How Many Times Was ‘Gilmore Girls’ Star Kelly Bishop Married?
Kelly Bishop, the actor famous for portraying Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, is set to publish a memoir about her life. The 79-year-old actor spent years on Broadway before breaking into movies and eventually television. Her professional life isn’t the only thing she’ll discuss in her book. Bishop promises to share details of her private life, too. The octogenarian has kept her personal life so quiet that most fans don’t even realize she’s been married twice. We have some details on her romances.
Kelly Bishop’s forgotten first marriage was a symptom of the times
Kelly Bishop doesn’t often talk about her marriages, but every so often, she shares a peak behind the curtain that proves her life, while glamorous, was not always perfect. In an interview with Bustle, Bishop once revealed that she was married once before meeting her lifelong mate.
In a chat with the publication, Bishop mentioned that she folded to societal pressure to say “I do” before she was 30. The famed actor explained that she was raised to believe she needed to find a husband before she would be considered an “old maid.” Bishop said she decided to marry the man she had been dating to meet the deadline. She made it down the aisle before her 30th birthday. Still, she insisted she knew immediately that the marriage was not what she wanted. She said that she was never in love with him, and he was merely in love with her money. The marriage lasted three years, and she was single again by the time she turned 30.
Bishop has yet to reveal the name of her first husband, but it’s always possible he will make it into her memoir. We imagine that when delving into her personal life, she’ll be sharing far more about her second and, thus far, last marriage.
Kelly Bishop’s second marriage lasted for decades
Bishop might have spent years on a Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, but her real life happened in New York and New Jersey. The famed actor lived many of her adult years in New York and has lived in the same home in South Orange, New Jersey, since 1995. Less than an hour from Midtown Manhattan, the quiet town is where Bishop set up her life with her second husband.
Bishop married Lee Leonard, a sports host who helped launch ESPN and CNN, in 1981. Leonard, 15 years older than Bishop, was well-established when the duo met. While it’s unclear how they ended up together, it’s safe to say their romance was a successful one. The duo married in 1981 and remained committed to each other until 2018, when Leonard died. He was 89. His cause of death was cancer.
Leonard had been married twice before. Neither marriage lasted nearly as long as his partnership with Bishop. Bishop’s short-lived first marriage is one she seems interested in forgetting. Her love affair with Leonard appears to be an important part of her life, though.
Kelly Bishop’s memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl, will be released on Sept. 17.
