Mickey Rooney was a powerhouse. A tiny, 5-foot-2 stick of dynamite who could sing, dance, cry on cue, and somehow command the screen next to legends like Judy Garland. But away from the bright lights of MGM, his personal life was a literal whirlwind of courthouse visits and alimony checks. If you've ever found yourself wondering how many wives did Mickey Rooney have, the answer isn't just a number. It is a saga. It’s a story of a man who was arguably addicted to the idea of being in love, even if he wasn't particularly good at the "staying married" part.
He had eight. Eight wives.
That number sounds like a punchline from a late-night talk show, and for much of Rooney’s later life, it actually was. He often joked about it himself, famously saying, "Always marry a short girl. Her mother will be manageable." But beneath the self-deprecating humor was a complicated man who spent decades trying to find a stability that always seemed to slip through his fingers. He didn't just have a "type"—his marriages spanned decades, involving beauty queens, legendary actresses, and even a tragic murder-suicide that haunted him until his death in 2014.
The First One: Ava Gardner and the MGM Machine
You can’t talk about Mickey Rooney’s marriages without starting with the biggest name on the list: Ava Gardner. In 1942, Rooney was the king of the world. He was the number one box office draw in America. Ava? She was a stunning newcomer from North Carolina who hadn't even had a speaking role yet.
Rooney saw her on the MGM lot and was floored. He asked her out immediately. She said no. He asked again. She said no again. Eventually, his persistence (and his status as the studio's golden boy) wore her down. They married in January 1942. It was a disaster from the start. Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, was terrified that his "all-American boy" Andy Hardy getting married would ruin his image with teenage girls.
The marriage lasted exactly one year and five days. Gardner later noted that while Rooney was a "superb entertainer," he was a "rotten husband." He was out partying, gambling, and chasing other women while she sat at home. They divorced in 1943. It set a precedent for the rest of his life: a quick "I do" followed by a very messy "I'm done."
A Pattern Emerges: Betty Jane Rase and Martha Vickers
By the time 1944 rolled around, Mickey was in the Army. While stationed in Alabama, he met Betty Jane Rase, a local beauty queen who had been crowned Miss Birmingham. They married almost instantly. This wasn't a Hollywood power couple; it was a wartime romance that resulted in two sons, Mickey Jr. and Tim.
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It lasted about four years.
Why did it fail? Honestly, Rooney couldn't stay still. He was back in Hollywood, the war was over, and his career was starting to shift. The transition from child star to adult actor is a brutal one, and Rooney felt that pressure intensely. He divorced Betty Jane in 1948 and, true to form, married his third wife, actress Martha Vickers, just hours after the divorce from Betty Jane was finalized.
Vickers was a talented actress, perhaps best known for her role in The Big Sleep. They had a son, Teddy, but the marriage was plagued by Rooney’s deepening financial troubles and his penchant for gambling. By 1951, wife number three was out the door.
The Tragic Tale of Barbara Ann Thomason
If you look at the timeline of how many wives did Mickey Rooney have, the middle years are the darkest. After a brief, three-year marriage to Elaine Devry (wife number four), Rooney met Barbara Ann Thomason. She was a model and aspiring actress, and for a while, it seemed like this might actually be "the one."
They were married for seven years. They had four children together. For Mickey, this was a record.
But the ending was horrific. While Rooney was away filming in 1966, Barbara was found dead in their Los Angeles home. She had been murdered by her lover, a stuntman named Milos Milos, who then turned the gun on himself. It was a tabloid frenzy. Rooney was devastated. Friends of the actor said he never truly got over the guilt and the shock of that event. It shattered the illusion that his marriages were just lighthearted Hollywood fodder.
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The Rebound and the Final Stretch
In the wake of Barbara’s death, Rooney did what he always did: he looked for a new wife to help him cope. He married Marge Lane, who was a friend of Barbara’s. It was a marriage of grief and convenience.
It lasted 100 days.
Then came Carolyn Hockett in 1969. They had two children together, but by 1975, the marriage had dissolved. At this point, Rooney was broke. He had made millions and lost millions. The IRS was after him. He was performing in dinner theaters and taking any job he could get. He was a "has-been" in the eyes of the industry, but he refused to stop working.
Finally, in 1978, he married Jan Chamberlin.
This is where the story gets really complicated. Jan was a singer, and their marriage lasted significantly longer than all his other marriages combined—over 34 years. On paper, it looked like he had finally found his match. However, the reality behind closed doors was anything but peaceful.
The Final Years: Legal Battles and Elder Abuse
By the 2010s, the headlines about Mickey Rooney weren't about his career; they were about his safety. In 2011, Rooney went before Congress to testify about elder abuse. He alleged that he was being denied food and medicine, and that his finances were being stripped away by family members.
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Though he and Jan remained legally married, they were separated at the time of his death in 2014. He had actually filed for a permanent separation and moved out of their home, living with his stepson, Mark Rooney. When the legendary actor passed away at age 93, he had only $18,000 to his name. A man who had been the biggest star in the world ended his life embroiled in a legal war with his eighth wife and her children.
Why Did He Keep Doing It?
It’s easy to judge. People look at a man who married eight times and see a lack of discipline or a character flaw. But you have to remember the context of Rooney’s life. He grew up in vaudeville. He was on stage from the time he could walk. He was a product of the studio system, which controlled everything from what he ate to who he dated.
Rooney was a man who hated being alone. He once admitted that he loved the feeling of "the chase" and the honeymoon phase, but struggled with the mundane reality of a Tuesday afternoon in a long-term marriage. He was also incredibly impulsive.
- Financial pressure: He often married to find a sense of home, but the divorces ended up bankrupting him.
- The "Andy Hardy" Image: He spent his youth playing a character who was the perfect son. In his private life, he rebelled against that perfection by living as chaotically as possible.
- Longevity: He lived a long time. Had he died in his 40s, we’d be talking about four wives. Living to 93 gave him more time to rack up the numbers.
Summary of the Eight Marriages
To keep track of the sheer volume of his domestic life, here is how the timeline actually looked:
- Ava Gardner (1942–1943): The starlet. Lasted a year.
- Betty Jane Rase (1944–1949): The beauty queen. Two children.
- Martha Vickers (1949–1951): The actress. One child.
- Elaine Devry (1952–1958): The quiet years. They met at a driving range.
- Barbara Ann Thomason (1958–1966): The tragedy. Four children. Ended in her murder.
- Marge Lane (1966–1967): The rebound. Lasted barely three months.
- Carolyn Hockett (1969–1975): The struggling years. Two children.
- Jan Chamberlin (1978–2014): The long haul. Ended in separation and legal drama.
Lessons from the Rooney Saga
What can we actually learn from Mickey Rooney’s marital track record? Honestly, it’s a cautionary tale about the difference between "love" and "the idea of love." Rooney was a romantic in the most traditional, old-fashioned sense. He believed in the grand gesture. He believed that a new marriage could fix an old problem.
If you’re researching this for a project or just out of pure curiosity, the takeaway is that Rooney’s life was a reflection of the industry he worked in. It was performative, expensive, and deeply emotional. He didn't do anything halfway—including his exits.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
If you want to understand the man better, don't just look at the Wikipedia list of his wives. Go watch The Black Stallion (1979) to see his late-career brilliance, or read his autobiography, Life is Too Short. It’s a raw, often biased, but fascinating look into why he made the choices he did. You’ll find that while he had eight wives, he only ever had one true love: the audience. Everything else was just an attempt to find that same level of adoration at the breakfast table.