Elizabeth Anderson Martin Was William Shatner’s Wife for 18 Years

Their love for horses brought them together and kept them together for nearly two decades. Learn more about Elizabeth Anderson Martin - William Shatner’s fourth wife - and their separation after 18 years of marriage.

William Shatner's fourth ex-wife, Elizabeth had years of experience in the horse business, and it was their shared love for horses that led to her and William's love story. Sadly, that love did not last even when it seemed like it would, as the pair chose to go their separate ways.

ELIZABETH ANDERSON IS A PROFESSIONAL EQUESTRIAN JUDGE

Elizabeth’s love for horses led her to a career in the equestrian industry that lasted years. In 2010, her and William founded the All Glory Project, which aimed to promote and support programs and institutions that aid the military, veterans, and their families.

Aside from her years in the horse business, Elizabeth also had experience as a photographer. She was not always passionate about photography, and it was her love for nature and her intrinsic vision that led her in the direction of becoming a photographer/ digital artist.

Her photography journey started over ten years ago when she went on a safari with Joanne Kalish and Joe DiMaggio, who are well-known photographers. Elizabeth was on the safari for two weeks and quickly became familiar with cameras and their equipment.

Before her romance with William, Elizabeth was previously married to Michael Glenn Martin from November 19,1983, until August 3, 1997. Unfortunately, Michael died after a battle with cancer.

ELIZABETH ANDERSON AND WILLIAM SHATNER’S MARRIAGE

William fell in love with Elizabeth's beauty, alongside all her other impressive qualities. He considered himself lucky to have found someone with intelligence and style. Not only did they share an interest in horses but in dogs as well. He said:

“Elizabeth has a great sense of humor and adventure, and she’s very nurturing. That combination of beauty, style, intelligence, humor and loving horses and dogs and children and loving her home, and making a home for us is quite a combination. So I’ve been very lucky because all that happened by accident. Love is what makes the cold universe warm.”

Their love story was somewhat of an accident. After the death of his third wife, William received letters from fans expressing their condolences; amongst those was one from his future wife.

Elizabeth wrote William a letter; the lost art of letter writing seemed to do the trick as the two were married on February 13, 2001.

Before his marriage to Elizabeth, William was married to his first wife, Gloria Rand, from 1956 to 1969. They shared three daughters: Leslie, Lisabeth, and Melanie. William did not have any more children. He married his second wife, Marcy Lafferty, and they were together for thirteen years before they called things off in 1996.

William did not wait long before tying the knot the third time with Nerine Kidd. Nerine was a model, and William’s “Star Wars” co-star Leonard Nimoy was his best man at his wedding. In his book, Williams revealed that his late wife had a drinking problem.

As a close friend to the couple, Leonard would occasionally take Nerine to AA meetings. In August of 1999, William found his wife dead in their swimming pool.

Her autopsy revealed that the alcohol and Valium levels in her system were three times higher than the legal limit. During an interview with The Irish Times, William said that he never understood her addiction:

“During that period when we were together, we were so much in love, and she was drinking, but I didn’t understand addiction.”

In his book, William further describes the pain and trauma of losing his wife. Overwhelmed with grief, the actor felt lost and like he had failed his late wife.

After nearly two decades of marriage, Elizabeth and William’s divorce was finalized in 2020; despite this, the two have remained on good terms. Elizabeth was present during his 90th birthday celebrations and the two were seen together in California.

They both appeared relaxed, with William rocking a baseball cap and Elizabeth in a pair of sunglasses. After their split was finalized in March of 2022, William paid Elizabeth $2 million as part of their prenuptial agreement.

Their divorce seemed to be one of the easier ones; according to reports, they split most things. They split ownership of their four horses: Renaissance Man's Medici, Powder River Shirley, Belle Reve's So Photogenic, and Pebbles. They also split up their homes, with Elizabeth getting their home in Versailles.

Due to their prenuptial arrangement, William could keep most of his $100-million estate following his divorce. He also kept his “Star Trek” royalties.

They have been the definition of friendly exes as they have been spotted out and about together for months. Their regular outings had people wondering whether they had gotten back together, but nothing has been confirmed.

WHAT DOES ELIZABETH ANDERSON DO NOW?

Since her divorce, Elizabeth has spent her time doing what she loves. As the co-founder and president of The Glory Project, she continued to provide animal support and therapy for veterans and their families.

Also continued her love for nature and photography, she created Art by Nature, a collection of her nature images.

Elizabeth co-hosted charity horse shows with William and had her own stables as a professional horsewoman, judge, and instructor.