Michael Douglas' Mother Diana's Three Marriages

Michael Douglas’s mother married twice after her divorce from ex-husband, Kirk Douglas.

Diana, who passed away in 2015, married for the third time in 2002, at the age of 79. The Bermudian actress was first married to iconic actor Kirk Douglas, who courted her when they were both acting students in New York.

"I think there were all sorts of things that we could call on. Actors are always looking for intense memories to call on.”

Their seven-year marriage, which ended in 1951, produced two sons, Michael and Joel. Both sons followed Diana and Kirk’s footsteps: Michael went into acting while Joel became a film producer.

Diana’s second marriage was with actor Bill Dillard. They had been married for 36 years when Dillard died in 1992.

MARRIED AGAIN AT 79

Ten years later, in 2002, Diana tied the knot with Donald Webster at the age of 79. A year after her third marriage, Diana appeared in the movie, “It Runs in The Family,” as Kirk’s fictional wife.

The movie featured three generations of the Douglas family – Michael, his father Kirk, and his son Cameron.

Michael suggested to the director that his mother, Diana, play his mother in the film.

He recalled, “You know, the director has the final say on casting, even when a family is involved. And after Fred [Schepisi], our very talented director, had accepted three generations, with Cameron playing, then there was the part of Kirk’s wife, and I said, ‘Well, Fred, you gotta meet my mother, Diana’.”

"INTENSE MEMORIES" ON SET

Diana still had to audition for the role although it was a film centering around the Douglas family. Diana and Kirk played a New York couple who had been married for 50 years.

“We’re both professionals. And it was useful,” she said of her time working with her former husband. “Particularly, the scene where we were dancing together. I think there were all sorts of things that we could call on. Actors are always looking for intense memories to call on.”

In 2018, the famous Douglas family received another achievement with a Walk of Fame star for Michael.

The “Basic Instinct” actor arrived at the induction ceremony with his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, his son Cameron and his father, Kirk.