Who was Yul Brynner’s spouse?
Yul Brynner married four times, his first three marriages ending in divorce. He fathered three children and adopted two. Yul Brynner’s spouses were only a part of his life. The Russian-born American actor began playing his most famous role, King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I, on Broadway in 1951. After more than three years and 1,246 performances, he starred in the film version in 1956, winning an Academy Award for best actor. Brynner then returned to the stage for 3,379 more theatrical performances. He also starred in such classic films as The Ten Commandments and The Magnificent Seven.
Although the famous actor had become a naturalized American citizen, aged 22, in 1943, while living in New York as an actor and radio announcer, he renounced his US citizenship at the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, in June 1965 because he had lost his tax exemption as an American resident working abroad.
Who are the Wives of Yul Brynner?
As said earlier, Yul Brynner has been married 4 times, with three ending up in divorce. Who are his wives?
Virginia Gilmore: Yul Brynner’s first spouse
Brynner’s first wife (1944–1960) was actress Virginia Gilmore with whom he had one child, Yul “Rock” Brynner (born December 23, 1946). He was nicknamed “Rock” when he was six years old in honor of boxer Rocky Graziano. He is a historian, novelist, and university history lecturer at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut.
In 2006, Rock wrote a book about his father and his family history titled Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond. He regularly returned to Vladivostok, the city of his father’s birth, for the “Pacific Meridian” Film Festival.
Doris Kleiner -Yul Brynner’s second spouse
Yul Brynner’s second spouse Doris Kleiner is a Chilean model whom he married on the set during the shooting of The Magnificent Seven in 1960. They had one child, Victoria Brynner (born November 1962), whose godmother was Audrey Hepburn. The couple got divorced in 1967. They were married for 6 years before calling it a quit.
Jacqueline Simone Thion de la Chaume- Yul Brynner’s third spouse
Yul Brynner’s third spouse was Jacqueline Simone Thion de la Chaume. Yul’s third wife a French socialite was the widow of Philippe de Croisset (son of French playwright Francis de Croisset and a publishing executive). Brynner and Jacqueline adopted two Vietnamese children: Mia (1974) and Melody (1975).
The first house Brynner owned was the Manoir de Criquebœuf, a 16th-century manor house in northwestern France that Jacqueline and he purchased. His third marriage broke up, reportedly owing to his 1980 announcement that he would continue in the role of the King for another long tour and Broadway run, as well as his affairs with female fans and his neglect of his wife and children.
Kathy Lee- Yul Brynner’s Fourth spouse
On April 4, 1983, aged 62, Brynner married his fourth and final wife, Kathy Lee (born 1957), a 26-year-old ballerina from Ipoh, Malaysia, whom he had met in a production of The King and I. They remained married for the last two years of his life.
Yul Brynner also had a long affair with Marlene Dietrich, who was 19 years his senior, beginning during the first production of The King and I. In 1959, Brynner fathered a daughter, Lark Brynner, with Frankie Tilden, who was 20 years old. Lark lived with her mother and Brynner supported her financially.
Yul Brynner had four spouses in his lifetime. He divorced three of them and stayed married to one till his death. His last married lasted for three years.
How did Yul Brynner die?
Brynner died of lung cancer on October 10, 1985, at New York Hospital at the age of 65. Brynner was cremated and his ashes were buried on the grounds of the Saint-Michel-de-Bois-Aubry Orthodox monastery, near Luzé, between Tours and Poitiers in France.
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