 11, 2010 | |
| Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Dean | 59 years, 147 days | October 15, 1938 – March 10, 1998 | |
| Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade | 59 years, 102 days | June 26, 1955 – October 5, 2014 | |
| Vince McMahon and Linda Edwards | August 26, 1966 − present | ||
| Adolph Zukor and Lottie Kaufman | 59 years, 89 days | January 10, 1897 – April 7, 1956 | |
| Tom Jones and Melinda Trenchard | 59 years, 39 days | March 2, 1957 – April 10, 2016 | |
| William Christopher and Barbara O'Connor | 59 years+ | 1957 − December 31, 2016 | |
| Larry Hagman and Maj Axelsson | 58 years, 341 days | December 18, 1954 − November 23, 2012 | |
| Dolly Parton and Carl Dean | 58 years, 277 days | May 30, 1966 − March 3, 2025 | |
| Martin Milner and Judith Bess Jones | 58 years, 195 days | February 23, 1958 − September 6, 2015 | |
| Steve Smith and Morag Smith | 58 years+ | 1966 − present | |
| James Garner and Lois Clarke | 57 years, 336 days | August 17, 1956 − July 19, 2014 | |
| Margia Dean and Felipe Alvarez | 57 years, 299 days | August 29, 1965 – June 23, 2023 | |
| Walter Koenig and Judy Levitt | 57 years, 151 days | July 11, 1965 – December 9, 2022 | |
| Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Spence | 57 years, 107 days | March 16, 1940 − July 1, 1997 | |
| Ron Rifkin and Iva Rifkin | 57 years, 98 days | August 28, 1966 − December 4, 2023 | |
| Scott Glenn and Carol Schwartz | September 10, 1968 – present | ||
| Julian Glover and Isla Blair | September 28, 1968 – present | ||
| Ray Walston and Ruth Calvert | 57 years, 59 days | November 3, 1943 - January 1, 2001 | |
| Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee | 57 years, 57 days | December 9, 1948 − February 4, 2005 | |
| David Prowse and Norma E. Scammell | 57 years, 54 days | October 5, 1963 − November 28, 2020 | |
| Laurence Irving and Rosalind Frances Woolner | 57 years+ | 1920 – December 14, 1978 | |
| Joel McCrea and Frances Dee | 57 years, 0 days | October 20, 1933 – October 20, 1990 | |
| Engelbert Humperdinck and Patricia Healey | 56 years, 307 days | April 18, 1964 − February 18, 2021 | |
| Estelle Getty and Arthur Gettleman | 56 years, 263 days | December 21, 1947 − September 10, 2004 | |
| Cecil B. DeMille and Constance Adams | 56 years, 158 days | August 16, 1902 − January 21, 1959 | |
| Héctor Elizondo and Carolee Campbell | April 13, 1969 – present | ||
| Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo | July 26, 1969 – present | ||
| Richard Jenkins and Sharon R. Friedrick | August 23, 1969 – present | ||
| Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford | September 6, 1969 – present | ||
| René Auberjonois and Judith Mihalyi | 56 years, 51 days | October 19, 1963 – December 8, 2019 | |
| Christopher Walken and Georgianne Walken | 56 years+ | January 1969 – present | |
| Bruce Dern and Andrea Beckett | October 20, 1969 − present | ||
| Darryl F. Zanuck and Virginia Fox | 55 years, 333 days | January 24, 1924 – December 22, 1979 | |
| Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé | 55 years, 224 days | December 29, 1957 − August 10, 2013 | |
| Shane Rimmer and Sheila Logan | 55 years, 190 days | September 21, 1963 – March 29, 2019 | |
| Billy Crystal and Janice Goldfinger | June 4, 1970 – present | ||
| John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan | 55 years, 158 days | August 26, 1935 – January 30, 1991 | |
| Lupita Tovar and Paul Kohner | 55 years, 138 days | October 31, 1932 – March 16, 1988 | |
| Mary Kay Jones and Johnny Stearns | 55 years, 113 days | August 11, 1946 − December 1, 2001 | |
| Barry Gibb and Linda Gray | September 1, 1970 – present | ||
| Olympia Dukakis and Louis Zorich | 55 years, 61 days | November 30, 1962 − January 30, 2018 | |
| Danny Thomas and Rose Marie Cassaniti | 55 years, 22 days | January 15, 1936 − February 6, 1991 | |
| Stephen King and Tabitha Spruce | January 2, 1971 – present | ||
| Shirley Temple and Charles Alden Black | 54 years, 232 days | December 16, 1950 – August 4, 2005 | |
| Yakima Canutt and Minnie Audrea Yeager | 54 years, 194 days | November 12, 1931 – May 24, 1986 | |
| Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling | 54 years, 190 days | November 21, 1951 − May 30, 2006 | |
| Barbara Anderson and Don Burnett | June 15, 1971 − present | ||
| Roger Daltrey and Heather Taylor | July 19, 1971 − present | ||
| Leotta Wotton and Grant Whytock | 54 years, 135 days | June 1, 1918 – October 13, 1972 | |
| Phil Harris and Alice Faye | 54 years, 3 months | May 1941 – August 11, 1995 | |
| Christopher Lee and Birgit Krøncke | 54 years, 82 days | March 17, 1961 – June 7, 2015 | |
| Frances Chaney and Ring Lardner Jr. | 54 years, 34 days | September 28, 1946 – October 31, 2000 | |
| Tony Randall and Florence Gibbs | 54 years+ | 1938 – April 18, 1992 | |
| Ann Blyth and Dr. James Vincent McNulty | 53 years, 320 days | June 27, 1953 – May 13, 2007 | |
| DeForest Kelley and Carolyn Dowling | 53 years, 277 days | September 7, 1945 - June 11, 1999 | |
| Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw | 53 years, 170 days | August 12, 1949 – January 29, 2003 | |
| Ray Milland and Muriel Weber | 53 years, 162 days | September 30, 1932 − March 10, 1986 | |
| Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville | 53 years, 149 days | December 2, 1926 − April 29, 1980 | |
| Roger Corman and Julie Corman | 53 years, 138 days | December 23, 1970 – May 9, 2024 | |
| Garry Marshall and Barbara Sue Wells | 53 years, 132 days | March 9, 1963 – July 19, 2016 | |
| Marlene Dietrich and Rudolf Sieber | 53 years, 39 days | May 17, 1923 – June 24, 1976 | |
| Billy Dee Williams and Teruko Nakagami | December 27, 1972 − present | ||
| Burt Mustin and Frances Woods | 53 years+ | 1915 – August 18, 1969 | |
| Cara Williams and Asher Dann | 53 years+ | 1964 – March 18, 2018 | |
| Henry Hathaway and Blanche Gonzalez | 52 years, 337 days | March 12, 1932 – February 11, 1985 | |
| Michael Caine and Shakira Baksh | January 8, 1973 – present | ||
| Billy Wilder and Audrey Young | 52 years, 271 days | June 30, 1949 – March 27, 2002 | |
| Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker | June 18, 1973 – present | ||
| Susan Lucci and Helmut Huber | 52 years, 196 days | September 13, 1969 – March 28, 2022 | |
| Frank Capra and Lucille Warner | 52 years, 152 days | February 1, 1932 – July 1, 1984 | |
| Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan | 52 years, 93 days | March 4, 1952 − June 5, 2004 | |
| Hal Linden and Frances Martin | 52 years, 87 days | April 13, 1958 − July 9, 2010 | |
| Don Rickles and Barbara Sklar | 52 years, 23 days | March 14, 1965 − April 6, 2017 | |
| Mitzi Gaynor and Jack Bean | 52 years, 16 days | November 18, 1954 − December 4, 2006 | |
| Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor | 52 years, 2 days | August 11, 1965 – August 13, 2017 | |
| Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy | 52 years+ | 1942 – September 11, 1994 | |
| John Howard Lawson and Susan Edmond Lawson | 52 years+ | 1925 – August 11, 1977 | |
| Martha Scott and Mel Powell | 51 years, 276 days | July 23, 1946 – April 24, 1998 | |
| Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk | April 12, 1974 – present | ||
| Norman Jewison and Margaret Ann Dixon | 51 years, 139 days | July 11, 1953 – November 26, 2004 | |
| Alexander Knox and Doris Nolan | 51 years, 117 days | December 30, 1944 – April 25, 1995 | |
| Louise Lovely and Albert Bertie Cowen | 51 years, 113 days | November 26, 1928 – March 17, 1980 | |
| Jean Speegle Howard and Rance Howard | 51 years+ | 1949 − September 2, 2000 | |
| Mary Lou Metzger and Richard Maloof | 50 years, 320 days | June 16, 1973 − May 1, 2024 | |
| Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman | 50 years, 241 days | January 29, 1958 − September 26, 2008 | |
| John Forsythe and Julie Warren | 50 years, 241 days | December 18, 1943 – August 15, 1994 | |
| Walter Lantz and Grace Stafford | 50 years, 201 days | August 29, 1941 – March 17, 1992 | |
| Ron Howard and Cheryl Alley | June 7, 1975 – present | ||
| Rosemary Harris and John Ehle | 50 years, 154 days | October 21, 1967 – March 24, 2018 | |
| John Larroquette and Elizabeth Cookson | July 4, 1975 – present | ||
| Regis Philbin and Joy Philbin | 50 years, 146 days | March 1, 1970 – July 25, 2020 | |
| Christopher Plummer and Elaine Taylor | 50 years, 126 days | October 2, 1970 – February 5, 2021 | |
| Joe Mantegna and Arlene Vrhel | October 3, 1975 – present | ||
| Ann-Margret and Roger Smith | 50 years, 27 days | May 8, 1967 – June 4, 2017 | |
| Joan Leslie and William Caldwell | 50 years, 20 days | March 17, 1950 – April 5, 2000 | |
| Wayne Osmond and Kathlyn White | 50 years, 18 days | December 13, 1974 − January 1, 2025 | |
| Sam Waterston and Lynn Louisa Woodruff | January 26, 1976 – present | ||
| Federico Fellini and Giulietta Masina | 50 years, 1 day | October 30, 1943 – October 31, 1993 | |
| Ben E. King and Betty Davis | 50 years+ | 1964 − April 30, 2015 | |
| Lee Phillip and William J. Bell | 50 years+ | 1954 – April 29, 2005 |