Top 10 Celebrities That Married Too Young
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VOICE OVER: Phoebe de Jeu
WRITTEN BY: Spencer Sher
These are the top 10 celebrities that married too young! For this list, we'll be taking a look at celebrities who married when they were still in their teens. We've included celebrities like Cher who married at 18, Solange Knowles who married at 17, Aaliyah who married at 15 and Kim Kardashian who married at 19!
Top 10 Celebrities Who Married Too Young
We’re all about young love, but this is taking it too far! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Celebrities Who Married Too Young.
For this list, we’ll be taking a look at celebrities who married when they were still in their teens. We won’t be including people like Courtney Stodden who only became famous because they married young.
#10: Drew Barrymore
Age: 19
She started acting young, so is it any surprse she married young too? Drew Barrymore first got engaged in 1991, at only 16 years old, to the grandson of a Hollywood producer. When that fell through, she waited a whole year before getting engaged again to actor and singer Jamie Walters. After that engagement was called off, Drew finally took the plunge and married bar owner Jeremy Thomas in 1994, at the age of 19. Unfortunately, the couple didn’t click, and Barrymore filed for divorce after less than two months of marriage.
#9: Melanie Griffith
Age: 18
Talk about an up and down relationship. Academy Award nominee Melanie Griffith started dating Don Johnson when she was just 14 years old! Johnson of “Miami Vice” fame first encountered Griffith while working on the film “The Harrad Experiment”, on which Griffith was also working as an extra. Four years later the two actors eloped, with the marriage lasting a grand total of six months. However, after 13 years apart the two reconnected and married for a second time in 1989. They would welcome their daughter Dakota Johnson, who you’ll recognize as Ana Steele from the film “50 Shades of Grey”, just a few months later. The two separated for good in 1996.
#8: Janet Jackson
Age: 18
One of the best selling artists in music history, the youngest Jackson sibling didn’t waste any time when it came to locking down a hubby. In 1984 Janet Jackson, just 18 at the time, married James DeBarge, an R&B singer and member of the group DeBarge, which as you may have guessed consisted of members of his family. To quickly recap, the daughter of one of music’s most famous families married the son of one of music’s other famous families. Yes, that really happened. The marriage would ultimately be annulled, proving that the union was far from a match made in heaven.
#7: Cher
Age: 18
Throughout her illustrious career Cher has literally done it all, from gracing the top of the pop charts numerous times and winning an Academy Award to selling more than a 100 million records and marrying her first husband when she was just 18. Wait, what? That’s right. Cher married 29 year-old singer Sonny Bono in an unofficial ceremony in Mexico in 1964. The two later formed the folk rock group Sonny & Cher, achieving mainstream success with their song “I Got You Babe” in 1965. The two married officially in 69’, welcoming a baby to their family that same year. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for their already tumultuous relationship to deteriorate, and in 1975 they divorced.
#6: Elizabeth Taylor
Age: 18
If ever there was an actress more famous for her marriages than her acting it would have to be Elizabeth Taylor. A two-time Academy Award winner and one of the defining actresses of her generation, Taylor was married a whopping eight times to seven different men! For the sake of brevity, we’ll only be focusing on her first marriage to hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr. in 1950. At the time, Hilton Jr. was six years older than Taylor, who had only turned 18 three months earlier! The wedding was ultimately a sham, with MGM footing the bill in the hopes that it would help promote Taylor’s next film. Taylor would divorce Hilton just nine months later.
#5: Macaulay Culkin
Age: 18
One of the most famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) child stars in film history, Culkin rose to fame playing Kevin McCallister in the 1990 comedy “Home Alone” and its sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. For years Culkin was America’s golden child, which made it all the more shocking when he decided to marry fellow child actor Rachel Miner in 1998, when they were both just 18! As is often the case for actors who marry too young, Culkin and Miner separated in 2000 and were divorced by 2002.
#4: Solange Knowles
Age: 17
Solange Knowles, who spent many years in her big sister Beyoncé’s shadow, has since emerged as a talented singer in her own right. Her 2016 album “A Seat at the Table” made it all the way to the top of the Billboard 200 album charts. Knowles is also known for having married Daniel Smith in 2004 when she was only 17 years old. The high school sweethearts later welcomed their only child, Daniel Julez J. Smith Jr. that same year. Sadly, the marriage didn’t last long, with the couple opting for a divorce in 2007.
#3: Demi Moore
Age: 17
Did you know that actress Demi Moore was actually born Demi Gene Guynes? Considering that didn’t exactly role off the tongue and that she had recently married singer Freddy Moore, Demi decided to use his last name as her stage name. However, we aren’t here to talk about Demi Moore’s name, we’re here to discuss her teenage marriage to a man 12 years her senior. The two met when Demi was just 16, and married a year later in 1980. The two would later divorce in 1985, adding Demi Moore’s name to the ever-growing list of teenage brides whose marriages didn’t last.
#2: Marilyn Monroe
Age: 16
Marilyn Monroe’s famous marriages to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller have been well documented. But did you know she was married to another man when she was just 16? Monroe married James Dougherty in 1942 shortly after her sixteenth birthday. The marriage was one of necessity, as Monroe’s foster family was moving to West Virginia and by law weren’t allowed to take her with them. She was thus facing the prospect of being sent to an orphanage. To avoid that gloomy fate Monroe married Dougherty, who was 21. The two had very little in common and in 1946 they divorced, with Monroe on the verge of becoming a star.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
LeAnn Rimes
Age: 19
Kim Kardashian
Age: 19
#1: Aaliyah
Age: 15
Aaliyah’s music career began was she was 10 years old after a successful appearance on the reality TV show “Star Search”. She later signed with Jive Records where she was introduced to R&B star R. Kelly. After the two collaborated on the suspiciously titled album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number”, rumors began to circulate that Aaliyah and Kelly had secretly, and illegally, wed. The rumors turned out to be true, as the two musicians had married in Illinois on August 31st, 1994. Once Aaliyah’s parents learned of the illegal marriage they quickly had it annulled. Sadly, the story didn’t end there, as Aaliyah would later perish in a plane crash at the age of 22.
We’re all about young love, but this is taking it too far! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Celebrities Who Married Too Young.
For this list, we’ll be taking a look at celebrities who married when they were still in their teens. We won’t be including people like Courtney Stodden who only became famous because they married young.
#10: Drew Barrymore
Age: 19
She started acting young, so is it any surprse she married young too? Drew Barrymore first got engaged in 1991, at only 16 years old, to the grandson of a Hollywood producer. When that fell through, she waited a whole year before getting engaged again to actor and singer Jamie Walters. After that engagement was called off, Drew finally took the plunge and married bar owner Jeremy Thomas in 1994, at the age of 19. Unfortunately, the couple didn’t click, and Barrymore filed for divorce after less than two months of marriage.
#9: Melanie Griffith
Age: 18
Talk about an up and down relationship. Academy Award nominee Melanie Griffith started dating Don Johnson when she was just 14 years old! Johnson of “Miami Vice” fame first encountered Griffith while working on the film “The Harrad Experiment”, on which Griffith was also working as an extra. Four years later the two actors eloped, with the marriage lasting a grand total of six months. However, after 13 years apart the two reconnected and married for a second time in 1989. They would welcome their daughter Dakota Johnson, who you’ll recognize as Ana Steele from the film “50 Shades of Grey”, just a few months later. The two separated for good in 1996.
#8: Janet Jackson
Age: 18
One of the best selling artists in music history, the youngest Jackson sibling didn’t waste any time when it came to locking down a hubby. In 1984 Janet Jackson, just 18 at the time, married James DeBarge, an R&B singer and member of the group DeBarge, which as you may have guessed consisted of members of his family. To quickly recap, the daughter of one of music’s most famous families married the son of one of music’s other famous families. Yes, that really happened. The marriage would ultimately be annulled, proving that the union was far from a match made in heaven.
#7: Cher
Age: 18
Throughout her illustrious career Cher has literally done it all, from gracing the top of the pop charts numerous times and winning an Academy Award to selling more than a 100 million records and marrying her first husband when she was just 18. Wait, what? That’s right. Cher married 29 year-old singer Sonny Bono in an unofficial ceremony in Mexico in 1964. The two later formed the folk rock group Sonny & Cher, achieving mainstream success with their song “I Got You Babe” in 1965. The two married officially in 69’, welcoming a baby to their family that same year. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for their already tumultuous relationship to deteriorate, and in 1975 they divorced.
#6: Elizabeth Taylor
Age: 18
If ever there was an actress more famous for her marriages than her acting it would have to be Elizabeth Taylor. A two-time Academy Award winner and one of the defining actresses of her generation, Taylor was married a whopping eight times to seven different men! For the sake of brevity, we’ll only be focusing on her first marriage to hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr. in 1950. At the time, Hilton Jr. was six years older than Taylor, who had only turned 18 three months earlier! The wedding was ultimately a sham, with MGM footing the bill in the hopes that it would help promote Taylor’s next film. Taylor would divorce Hilton just nine months later.
#5: Macaulay Culkin
Age: 18
One of the most famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) child stars in film history, Culkin rose to fame playing Kevin McCallister in the 1990 comedy “Home Alone” and its sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. For years Culkin was America’s golden child, which made it all the more shocking when he decided to marry fellow child actor Rachel Miner in 1998, when they were both just 18! As is often the case for actors who marry too young, Culkin and Miner separated in 2000 and were divorced by 2002.
#4: Solange Knowles
Age: 17
Solange Knowles, who spent many years in her big sister Beyoncé’s shadow, has since emerged as a talented singer in her own right. Her 2016 album “A Seat at the Table” made it all the way to the top of the Billboard 200 album charts. Knowles is also known for having married Daniel Smith in 2004 when she was only 17 years old. The high school sweethearts later welcomed their only child, Daniel Julez J. Smith Jr. that same year. Sadly, the marriage didn’t last long, with the couple opting for a divorce in 2007.
#3: Demi Moore
Age: 17
Did you know that actress Demi Moore was actually born Demi Gene Guynes? Considering that didn’t exactly role off the tongue and that she had recently married singer Freddy Moore, Demi decided to use his last name as her stage name. However, we aren’t here to talk about Demi Moore’s name, we’re here to discuss her teenage marriage to a man 12 years her senior. The two met when Demi was just 16, and married a year later in 1980. The two would later divorce in 1985, adding Demi Moore’s name to the ever-growing list of teenage brides whose marriages didn’t last.
#2: Marilyn Monroe
Age: 16
Marilyn Monroe’s famous marriages to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller have been well documented. But did you know she was married to another man when she was just 16? Monroe married James Dougherty in 1942 shortly after her sixteenth birthday. The marriage was one of necessity, as Monroe’s foster family was moving to West Virginia and by law weren’t allowed to take her with them. She was thus facing the prospect of being sent to an orphanage. To avoid that gloomy fate Monroe married Dougherty, who was 21. The two had very little in common and in 1946 they divorced, with Monroe on the verge of becoming a star.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
LeAnn Rimes
Age: 19
Kim Kardashian
Age: 19
#1: Aaliyah
Age: 15
Aaliyah’s music career began was she was 10 years old after a successful appearance on the reality TV show “Star Search”. She later signed with Jive Records where she was introduced to R&B star R. Kelly. After the two collaborated on the suspiciously titled album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number”, rumors began to circulate that Aaliyah and Kelly had secretly, and illegally, wed. The rumors turned out to be true, as the two musicians had married in Illinois on August 31st, 1994. Once Aaliyah’s parents learned of the illegal marriage they quickly had it annulled. Sadly, the story didn’t end there, as Aaliyah would later perish in a plane crash at the age of 22.
