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The late Kirk Douglas' wife is turning 102 in April! Here is everything to know about Anne Buydens.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Apr 02, 2021
Kirk Douglas died at the age of 103 and, in his wake, he has left behind an acting career and legacy that spanned nearly eight decades.
His contribution to pop culture, and to Hollywood's history, cannot be overestimated or overstated.
And yet, his acting career was just a small sliver of his larger-than-life personality — and a family life that included children, grandchildren, and a loving wife of more than six decades.
The nearly 70-year (!) marriage of Kirk and Anne Douglas, who's an impressive 101 years old, is perhaps one of the longest-lasting — if not the longest-lasting — marriage in Hollywood history.
Who Kirk Douglas' wife, Anne Buydens Douglas — and now, widow?
Let's look at what we know about this extraordinary lady.
1. She was a Hollywood producer.
Before she married Kirk Douglas, Anne Buydens Douglas was a famous Hollywood film producer.
She met Douglas while working as a film publicist on the set of "Act of Love," a film which shot in Paris, and Douglas called her "the most difficult woman he'd ever met." A photographer friend of Buydens is the person who introduced the iconic pair in 1950.
At the time, Douglas was engaged to actress Pier Angeli, but he broke off the engagement to be with Anne Buydens Douglas.
Douglas and Buydens were married four years later in 1954 and it lasted until Douglas died in 2020.
2. Anne Buydens real name is Hannelore Marx.
Like many in Hollywood, Douglas adopted a stage name for a variety of reasons. But her birth name was Hannelore Marx and she was born in Hanover, Germany.
She and her family moved to Belgium when she was still a teenager, and she speaks several languages as a result of her European upbringing.
3. She was Kirk Douglas' second wife.
Before Kirk Douglas married German-born Anne Buydens Douglas, he was married to actress Diana Love Dill. (She would eventually become Diana Douglas Webster.) They were married from 1943 until 1951, and that marriage produced two children — one of them being legendary actor Michael Douglas.
But even though Anne Buydens Douglas was Kirk Douglas' second wife, Kirk Douglas claimed that everyone — including Diana Douglas Webster, and their two sons — loved Anne.
Diana, unfortunately, died in 2015 due to an undisclosed form of cancer at the age of 92.
4. Anne Buydens Douglas also had two sons with Kirk Douglas — but one died of a drug overdose.
Anne, like his first wife, had two sons with Kirk Douglas — Peter Douglas, a film producer, and Eric Douglas, a stand-up comedian, and sometime actor.
In 2004, however, Eric Douglas died of a drug overdose. He was only 46 years old.
Peter, on the other hand, turned 65 last November.
5. She has four grandchildren.
All four of her grandchildren came from her surviving son, Peter, and all four are boys. There's Kelsey (29), Tyler (25), Ryan (21), and Jason (18).
6. She's a sharp-dressed woman.
Fashion, of course, is a subjective thing, but Anne Buydens Douglas has the distinction of being fashionable at all ages. She has been a member of the International Best Dressed List since the 1970s, meaning she's held the honor for more than 40 years.
She was even inducted into the International 'Best Dressed' List Hall of Fame alongside other awesome women like actress Candice Bergen, Countess Mona von Bismarck, and HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Quite the impressive list!
7. She has not yet commented on Kirk Douglas' death.
As of this writing, Anne Buydens Douglas has not yet commented on Kirk Douglas' death. However, that's understandable — after all, they were married for more than six decades, and it's safe to say that the poor woman is grieving.
8. Anne Buydens' net worth jumped after her husband's death.
Anne Buydens' net worth by herself was around $1.2 million, but after gaining her late husband's net worth she is up to roughly $60 million.
9. She received one award in her lifetime.
Anne Buydens received a Glamour Award for "The Crusaders" during her career.
10. She's turning 102 this April!
Many people may be wondering How old is Kirk Douglas's wife? Or Is Kirk Douglas's wife still alive? Well yes in fact Kirk Douglas's widow Anne Buydens is turning 102.
No word yet on how she and her family will celebrate, but last year's celebration was a car procession to wish her a socially distanced "Happy Birthday."
Her grandson, Cameron, documented the whole thing on his Instagram stories bringing along those who couldn't make the celebration.
He records that the procession was a bit of a wait to see his grandmother but that doesn't matter to him, "Now, we’ve been in line for about 20 or 30 minutes. I’d wait 20 or 30 hours to say happy birthday to Anne and here we go."
Her stepson Michale Douglas also posted an Instagram photo of Anne Buydens wishing his step-mom a Happy Birthday.
His wife, actress Catherin-Zeta Jones also shared a warming tribute to Buydens saying, "Happy Birthday to my extraordinary stepmother in Law. Our Queen, our Oma. You personify everything that is good in a woman. I admire you and love you so very much."
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.