After Two Failed Marriages, Debra Paget’s Union with Third Husband Lasted for 18 Years
Perhaps you remember Debra Paget for her role in The Ten Commandments, the lady that Elvis Presley couldn't marry, or for any of her 45 acting credits.
Whatever be the case, Paget had grown to become a household name, whose fame would follow her decades after she retired from acting.
Yes, there is a universe to explore in her acting career, however now is the time for some personal information dump, specifically her marriages.
Paget has been married a total of three times — marriage with one spouse lasted 19 days, another 18 years.
Debra Paget '50s.
Photo by #FrankWorth pic.twitter.com/UkiuYIuauF — Juan M. Puerta (@JuanmaCadillac) September 17, 2021
Fell in Love Saturday, Married on Tuesday
As per reports from The San Bernardino County Sun, Paget got married for the first time on January 14, 1958. She had fallen in love with her first spouse three days prior.
Paget married singer David Street in a quiet home ceremony, possibly to avoid causing a scene involving his fourth wife, Sharon Lee — the one whom he had married and divorced a month prior.
Well, she did cause a ruckus the following eve when she went on air and claimed that Street's relationship with Paget was what broke her 30-day marriage.
In retrospect, that was a vain effort because two months hence, Paget and Street would end their marriage in divorce anyway.
Debra Paget & Elvis Presley on the set of "Love Me Tender" (1958) pic.twitter.com/UMUVcabwmg — Space-reporter-news (@Spacereportern1) January 9, 2022
The 19-day Husband
On March 27, 1969, Paget got married to her second spouse. The actress, who was 27 at the time, married the then-44-year-old director Budd Boetticher in secret.
The duo drove to the southern border town of Tijuana, Mexico, to get hitched with another couple. The newlyweds' friends broke the news to the press the next day.
From the vantage point of her second marriage, the first one lasted for quite a while. Nineteen days into her second marriage and the couple had already separated.
Her mother, Margaret Griffin, told the press that she moved out of their apartment after a quarrel, but the mother was still hopeful for a reunion. To no avail, the couple officially divorced next year.
Debra Paget pic.twitter.com/uXlU9nMtaD — good old days (@goodold03754226) January 6, 2022
Third Time's the Charm?
After her first two marriages went down in flames, the actress found herself a third spouse in Ling Chieh (Louis) Kung on April 19, 1962.
The then-28-year-old actress married the then-40-year-old oil executive from Texas.
He was reportedly the son of one of the famed Soong sisters, an American-educated trio who captivated China in the 20th century and included the wives of Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-shek.
Wishing Debra Paget a very Happy 88th Birthday. #DebraPaget pic.twitter.com/1BflRvA5Ag — Time For A Film 💙 (@TimeForAFilm) August 19, 2021
For those of you unaware, both Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-shek were once the Presidents of the People's Republic of China. Meaning, Paget's third spouse was a nephew to not one but two first ladies.
Paget and Kung welcomed their son Gregory into the world two years after getting married. Her last major on-screen appearance was also from around this time.
After becoming a mother, apparently, Paget put all her attention to becoming a homemaker and put her on-screen days behind her.
She enjoyed marital bliss for eighteen years before she and her spouse finally called it quits on their marriage in 1980. She came back on-screen briefly in the early 90s, but that too was short-lived.