The renowned performer and actor Harry Belafonte passed suddenly from congestive heart failure on April 25 at his New York City residence. The singer is recognised with popularising Jamaican folk melodies on a global scale, inspiring further African-American musicians to pursue careers in music.
In addition, Belafonte was well renowned for his humanitarian efforts and advocacy for civil rights. The singer gained attention for his personal life in addition to his professional career. In his lifetime, he had three marriages. Here is all the information we currently have about Harry Belafonte’s wives.
Marguerite Belafonte
First wife of the singer was Marguerite Belafonte. When Harry was a member of the US Navy, they first connected in Virginia in 1944. Adrienne and Shari Belafonte were the couple’s daughters when they were married in June 1948. But in 1954, they made the decision to split up when Marguerite was still carrying her second child.
During her brief career as an actor, Marguerite made a 1959 appearance in the movie Night of the Quarter Moon. She eventually changed her mind, claiming that she “simply found the show-biz environment to be superficial, and dishonest.” And more often than not, that was his entire life.
In an interview, Adrienne discussed the issues that plagued her parents’ union and said, “Mom had the drive and intensity of many Black contemporaries. She came from a family that was trying to get to the middle class of White society, which is where upper class Black society is. For Dad, the goal was to transform society as a whole.
In the meantime, Shari disclosed that after her parents’ divorce, her father had stopped being a significant influence in her life. Marguerite had reportedly remarked of her marriage that “our courtship was one long debate about racial problems.” At the age of 74, she died in 1998.
Julie Robinson
In 1957, Harry Belafonte wed Julie Robinson, his second wife. The two first connected while Carmen Jones was being filmed in 1954. Robinson was dating Marlon Brando at the time, but she soon fell for Harry. Marguerite discovered the couple’s love letters they had exchanged.
Together, the couple gave birth to two children: son David and daughter Gina. After 45 years of marriage, Harry and Julie divorced in 2004. “I felt confined and enraged, but then, I always did. The singer has described his second marriage as being “trapped by my mother, by poverty, and by the obligation I felt for the worldwide poor.”
Pamela Frank
Harry Belafonte’s third wife Pamela Frank remained with him right up to his passing. As her spouse passed away, she was by his side. The pair wed in 2008 and attended various occasions together, such as the NAACP Image Awards and the Broadway premiere of Michael Moore.
Frank, a photographer by trade, is the father of two kids from a previous union. She was also there in 2021 when her husband received the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government.
