Home / Arts and Entertainment / Tragic Loss Haunts Actress' Marriages: A Heartbreaking Story
Tragic Loss Haunts Actress' Marriages: A Heartbreaking Story
3 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Actress had a long career in film, TV, and theater
- Married Bruce Dern in 1960, but their first child died at 18 months
- Remarried twice more, but struggled with the loss of their first child
In November 2025, a talented actress is reflecting on her tumultuous personal life and the heartbreak that has haunted her marriages over the years. Beginning her career in 1957 with a one-off appearance on the crime-drama series Decoy, she went on to accumulate an impressive list of credits across film, television, and theater, including a role in Roman Polanski's 1974 classic Chinatown.
However, her professional success was overshadowed by the tragic loss of her first child. In 1960, just months after meeting her first husband, Bruce Dern, on an off-Broadway production, the couple welcomed their daughter Diane. Tragically, Diane died at just 18 months old in a drowning accident under the care of a housekeeper. "It tore us apart," the actress later told PEOPLE of the devastating loss.
The couple's marriage struggled to recover, and they ultimately divorced in 1969. That same year, the actress remarried to William A. Shea Jr., but that union also ended in divorce in 1977. "My people pass love around, and why I selected two men who needed someone to give love and didn't know how to give it," she reflected to The New York Times. "I hope I won't repeat that again."
