Losing someone you love is definitely hard. These fifteen widows battled through that with different outcomes.
When you part with the one you marry, there is no easy way to get by. Especially when it comes to death. It is hard to say goodbye. Let alone having no proper closure. These widows had gone through that one way or another.
Some gracefully moved on while still carrying their late husband’s love. Some took it hard and never went back until death caught up with them too.
As saying goes, you never really die if people still remember you after your passing. You are alive within those people who love you.
On that note, let’s take a look at the story of these legendary widows. Wherever they are now, dead or alive, the memories from their golden age should stick around.
15. Yoko Ono
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were what we call the superstar couple these days. They were constantly under the spotlight. Rumors and controversies followed them all around.
Back then, interracial relationship was taboo. Thus, Yoko Ono had to go through a hard time of tabloid racism in London. So, the couple moved to New York.
They lived together and had a son, Sean. The couple broke up in 1973 and controversially reunited about a year later. May Pang, John’s girlfriend during the break up, thought that John was brainwashed.
When John Lennon died in 1980, Yoko Ono spent some time away from media. To keep the memories of her late husband, she manages the Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park, New York.
14. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, also known as Jackie O, was the First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963. She was married to the legendary John F. Kennedy.
The two met at a dinner party in 1952. They got married about a year later. It was a big social event attended by more than a thousand people.
Then in November 21st, 1963, tragedy took place. The U.S. president’s death was heartbreaking, not just to Jackie, but also to the whole nation. He was shot on his way to the Trade Mart, Texas while riding on the presidential limousine. Jackie was next to him.
For years and years, Jackie lived in despair. Until she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Jackie battled through cancer for months in 1994. She died in her sleep just two days before her 65th birthday. She was buried next to Kennedy.
13. Terry Irwin
In the morning of September 4th, 2006, Terri went trekking with her two children in Tasmania. While her late husband, Steve Irwin, went to Batt Reef, Queensland, to film a documentary.
Little did she know, it was the day she lost the love of her life. The crocodile hunter sustained heart injury from stingray sting.
Fifteen years prior to that, the two fell in love at the first sight as they met at one of Australia’s wildlife rehabilitation facilities. They got engaged just two months after that.
Now, she continues her work in wildlife field. She also supports her daughter’s career in entertainment. The cheerful Bindi Irwin just won the 21st America’s Dancing with the Stars by scoring perfect 10s from all three judges in all of her three numbers.
12. Faith Evans
Faith Evans is popularly known for two reasons. One, her collaboration with P. Diddy won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The song is titled I’ll be Missing You. It was a remake of The Police’s Every Breath You Take.
The second reason is way less happy. Faith was married to the late Christopher Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G. He was killed in a drive-by-shooting incident in Los Angeles back in 1997.
Before he died, the couple was separated. Faith accused him for cheating with his fellow rappers. So, she left him for a record company executive, Todd Russaw.
Faith is now working on an album to honor Wallace’s memories. The album is titled The King & I. It will feature duets of her and her late ex-husband.
11. Lauren Bacall
Back in 1945, Hollywood had their first edition of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. However, this couple didn’t end up getting divorce like those did. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were together until Humphrey’s death did them apart.
When they got married, Lauren was only 20 years old while Humphrey was 45 years old. Twelve years after that, he died from cancer. Lauren did not want to talk about her lost. But in 1978, she published a book about their marriage. It was titled By Myself.
Shortly after her late husband’s death, Lauren got together with Frank Sinatra. The two broke up after the press found out that the two got engaged. Then in 1961, Lauren got married to Jason Robards. The marriage lasted for eight years.
Lauren died just two years ago at the age of 89 from a severe stroke.
10. Katie Couric
Katie Couric is one of the most popular news anchors in United States. She was once the face of NBC and CBS.
On present days, she works for Yahoo and ABC News. Since 2013, she has been the Global Anchor of Yahoo! News which partners up with ABC in Good Morning America.
In 1989, she married an attorney, Jay Monahan. Together they have two daughters. One was born in 1991 and the other one in 1996. Just two years after their second daughter’s birth, Jay passed away from colon cancer.
After her husband’s passing, Katie dedicates her time to raise the colon cancer awareness. In 2000, she performed a groundbreaking on-air colonoscopy to get people inspired to check theirs as well.
9. Amy Yasbeck
Amy Yasbeck is an American actress best known for her role in 1994’s sitcom, Wings. She also appeared in some big movies such as Pretty Woman, The Mask, and Problem Child.
Problem Child was where she met her late husband, John Ritter. They played the role of husband and wife. The romance sparked both on and off screen.
They got married in 1999. Just four years after that, John fell into coma due to a heart defect condition. It was undiagnosed by the doctors.
Years after that, Amy sue the hospital and those doctors for misdiagnose allegation which lead into John’s death. However, she lost it to a 9-3 split of jury decision.
8. Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson is a popular English TV presenter and cooking show host. She is also a world renowned author. Her book titled How to be a Domestic Goddess won the British Book Award for Author of the Year.
Writing was what brought her closer to the love of her life, John Diamond the journalist. They met in 1986 when they were both writing for The Sunday Times.
Six years later, they got married. They were living a happy life with two children. Then, bad news struck in 1997. John was diagnosed with cancer.
His death in 2001 put Nigella in misery. She was suffering from a depression. However, she moves on with her life and her career. She kept all of the press clippings from her late husband’s death in what she called her Morbidobox.
7. Betty White
Betty White is the legend of TV and movie. She has been on screen since 1945. And even today on her 94th year of life, she is still active. One of her most renowned work is her role as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls.
Betty got married twice before she found the love of her life. She was married to a U.S. Army pilot in 1945 and then to a Hollywood agent. Both lasted for only about two years.
Then in 1961, she appeared in a game show called Password and fell in love with the host, Allen Ludden. After two years of dating and relentless marriage proposals, they got married.
Allen passed away in 1981 from cancer. Since it was her third marriage, people wondered if she will ever remarry. She said, “Once you’ve had the best, who needs the rest?”
6. Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was a movie star in the early 19th century. She was renowned for her sexual appeal. One of her biggest works is Red Dust in 1932.
She was only a teenager when she married her first husband, Charles McGrew. They were married for two years. Then, Jean met MGM Producer, Paul Bern.
They were married for only two months when Paul committed suicide in 1932. He was found shot dead in his house while she was filming for Red Dust. It was a huge scandal back then. Jean was accused of murder.
However, the police ruled the case as a suicide instead of homicide. Regardless, Jean became more famous than ever. Paul’s death remains a controversy even until today.
5. Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was married to the legendary Martin Luther King, Jr. The two shared the same view and enthusiast in civil rights.
They first met in 1952. Just one year after, the amazing couple got married. Coretta stood by his side as he fought for civil rights.
April 4th, 1968, the day she went shopping with her daughter, she received a terrible news via phone call from Jesse Jackson. Her husband was shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee.
After his passing, Coretta continued her work in civil rights. She wrote numerous books including the ones about Martin. She died ten years ago due to ovarian cancer. She was 78 years old.
4. Elizabeth Taylor
When Jean Harlow was battling through her biggest murder scandal, Elizabeth Taylor was born. She started her career in movie as a child actress. Her biggest debut was in National Velvet as a teenager in 1944.
Since then, she had been shining bright as a star both on and off screen. Her charm sent eight men down on their knees to propose her. Yes, she had married eight different men in her life.
There was only one of her marriages which did not end up in divorce. Mike Todd was her third husband. They got married in 1957. But a year later, Mike was killed in a plane crash.
Elizabeth moved on gracefully. She married Eddie Fisher in 1959. It lasted for five years. Then she married Richard Burton twice in 1964 and 1975 after one year of separation. Her last husband was Larry Fortensky (1991 – 1996).
3. Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone starred Ronin in 1998. She is also commonly known for her role as Karen in TV series, Californication.
On the same year Ronin was released, Natascha got married to a plastic surgeon, Martin Hirigoyen Kelly. One day after they celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary, Martin passed away from a heart attack.
It hit Natascha very hard, especially with the fact that she was pregnant of their third son. She wrote letters to him even after his passing to help herself move on.
In 2010, Natascha put the letters into one book titled After You: Letters of Love, and Loss, to a Husband and Father. Now, eight years after she lost him, she maintains the widowhood life.
2. Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith was a model and an actress. However, her career had never shined brighter than the controversies in her life.
Anna was first married to Billy Wayne Smith in 1985. Their marriage was considered fine for years until Anna met a millionaire at a strip club in 1991. They had a two-years affair until Anna decided to leave her husband for the oil tycoon.
As if it was not controversial enough, Howard was in fact 90 years old. Anna was publicly branded as a gold-digger. Thirteen months after the wedding, Howard died of natural cause.
Then, here came the battle of inheritance between her and Howard’s children. The battle went on for more than a decade until Anna died from drug overdose in 2007. She ended up with none of Howard’s money.
1. Courtney Love
Courtney Love started as a musician. Now, she is also known as an actress. She starred in big movies, such as Man on the Moon (1999) and Trapped (2002).
Courtney Love’s love story with Kurt Cobain was all over the news. So was her personal life in coping with the tragic death of her second husband. She was first briefly married to James Moreland in 1989.
In 1992, the musical couple got married in Hawaii following her pregnancy of their only daughter. Despite battling through their substance abuse problems, they seemed to have a happy marriage life.
It all ended on April 5th, 1994. Kurt Cobain committed suicide. Now, Courtney moves on with her life. In 2004, she released her solo album titled America’s Sweetheart.
Now, let’s take a look at a happier life of other fifteen widows on The Richest Widows in The World (2016) article.
