Inside Bette Davis’s 4 Marriages—Including the Husband Who Divorced Her Over Her Love for Books
The actress’ husbands included a painter, an actor and more. Here, all the details about her love life
When it comes to Golden Age Hollywood stars, none shine as brightly as the late Bette Davis. Best known for films like Jezebel (1938), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) and Death on the Nile (1978), Davis truly helped pave the way for all the actresses that came after her. But acting isn’t the only thing she’s known for. Throughout her career, Davis married four different men, including a co-star of hers! We found out everything you need to know about each of her four husbands below!
Harmon Nelson (1932 to 1938)
Davis’s first marriage was to Harmon Nelson, a musician from Massachusetts. Nelson was only one year older than Davis at the time of their nuptials—beyond that, many details surrounding the couple remain a mystery.
One thing that is quite clear, though, is why the pair divorced in 1938.
According to an edition of the New York Times from back in the day, Nelson said that Davis “thought her work was more important than her marriage.”
He also stated that Davis “insisted on reading books or manuscripts when he had guests. It was all very upsetting.”
Davis also revealed in 1982 that during their marriage, she had two abortions because ”That’s what he wanted.”
”Being the dutiful wife, that’s what I did.”
Following his divorce, Nelson married a woman named Anne in 1946 and remained with her until he died at age 68 in 1975. He had no children.
Arthur Farnsworth (1940 to 1943)
Following her divorce from Nelson, Davis took a two-year-long break from married life. But everything changed once she reconnected with her high school friend Arthur Farnsworth. The two fell madly in love with one another, eloped in December 1940 and remained together until Farnsworth’s tragic death in 1943, the result of a nasty tumble down the stairs that caused a blood clot to form on the right side of his skull—the symptoms of which were not diagnosed until two months later.
“The film star, who had taken an adjoining room at the hospital to be near her husband, was hysterical with grief and under a physician’s care,” an archived Los Angeles Times article reads.
Prior to his marriage to Davis, Farnsworth was a commercial airline pilot but gave it up to be with the Hollywood starlet.
William Grant Sherry (1945 to 1950)
After taking time to grieve her late husband, Davis then married an artist named William Grant Sherry in 1945, a man six years her junior.
Grant Sherry was born in 1914 in Amagansett, NY and quickly rose to fame for his artistic talents, especially in the painting realm. He was also the first of Davis’s husbands to have a child with her.
In 1947, the two welcomed daughter Barbara Davis “B.D.” Hyman. Hyman is currently 77 years old and made her money as an author, with Davis stating that she thinks “B.D. wanted no part of acting.”
Sadly, though, after just five years of marriage, Grant Sherry and Davis divorced. The reason remains unclear, but their custody battle was highly publicized.
“He was a very childish type of human being, [but out of our marriage] came this marvelous daughter who has been the greatest fun of my life,” Davis once said.
Following their split, Grant Sherry married his daughter’s nanny, Marion Richards, in 1950 and welcomed two more children with her before dying in 2003 at age 88.
Gary Merrill (1950 to 1960)
Davis’s fourth and final marriage was to actor Gary Merrill in 1950. Throughout their time together, Davis and Merrill worked together on several different projects, including the hit 1950 film All About Eve, which also starred George Sanders, Anne Baxter and Marilyn Monroe.
The couple also adopted a set of twins together in 1951 named Margot and Michael Merrill. Margot sadly died in 2022 at age 71, but Michael is still alive.
Despite their twins, though, Davis and Merrill still had problems. Reports say that he was an alcoholic and would often abuse her verbally and physically. Davis was also reportedly worried that Merrill would eventually end up hurting her children, so she divorced him in 1960 after 10 years of marriage.
”For three years, I was solely a wife and mother, and Gary fell out of love with me,” Davis said later.
After Merrill, the actress decided to remain single for the rest of her life.
“Love is a big joke on all of us,” Bette said. “I chose very foolishly, but how can one regret this choice? I believe in one thing in this world: Out of everything comes some good, even if you just learn something.”
Bette Davis: a legacy
Davis sadly died in 1989 at age 81 from breast cancer.
“Indestructible. That’s the word that’s often used to describe me. I suppose it means that I just overcame everything. But without things to overcome, you don’t become much of a person, do you?” Davis said before her passing.
”I know what I want as my epitaph. Here lies Ruth Elizabeth Davis—she did it the hard way.”
At the time of her death, Davis had two Academy Awards to her name and starred in over 124 movies and TV shows.
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