Marie Rivera: Who is Héctor Elizondo’s ex-wife?

Marie Rivera
Héctor Elizondo and Carolee Campbell

Marie Rivera is the first wife of Héctor Elizondo. Marie Rivera’s husband is a celebrated American actor. Having entertained earlier interests in sports, music, and dance, Elizondo came to acting relatively late in life, but began making headway with stage roles in such Broadway and off-Broadway productions as “The Great White Hope” and “Steambath” – the latter of which won him an Obie Award.

Supporting turns in features like “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” (1974) and “American Gigolo” (1980) provided exposure, but it was the role of a transgender Mafioso in Marshall’s feature directorial debut “Young Doctors in Love” (1982) that would alter the trajectory of Elizondo’s career from that point forward. Aside from being an actor, Elizondo is also a family man. His first marriage was with Marie Rivera.

ALSO, READ; Marie Mandry: Where is  Héctor Elizondo now?

Who is Marie Rivera’s Héctor Elizondo’s ex-wife?

Elizondo and Marie Rivera tied the knot in 1956 when he was just 19 years old because “it was the right thing to do“, he told the Washington Post. That same year, the couple welcomed their son Rodd Elizondo. However, the couple’s marriage didn’t last long. The following year in 1957, Elizondo and his ex-wife Marie Rivera called their marriage a quit.

ALSO, READ; Rodd Elizondo: What happened to Héctor Elizondo’s son, How did he Die?

Luckily for the actor, he was raised in a close-knit family, who in turn helped raise his son, Rodd, when Elizondo became a single father at age 20. Elizondo kept the baby because his life was more stable than his ex-wife’s. The actor wanted his son to have a bright future; he sacrificed his education to work in a factory to provide for him. With the help of his parents and sister, Héctor was able to be a present parent to his only child.

Rodd Elizondo
Rodd Elizondo

At the time, Hector dreamed of venturing into the acting industry. So, he spent most of his time working in a neon light factory; he would then drive a truck to attend the City College of New York at night. As a young father, he was focused; he dreamed of playing for the Yankees.

In a 1997 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Héctor said that he dropped out of college and started working to take care of his son: “I was a very responsible dad. That changed my life. From there on in, every move I made, I had to consider my son first. That’s why I’m not intimidated by anything.

After the divorce from Marie Rivera, Héctor married for the second time to Marie Mandry just so that his son would have a complete family; unfortunately, the union did not last. However, that marriage also ended after a year. The actor gave love a chance again after he meet actress Carolee Campbell in 1969.

ALSO, READ; Carolee Campbell: Inside the Life Héctor Elizondo’s wife

Where is Marie Rivera now?

It is unclear where exactly Marie is now. She has been totally out of the picture. However, Marie and Héctor’s son Rodd Elizondo passed away in 2017 at the age of 61. The cause of his death has not been made public by the family. Since 1969, he has been married to Carolee Campbell, an Emmy Award-winning actress who played nurse Carolee Simpson on The Doctors. They live in Sherman Oaks, California. Proud of his Latino heritage, Elizondo does not accept roles that he feels are stereotypical and/or demeaning in any way.

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  • Kennedy Gedzah is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST (2018). He is the Owner and has been the lead content creator at Dicytrends.com since 2020. His Passion for providing people with credible and well-researched information on the internet led him to build Dicytrends.com. With more than 5 years of experience in blogging and writing, he has amassed sufficient knowledge on various topics, including biographies, fashion and lifestyles, Entertainment, and more. You can contact him via email: Kgedzah@gmail.com

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Kennedy Gedzah

Kennedy Gedzah is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST (2018). He is the Owner and has been the lead content creator at Dicytrends.com since 2020. His Passion for providing people with credible and well-researched information on the internet led him to build Dicytrends.com. With more than 5 years of experience in blogging and writing, he has amassed sufficient knowledge on various topics, including biographies, fashion and lifestyles, Entertainment, and more. You can contact him via email: Kgedzah@gmail.com

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