60’S COUPLES

 

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

One of the most lavish couples in the 1960s was that of actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The two starred together in 11 films and spent millions on "furs, diamonds, paintings, designer clothes, travel, food, liquor, a yacht, and a jet."

They married and divorced twice, and drama was never far behind them.

 

 

Sonny & Cher

The dynamic singing duo of Sonny and Cher pretty much dominated the 1960s. Gaining popularity in 1965, thanks to their hit single "I Got You Babe," the folk-rock husband and wife group got married in 1964.

They brought their power couple status into the 70s, with various television shows, including The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

 

Elvis & Priscilla Presley

The King, Elvis Presley, married Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967 after being together for many years. At the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, the two said "I do" and enjoyed a champagne breakfast for 100 people.

They were one of the power couples throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s.

 

Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward

Actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward met on Broadway production of Picnic in the 1950s. By the time the 1960s rolled around, they were a power couple who obviously loved each other very deeply.

Married and wanting to start a family, they became one of the first movie star pairs to raise children outside of California. They remained married for 50 years.

 

Paul McCartney & Linda Eastman

Like most people in the 1960s, Linda Eastman was infatuated with The Beatles. And, in 1967, everything changed for her when Paul came up and talked to her at The Bag O'Nails club.

According to Paul, "The night Linda and I met, I spotted her across a crowded club, and although I would normally have been nervous chatting her up, I realized I had to ... Pushiness worked for me that night!" The two remained married until 1998.

 

 

Marilyn Monroe & Arthur Miller

While playwright Arthur Miller and pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe weren't together for much of the 1960s, anything involving the actress warrants mentioning! They were married in 1957 and stayed together into the first few years of the 1960s.

They got a lot of media attention since people thought their pairing was very mismatched.

 

Jane Fonda & Roger Vadim

Actress Jane Fonda was a huge hit in the 1960s, so when it was announced she was seeing French businessman Roger Vadmin, it was all over the news.

The two became one of the decade's big power couples, marrying at the Dune Hotel in Las Vegas on August 14, 1965.

 

Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithfull

Mick Jagger is the lead singer of the British rock band The Rolling Stones. While the band was at peak fame during the 1960s and into the 1970s, he was paired with English singer-songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull.

She is actually responsible for helping Jagger write "Sister Morphine" for the album Sticky Fingers.

 

 

Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg

Triple threat Jane Birkin met singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg on the set of the 1969 film Slogan, where they played the two lead roles and sang the opening credit song "La Chanson de Slogan."

The two went on to collaborate numerous times and remained together for over a decade.

Brigitte Bardot & Gunter Sachs

In May 1966, German billionaire Gunter Sachs flew in a helicopter and dropped hundreds of roses in French actress Brigitte Bardot's backyard. They were married in a Las Vegas ceremony only two months later!

While they were a power couple, their love didn't last long. They were hardly ever together and divorced two years after their 1966 wedding.

 

Jean Shrimpton & David Bailey

When model Jean Shrimpton met photographer David Bailey in 1960, she was pretty much unknown. Fast-forward seven years and the two collaborated on shoots numerous times, and Shrimpton was said to be the highest-paid model in the world.

The two had a four-year relationship that elevated both of their careers to stardom.

 

George Harrison & Pattie Boyd

The Beatles were one of the "it bands" of the 1960s, and their love lives were in the media for everyone to see, including that of George Harrison and Pattie Boyd. The two met in 1964 during the filming of A Hard Day's Night and were married a few years later in 1966.

Sadly, the power couple didn't last, and their divorce was finalized in 1977.

 

Johnny Cash & June Carter

Johnny Cash was married to Vivian Liberto for the majority of the 1960s, but it is the power couple of Cash and June Carter that the decade remembers. The two met on tour and became very close with one another.

The two married in 1968 and went on to raise a family and tour together for the next 35 years.

 

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

The love affair of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was a huge story during the 1960s. They met in 1966 at the Indica Gallery in London. Ono was displaying some of her work at the art exhibit, and Lennon was a patron.

From there, they became one of the most iconic couples to come out of The Beatles.

 

Allen Ludden & Betty White

After meeting on the game show Password, it took television host Allen Ludden two proposals to finally get actress Betty White to agree to marry him! The two said "I do" in 1963, two years after their first meeting.

After Ludden passed away, White never remarried. When asked if she would ever walk down the aisle again, White said, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"

 

Ike & Tina Turner

Not only were Ike and Tina Turner a power couple, but they were also a power duo on stage.

The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll rose to fame as the lead singer of Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and they soon became "one of the most formidable live acts in history."

 

John & Jackie Kennedy

Jackie Onassis was introduced to John Kennedy by a mutual friend, and, as they say, the rest is history. The political couple is one of the American people's favorite, especially when it comes to Jackie O's fashion.

The two resided in the White House in Washington D.C. from 1961 until 1963

Frank Sinatra & Mia Farrow

While they weren't together for long, the relationship between singer Frank Sinatra and actress Mia Farrow was a whirlwind. The two were married in a private wedding ceremony in Las Vegas in 1966.

The marriage only lasted a couple of years, with the couple getting divorced in Mexico in 1968.

 

Audrey Hepburn & Mel Ferrer

Audrey Hepburn was one of the faces of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a face that caught the eye of actor Mel Ferrer. The two met at a cocktail party, hit it off, and began collaborating in films together.

The couple was married for 14 years and had a son together.

 

Margot Fonteyn & Rudolf Nureyev

While their relationship was a bit controversial, ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev were still a power couple in the 1960s. Fonteyn was on the brink of retirement when she met Nureyev, a young dancer who was 19 years younger than her 45 years of age.

They went on to dance together for many years.

 

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

Richard Burton laid eyes on Elizabeth Taylor for the first time in 1953 at a Hollywood pool party. He was so struck by her beauty that he laughed. But it wasn’t until 1962 that the two launched a torrid love affair. After divorcing their respective partners, they got married in 1963—and again in 1975. Their marriages were marked by a lavish lifestyle and their tempestuous relationship.

Grace Kelly & Prince Rainier of Monaco

Grace Kelly had starred in her breakout role in High Noon just two years before her fateful meeting with Prince Rainier of Monaco. After their introduction in 1955, the two had a whirlwind, long-distance courtship before their marriage in 1956. As royals who deeply loved each other, they remained one of the world’s most iconic couples from the time of their marriage until Princess Grace died in 1982.

 

Sharon Tate & Roman Polanski

Cast in Eye of the Devil, Sharon Tate’s star was on the rise when she met Roman Polanski in 1965. The two married in 1968 but their tempestuous relationship kept the couple in the public eye. About a year after they married, Tate, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, was horrifically murdered at home, along with several friends, by cult leader Charles Manson.

 

Raquel Welch & Patrick Curtis

In 1965, actress Raquel Welch met producer Patrick Curtis when the two worked together on A Swingin’ Summer, Welch’s first feature film. She became an international superstar the next year, after the release of One Million Years B.C. Welch and Curtis stayed together while Welch navigated early stardom, marrying in 1967. However, the couple divorced in 1972.

Barbra Streisand & Elliott Gould

Nineteen-year-old Barbra Streisand was unknown when she met Elliott Gould in 1961; they married a year later. Within months of their marriage, Streisand’s star skyrocketed after she released her acclaimed debut album. Gould also found fame in the 1960s, with roles in the iconic films Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and M*A*S*H. As their fame grew, their relationship faltered and the couple divorced in 1971.

Jerry Lee Lewis & Myra Brown

Myra Brown was only 13 years old in 1957 when she married her first cousin once removed, musician Jerry Lee Lewis. News of the marriage ignited a storm of criticism and the scandal threatened Lewis’ career. However, Lewis remained in the limelight in the 1960s, releasing Live at the Star Club, Hamburg in 1964—still regarded as one of the greatest live rock albums ever—and reinventing himself as a country artist in the late 1960s.

 

 

Ringo Starr & Maureen Cox

Cox was a teenage hairstylist who frequented the clubs in London where the Beatles performed. She caught Ringo Starr’s eye and the two married in 1965 when 18-year-old Cox was already pregnant. Their relationship was complicated by the Beatles’ fame as well as Starr’s alcoholism and infidelities by both Starr and Cox. The couple divorced in 1975.

 

Clint Eastwood & Maggie Johnson

Legendary actor Clint Eastwood met his first wife, Maggie Johnson, in May 1953. They married in December of the same year. Eastwood skyrocketed to fame in the 1960s thanks to his role on television’s Rawhide and three spaghetti westerns: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

 

Peter Sellers & Britt Ekland

In 1964, British actor Peter Sellers, who had just filmed back-to-back Pink Panther movies, spotted a photo of Swedish actress Britt Ekland in the paper and tracked her down, kicking off a whirlwind romance. The couple quickly married. During their four-year marriage, they starred in three movies together.

 

 

Joan Baez & Bob Dylan

Joan Baez was an internationally acclaimed musician when she began a personal and professional relationship with Bob Dylan in the early 1960s. Dylan was still unknown and Baez was one of the first major artists to record Dylan’s songs, helping to popularize his songwriting. However, their personal relationship was tumultuous, and they split up in 1965 after Dylan broke her heart. 

 

 

Steve McQueen and Neile Adams

Neile Adams was an up-and-coming actress, dancer, and singer when she bumped into Steve McQueen on Broadway in 1955. At that time, McQueen was a struggling Broadway actor who was virtually unknown. The two married soon after and Adams stopped working to throw her support behind McQueen’s career. During their marriage, McQueen achieved celebrity status, starring in a string of movies in the 1960s beginning with The Magnificent Seven.

 

 

Andy Warhol & Edie Sedgewick

Pop art artist Andy Warhol spotted model Edie Sedgewick at a party in 1965 and was instantly smitten. Edie became Warhol’s muse, starring in several of his short films and, together, the couple were the toast of New York City’s art and party scenes. However, their relationship lasted for less than a year.

James Garner & Lois Clarke

James Garner and Lois Clarke dated for just 14 days before they got married in 1956. Both were aspiring actors at the time. Garner’s breakout role came just a year after their marriage when he was cast in television’s Maverick; Lois shelved her acting dreams. The two were married for 57 years until Garner’s death in 2014.

Robert and Ethel Kennedy

In December 1945, Robert F. Kennedy began dating Patricia Skakel. But that relationship ended and he turned his attention to Skakel’s younger sister, Ethel. Kennedy and Ethel married in 1950. They rose to prominence in the 1960s, following the appointment of Kennedy to the post of attorney general and later as Kennedy campaigned for and won a seat in the United States Senate.

Robert Redford & Lola Van Wagenen

Legendary actor, director, producer, and activist Robert Redford married his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, in 1957 before beginning his acting career. In 1960, he acted in his first roles—a few bit parts on television and in film. He became a major star as the decade progressed. The two remained married for 27 years. 

 

Twiggy & Justin de Villeneuve

Justin de Villeneuve (born Nigel John Davies) was working at Vidal Sassoon’s Bond Street salon in London when he met 15-year-old Leslie Hornby. The gamine teenager would later become Twiggy, the influential model whose style defined 1960s fashion. De Villeneuve became Twiggy’s boyfriend, manager, and house photographer. The two worked together to launch her career. They split in 1973.

 

 

Jim Morrison & Pamela Courson

Pamela Courson was an art school dropout when she met Jim Morrison, the frontman of the Doors, in 1965. The couple had a tumultuous relationship, marred by drug abuse, infidelities, and arguments that could escalate into violence. However, they stayed together until Morrison’s untimely death in 1971, when he was just 27 years old. 

Julie Andrews & Tony Walton

British Actress Julie Andrews married her childhood friend Tony Walton in 1959. Walton had become a costume and set designer. When Andrews was cast in Mary Poppins, she and Walton arrived as a package deal, with Walton working as a visual consultant on props and costumes. Despite their compatibility, the pressures of parenting and fame made their marriage falter and they divorced in 1968.

Sammy Davis Jr. & May Britt

When Swedish actress May Britt fell in love with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1959, their romance and 1960 marriage caused an uproar. At the time, interracial marriage was still illegal in 31 states. Although Harry Belafonte had married a white woman—actress Julie Robinson—in 1957, Belafonte’s marriage didn’t cause the furor that Davis’ did. The marriage between Davis and Britt lasted until 1968 and is credited with helping to make interracial marriage more acceptable in America.

 

 

Debbie Reynolds & Harry Karl

In 1959, actress Debbie Reynolds divorced her first husband, Eddie Fisher, when she found out that Fisher and her friend Elizabeth Taylor were having an affair. Reynolds quickly moved on, marrying Harry Karl in 1960. Karl owned a chain of shoe stores and was purportedly a millionaire. But Reynolds and Karl ended up in the limelight in the 1960s for the wrong reasons—Karl lost all of his money and Reynold’s money too, racking up millions of dollars of debt through gambling and bad investments. After their divorce, Reynolds worked to pay off Karl’s debt.