Neil Young’s 36-Year Marriage and the Surprising Star He’s Married to Now
The 'Heart of Gold' singer has been married to 'Splash' star Daryl Hannah since 2018
For nearly six decades, Neil Young has been acclaimed for his distinctive vocals and guitar work, and his discography, which includes albums with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and decades of work with his band Crazy Horse, as well as many solo albums, is known for its diversity, spanning from mellow folk ballads to hard rock.
The “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man” singer-songwriter was an essential player in the ’60s folk music revolution, and has always written deeply personal and poignant lyrics. Read on to learn all about Young’s relationships, from his 36-year marriage to musician and activist Pegi Young to his current marriage to actress Daryl Hannah, and how the women in his life inspired some of his greatest hits.
Neil Young’s mysterious hippie first wife: Susan Acevedo
Neil Young married his first wife, Susan Acevedo, in 1968. Acevedo owned a restaurant in Topanga, California that the rising music star frequented. As Young recalled in his 2012 memoir, Waging Heavy Peace, “Morning on the deck began with coffee overlooking the canyon . . . The scene in there was always stimulating, full of the color of the canyon, with the artists and other local characters, drug dealers and beautiful hippie girls and I really enjoyed my breakfasts . . . Susan introduced me to a lot of great artists in the canyon.”
When they married, Young became stepfather to Acevedo’s 6-year-old daughter, but the union didn’t last, and they divorced in 1970. While little is known about Young’s first wife and what she did after their divorce, the musician credited her as an important early influence.
Acevedo also made her mark on Young’s aesthetic, as she sewed patches (using her hair as the thread) onto the jeans he wore on the back cover of his 1970 album After the Gold Rush. In his memoir, the singer wrote, “She made all of my patchwork clothes, creating a style that spoke to the times, really the only time I was anywhere near fashionable. That was all Susan’s doing, and it was so beautiful.”
Neil Young’s movie star muse: Carrie Snodgress
After his divorce, Young began dating Carrie Snodgress, an actress best known for her Oscar-nominated role in the 1970 film Diary of a Mad Housewife. They got together after Young saw Snodgress’ picture in a magazine and set out to meet her, and they were an item until 1975.
A number of songs on Young’s classic 1972 album Harvest were inspired by his relationship with Snodgress, including the title track, “Heart of Gold,” “A Man Needs a Maid” and “Out on the Weekend.” His 1974 song “Motion Pictures” was also inspired by her, and the 1978 song “Already One” is believed to be about the dissolution of their relationship. In 1973, she appeared as herself in Journey Through the Past, an experimental film directed by and starring Young.
In 1972, Young and Snodgress’ son, Zeke, was born. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and Snodgress stepped away from the screen to raise him as a single mom after she and Young broke up. She sued him for child support in 1983, and died of heart failure at 58 in 2004.
Young recorded Homegrown, an album inspired by his breakup with Snodgress, between 1974 and 1975, but he told Rolling Stone, “It was the darker side to Harvest. A lot of the songs had to do with me breaking up with my old lady. It was a little too personal . . . it scared me.” He finally released the revealing album decades later, in 2020.
Neil Young’s wife of 36 years: Pegi Young
Young met Pegi Morton while she was working as a waitress at a diner near his California ranch in 1974. They married in 1978 and their son, Ben, was born that year. Ben was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy, and his struggles inspired the Youngs to establish the Bridge School, an organization dedicated to supporting children with major speech and physical impairments. Ben went on to become a farmer, and their daughter, Amber, now an artist, was born in 1984.
Neil and Pegi Young were considered one of the longest-lasting and most low-key rock star couples, and she inspired his 1985 song “Once an Angel.” His 1992 album Harvest Moon featured a variety of songs about their longtime love, including the title track, “Unknown Legend” and “Such a Woman.”
The musician and his wife also collaborated creatively. Pegi performed with him as a backing vocalist throughout the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s and they frequently shared the stage at Bridge School Benefit concerts. In 2007, she released her debut album.
Neil shocked his fans when the news broke that he was getting divorced in 2014, and in 2017, Pegi released Raw, an album based on the painful emotions of their surprising split. Sadly, she died of cancer at 66 in 2019.
After Pegi’s passing, Neil shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife of nearly four decades, writing, “Thanks Pegi, for being such a wonderful mother to our children. You live inside of them and the many you have touched,” and quoting the lyrics, “You are such a woman to me / And I love you / Our love will live / Until the end of time / No one else can kill me like you do / No one else can fill me like you do / And no, no one else can feel our pain / Love is a healer / And I love you,” from his song “Such a Woman.”
Neil Young’s current wife: Daryl Hannah
Shortly after his divorce in 2014, Young was spotted with Daryl Hannah, leading many to speculate that an affair with the Splash star could’ve ended his marriage. At first glance, the musical icon and the actress seemed like an odd couple that might not last, but they’ve now been together for a decade.
Young and Hannah married in 2018, and that year she collaborated with him on her directorial debut, Paradox, an artsy Western musical in which he starred alongside Willie Nelson and his sons, Lukas and Micah, and performed a variety of songs.
The couple has continued to collaborate on creative projects, as Hannah has worked on his stage backdrops and album covers, as well as filming his concerts, and Coastal, a documentary she filmed during his 2023 tour, will be released this month. Young and the Blade Runner actress are also both dedicated environmental activists, and have appeared at protests together.
In an interview, Young called Hannah “a wonderful human being” and “a real artist,” and said, “I’m very lucky. We’re very lucky to have found each other. I’m eternally thankful for the opportunity to share my life with her, and she feels the same.”
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