Who Was Frank Sinatra's Spouse? Everything to Know About His 4 Wives

Wondering why who Was Frank Sinatra's Spouse? Everything to Know About His 4 Wives implies? Read our breakdown with up-to-date information.

If Nancy Barbato represented stability, Ava Gardner was raw combustion. Sinatra met the North Carolina-born screen star at an MGM party in the late 1940s, instigating a volatile romance that coincided with the darkest professional period of his life. By 1950, Sinatra had lost his Columbia Records contract, his voice suffered a vocal cord hemorrhage, and his film box office cratered. Gardner was at the peak of her magnetic stardom.

Just days after his divorce from Barbato was finalized, Frank and Ava wed on November 7, 1951, in Philadelphia. Their relationship was characterized by volcanic arguments, whiskey-fueled brawls, and intense public reconciliations. Both possessed fiery tempers and uncompromising egos. Jealousy ran both directions; Sinatra reportedly suffered bouts of severe depression and made suicide threats during their worst ruptures.

Gardner played an instrumental backstage role in saving his career. Recognizing his desperation to win the role of Private Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953), she lobbied Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn on his behalf. Sinatra won the part, accepted a meager $8,000 salary, and took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, engineering the greatest career resurgence in Hollywood history. The professional comeback could not mend the marriage. The couple separated in 1953 and divorced in 1957, yet they remained fiercely devoted confidantes until Gardner’s death in 1990. Frank quietly covered her medical bills when her health deteriorated in London.