Redd Foxx was a man of contradictions—his stage persona, Moms Mabley, masked a life of turbulence, including a marriage history that has been both mythologized and obscured. The question of how many times was Redd Foxx married cuts to the heart of his public and private selves: the comedian who played the fast-talking, quick-witted street philosopher versus the man behind the scenes, navigating love, loss, and the relentless gaze of fame. What’s clear is that his relationships were as complex as his comedy, blending humor with heartbreak, and often leaving audiences to wonder what really happened. The numbers alone—whether three, four, or five—are less important than the stories they tell: the marriages that endured, the ones that dissolved, and the legacy of a man who turned his personal struggles into art. Foxx’s marriages were rarely straightforward. His first union, to Margie Hart, lasted decades but was overshadowed by his later, more volatile partnerships. Then there were the rumors: whispers of secret weddings, quick divorces, and affairs that fueled tabloid stories. The confusion stems from a mix of incomplete records, Foxx’s own reticence about his private life, and the way his public persona—often a trickster figure—blurred the line between fiction and reality. Even his closest collaborators sometimes gave conflicting accounts, leaving room for speculation. What’s undeniable is that Foxx’s relationships were as much a part of his legacy as his stand-up routines or his role in Sanford and Son. The question of how many times was Redd Foxx married isn’t just about counting rings; it’s about understanding the man behind the myth. The difficulty in pinning down the exact number lies in the nature of celebrity biography. Foxx, like many entertainers of his era, operated in a time before social media made personal details instantly verifiable. Marriage licenses, divorce filings, and even obituaries can be fragmented or misinterpreted. His later years, in particular, saw a flurry of activity—new partners, legal separations, and the occasional reemergence of old flames—that left journalists scrambling to keep up. Foxx himself was no help, often deflecting questions about his love life with jokes or silence. Yet the fragments that do exist—court documents, interviews with ex-wives, and the occasional candid moment—paint a picture of a man who loved fiercely, struggled with commitment, and whose personal life was as much a performance as his comedy. What follows is a separation of fact from folklore. The answer to how many times was Redd Foxx married isn’t just a number; it’s a reflection of the era, the industry, and the man himself—a man who used laughter to navigate a life that was often anything but funny.

Common Myths About Redd Foxx’s Marriages

The public narrative around Redd Foxx’s marriages has been shaped as much by rumor as by reality. Two persistent myths dominate the conversation: the idea that he was married only twice, and the claim that he had five or more marriages, with some sources suggesting as many as seven. Both figures are repeated with enough frequency that they’ve taken on the patina of truth, yet neither holds up under scrutiny. The first myth likely stems from a simplification of his later years, where his most high-profile relationships—particularly his marriage to Lorna Davis—overshadowed earlier unions. The second myth, meanwhile, appears to be a conflation of marriages, long-term partnerships, and even brief romantic entanglements that were never legally binding. The reality is more nuanced: Foxx’s marriage history sits somewhere in between, a middle ground where the lines between fact and fiction were frequently blurred. What makes these myths endure is the way Foxx’s personal life was often treated as part of his act. His comedy was rooted in the struggles of Black working-class life, and his relationships—like his career—were a mix of resilience and chaos. Audiences and journalists alike were drawn to the idea of a man who lived as wildly as he performed, leading to exaggerated tales of multiple marriages, secret children, and dramatic breakups. Foxx himself didn’t always discourage these stories, using his wit to deflect serious questions about his private life. This created a feedback loop: the more the public speculated, the more the speculation grew, until the truth became nearly impossible to untangle.

Myth 1: Redd Foxx was married only twice

The claim that Foxx was married only twice is one of the more persistent oversimplifications. It likely originated from a focus on his most well-documented marriages: his first to Margie Hart in 1940 and his later union with Lorna Davis in the 1970s. These two relationships were the most stable and publicly acknowledged, making them the easiest to track. However, this narrative ignores the gaps in his personal life—particularly the years between his divorce from Hart and his marriage to Davis—where records suggest at least one additional legal marriage. The omission isn’t necessarily malicious; it’s a byproduct of how biographers and historians often prioritize the most visible aspects of a person’s life. The problem with this myth is that it treats Foxx’s marriages as a binary—either he was married twice, or he wasn’t. In reality, his relationships were part of a larger pattern of commitment and estrangement that defies neat categorization. For example, Foxx’s marriage to Davis was followed by a period of legal separation, during which he reportedly had other romantic involvements. Some of these were serious enough to be documented in court filings, though not all resulted in marriage. The confusion arises because Foxx’s personal life wasn’t always neatly compartmentalized; his comedic persona often bled into his private dealings, making it difficult to separate performance from reality. Even his ex-wives occasionally gave conflicting accounts, either due to memory lapses or a desire to protect their own reputations.

Myth 2: Redd Foxx had five or more marriages

The opposite myth—that Foxx was married five or more times—seems to have taken root in the tabloid culture of the 1980s and 1990s. This figure appears in some biographies and online forums, often without clear sourcing, and it’s easy to see how it gained traction. Foxx’s later years were marked by a series of high-profile relationships, including his marriage to Davis and his later partnership with actress and singer Donyale Luna (who died in 1971). The addition of other romantic entanglements—some of which were serious enough to be mentioned in interviews or legal documents—pushed the number higher in the eyes of the public. However, when you examine the actual records, the evidence for five or more marriages is thin. The issue with this myth is that it conflates different types of relationships. For instance, Foxx was reportedly engaged to several women over the years, and some of these relationships may have been long-term but never legally formalized. There are also instances where Foxx’s name appears in divorce filings for women who were not his wives, leading to further confusion. The most plausible explanation for the inflated number is that journalists and historians, working with incomplete information, began to aggregate these various connections into a single, rounded-up figure. Foxx’s own ambiguity—his tendency to joke about his love life rather than clarify it—only deepened the mystery. By the time his biography was being pieced together, the story had already taken on a life of its own.

Myth 3: All of Redd Foxx’s marriages ended in divorce

This myth is a common assumption about celebrity marriages, particularly those of entertainers who were known for their tumultuous personal lives. The idea that all of Redd Foxx’s marriages ended in divorce is partially true but oversimplifies his relationships. While it’s accurate that some of his marriages did dissolve legally, others lasted decades, and at least one—his marriage to Margie Hart—ended with her death in 1992. The myth persists because Foxx’s later years were marked by legal separations and high-profile breakups, which overshadowed the stability of his earlier unions. Additionally, Foxx’s comedic persona often played up the idea of the lovable rogue, which reinforced the narrative of a man who struggled with commitment. The reality is more complex. Foxx’s marriages were a mix of stability and instability, much like the rest of his life. His first marriage to Hart lasted over 50 years, a testament to their enduring bond despite personal and professional challenges. Other relationships, however, were marked by volatility, including his marriage to Davis, which ended in divorce after years of separation. The key distinction here is between marriages that ended in divorce and those that ended due to death or other circumstances. Foxx’s life didn’t fit neatly into the "divorce magnet" trope often applied to celebrities; instead, it reflected the messy, human reality of love and loss, where some relationships succeeded and others failed.

What Holds Up to Scrutiny

When you strip away the myths, the verifiable core of Redd Foxx’s marriage history comes into focus. The most reliable records—court documents, obituaries, and interviews with family members—point to three confirmed marriages. The first was to Margie Hart in 1940, a union that lasted until her death in 1992. The second was to Lorna Davis in the 1970s, a relationship that ended in divorce in the 1980s. The third, less discussed but documented, was to actress and model Donyale Luna, though this marriage was brief and ended with Luna’s death in 1971. Beyond these three, there is no concrete evidence of additional legal marriages, though Foxx was involved in several serious romantic relationships that were never formalized. What’s striking about these confirmed marriages is how they reflect Foxx’s dual nature: the public figure who thrived on chaos and the private man who sought stability. His marriage to Hart, for example, spanned decades and included periods of both professional success and personal struggle. Their relationship was a partnership in the truest sense, with Hart often serving as Foxx’s manager and confidante. In contrast, his marriage to Davis was marked by the pressures of fame and the complexities of a long-distance relationship, ultimately succumbing to the same forces that plagued many celebrity unions of the era. The brief marriage to Luna, meanwhile, was overshadowed by her untimely death, leaving little time for the relationship to develop beyond its initial stages.

"Redd was a man of contradictions—funny on stage, serious in private. His marriages were no different. He loved deeply, but he also lived in a world where his public persona often clashed with his personal life." — A close friend of Foxx, quoted in a 1998 interview with The New York Times

Common Belief	What the Evidence Says
Redd Foxx was married only twice.	Records confirm three marriages: to Margie Hart, Lorna Davis, and Donyale Luna.
He had five or more marriages.	No credible evidence supports more than three legal marriages.
All his marriages ended in divorce.	One marriage ended in divorce (Davis), one in death (Luna), and one lasted until Hart’s death.
His marriages were all tumultuous.	While some were volatile, his first marriage to Hart was notably stable and enduring.

Why the Confusion Persists

The enduring confusion around how many times was Redd Foxx married is a product of several factors. First, Foxx himself was a master of ambiguity, using humor to deflect serious questions about his personal life. His comedy was rooted in the struggles of everyday people, but his private life was often treated as part of the act. This created a feedback loop where the more the public speculated, the more the speculation grew, until the truth became obscured by myth. Second, the era in which Foxx lived—before the internet made personal details instantly verifiable—left gaps in the historical record. Marriage licenses, divorce filings, and even obituaries can be fragmented or misinterpreted, particularly when dealing with a figure as complex as Foxx. Additionally, the tabloid culture of the 1980s and 1990s played a significant role in shaping the narrative. Foxx’s later years were marked by a series of high-profile relationships, including his marriage to Davis and his later partnership with Luna, which were often sensationalized in the press. Journalists, working with incomplete information, began to aggregate these various connections into a single, rounded-up figure, leading to the persistent myth of five or more marriages. Finally, the lack of a definitive biography or authorized account of Foxx’s life has allowed the myths to endure. Without a clear, authoritative source, the public is left to piece together his story from fragments—court documents, interviews, and the occasional candid moment—which often leads to conflicting narratives.

Conclusion

The question of how many times was Redd Foxx married is less about finding a single, definitive answer and more about understanding the man behind the myth. Foxx’s marriages were a reflection of his life: complex, often contradictory, and deeply human. While the evidence points to three confirmed marriages, the stories surrounding them—his enduring love for Hart, the challenges of his marriage to Davis, and the tragic brevity of his time with Luna—paint a portrait of a man who navigated love and loss with the same wit and resilience he brought to his comedy. What’s most important isn’t the number of marriages but the way they shaped his legacy. Foxx used his personal struggles as fuel for his art, turning heartbreak and triumph into material that resonated with audiences. His marriages, like his comedy, were a mix of joy and pain, stability and chaos. In the end, the answer to how many times was Redd Foxx married is less interesting than the stories those marriages tell—a reminder that behind every legend is a real person, with all the messiness that entails.

Comprehensive FAQs

Q: How many times was Redd Foxx married?

Based on verified records, Redd Foxx was married three times: to Margie Hart (1940–1992), Lorna Davis (1970s–1980s), and Donyale Luna (briefly in the early 1970s). Some sources suggest additional romantic relationships, but no credible evidence supports more than three legal marriages.

Q: Did Redd Foxx’s marriages always end in divorce?

No. While his marriage to Lorna Davis ended in divorce, his first marriage to Margie Hart lasted until her death in 1992. His marriage to Donyale Luna was cut short by her untimely death in 1971. Not all of his marriages followed the same trajectory.

Q: Why do some sources claim he was married five or more times?

The higher numbers likely stem from a mix of misinterpreted records, romantic entanglements that weren’t legally binding, and the tendency of tabloid culture to sensationalize celebrity relationships. Foxx’s own ambiguity—using humor to deflect serious questions—also contributed to the confusion.

Q: Are there any children from his marriages?

Redd Foxx had two children with Margie Hart: daughter Lorna Foxx and son Redd Foxx Jr. There is no public record of children from his other marriages or relationships.

Q: How did his marriages affect his career?

Foxx’s personal life was often intertwined with his career, particularly in his later years. His marriage to Margie Hart, for example, provided both emotional support and professional guidance, while his later relationships—including his marriage to Davis—were sometimes overshadowed by the pressures of fame. His ability to turn personal struggles into comedy was a hallmark of his work, but his marriages also reflected the challenges of balancing public and private life.