Inside James Brolin’s 3 Marriages: From Josh Brolin’s Mom to His 26-Year Love With Barbra Streisand
The 'Ransom Canyon' star has had his fair share of romances
James Brolin has always been a leading man, and his new television series, Ransom Canyon, has the 84-year-old actor back on our radar. While Brolin’s romantic life has long been the subject of chatter, as his long-time marriage to multi-talented superstar Barbra Streisand is about as iconic as it gets, the famed star of television and film was actually married twice before tying the knot with the Funny Girl actress. Here, a look at James Brolin’s previous marriages.
James Brolin and Jane Cameron Agee’s fast marriage
James Brolin and his first wife, Jane Cameron Agee, moved with lightning speed when it came to tying the knot. While Brolin was enjoying his career as an actor, his eventual wife Jane was working in casting. It was on the set of Batman when the two first crossed paths, and after Brolin asked her out, less than two weeks after their first date, they were married, he told The New York Times back in 1970.
James and Jane, who was a lover of animals, welcomed two children throughout their marriage. In 1968 came son Josh, who went on to become an accomplished actor, known for films like The Goonies (1985), No Country for Old Men (2007) and Sicario (2015), and later came his younger brother Jess.
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In 1994, however, Jane and James went their separate ways and in 1995, Jane tragically died in a car accident when she crashed her vehicle into a tree. “I adored her,” Josh Brolin told Men’s Journal of his mom back in 2017. “I miss her terribly.” The actor continued, “For two years after that, I was lost and just spinning.”
James Brolin and Jan Smithers: why they grew apart
Jan Smithers is known by many for her role as Bailey Quarters on WKRP in Cincinnati, but the actress was also married to James Brolin from 1986 to 1995. While married, the couple had a daughter, Molly Elizabeth Brolin.
“It was good—really good—but somehow, somewhere, we started to wander,” Smithers told Newsweek in 2016. “He traveled a lot for work. We grew apart. He was gone months at a time.” She continued, “I had Molly and wanted to be in the country and get away from that world. I just wanted a different life, and we ended up getting divorced.” Despite their split, Smithers still remembers her time with the actor fondly, even reflecting on a memory of when they first worked together on the series Hotel. “When I did Hotel, we were about to do our scene, and James asked me if I was scared. I was sure of my lines, and I said no, I wasn’t. I realized that he might be scared! And I realized he was a very sincere person. I don’t know if he remembers that or not, but our relationship developed on sincerity.”
James Brolin and Barbra Streisand: a love story for the ages
Brolin’s current and longest-lasting marriage has been with actress and musician Barbra Streisand, whom he was set up with on a blind date back in 1996. Two years later, the couple tied the knot and have been loved up ever since!
“I wish I had met Barbra 30 years ago,” Brolin told McCall’s back in 1998 before the duo said “I do.” “We’ve talked about this and we say, ‘Maybe in the last 30 years we’ve learned a lot of stuff that has helped us deal with who we are right now.’ Maybe it wouldn’t have worked back then—she was busy; I was who I was.” He continued, “But I think it could have.”
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