Bill Murray First Wife Margaret Kelly: Marriage Timeline, Kids, And Why They Divorced
If you’re searching for Bill Murray’s first wife, the answer is Margaret Kelly. She was Murray’s spouse through the years when he went from comedy star to Hollywood legend, and their marriage lasted well over a decade. Even though Bill Murray is one of the most famous actors on the planet, his first marriage wasn’t a constant tabloid storyline. It was a long relationship that included family life, career pressure, and eventually a high-profile divorce.
Below is a clear, detailed look at who Margaret Kelly is, how long she and Bill Murray were together, how many children they share, and why their relationship ended. It’s the kind of background people want when they’re trying to understand the “real life” behind the public persona.
Quick Facts About Bill Murray And His First Wife
- Bill Murray’s first wife: Margaret Kelly
- Married: 1981
- Divorced: 1996
- Children together: Two sons (Homer and Luke)
- Why the marriage is remembered: It overlapped with Murray’s biggest career rise and ended in a major divorce
Who Is Margaret Kelly?
Margaret Kelly is best known publicly as Bill Murray’s first wife, but she has never tried to build a celebrity identity around that connection. She’s one of those spouses who remained mostly out of the spotlight—no influencer-style presence, no constant interviews, no public rebranding.
That privacy is part of why people keep searching her name. When a famous person’s partner stays quiet, the internet fills the space with vague summaries and recycled rumors. The reality is simpler: Margaret Kelly lived a life that intersected with fame, but she did not pursue fame as her personal project.
When Did Bill Murray Marry His First Wife?
Bill Murray married Margaret Kelly in 1981. That date matters because it places their marriage right in the era where his career was exploding. By the early 1980s, he was already a recognized comedy star, and over the next several years he became something even bigger: a uniquely bankable actor with a strange, magnetic charm that audiences couldn’t quite label—but kept paying to see.
For a marriage, that timing is intense. When you’re building a life with someone while their professional world becomes louder and more demanding by the year, it changes everything: time, privacy, friendships, expectations, and emotional availability.
How Long Were Bill Murray And Margaret Kelly Married?
They were married for about 15 years, divorcing in 1996. In Hollywood terms, that’s a long marriage—especially for someone who worked in big films, traveled constantly, and lived inside an industry famous for chewing up normal routines.
But a long marriage doesn’t automatically mean an easy marriage. It means they stayed together through a lot of life—career peaks, parenting, pressure, and the less glamorous side of fame that most fans never see.
Did Bill Murray Have Kids With His First Wife?
Yes. Bill Murray and Margaret Kelly share two sons: Homer and Luke. Their kids are a major part of why the marriage still matters in Bill Murray’s personal timeline. Even after divorce, children keep two people connected in a long-term way—emotionally, practically, and often privately.
It’s also worth noting that Bill Murray has more children from his later marriage, but when you’re specifically asking about his first wife, Homer and Luke are the children connected to that chapter.
What Was Their Marriage Like Behind The Scenes?
From the outside, it’s easy to romanticize the idea of being married to a beloved movie star. But the behind-the-scenes reality is usually more complicated than fans imagine. A marriage that runs alongside fame often has to deal with:
- Constant travel and irregular schedules
- Work taking priority during long shooting periods
- Public attention that can be stressful even when it’s “positive”
- Social pressure from industry environments and social circles
- Loss of normal privacy once your name becomes household-level famous
Margaret Kelly largely stayed out of that spotlight, which suggests she may have preferred a quieter life—at least compared to the chaos surrounding a rising Hollywood star. That difference in lifestyle preference alone can create strain over time, especially if one person’s world keeps getting bigger and louder.
Why Did Bill Murray And Margaret Kelly Divorce?
Bill Murray and Margaret Kelly divorced in 1996, and the marriage ended amid widely discussed reports of strain and problems that are common in celebrity divorces. In general, the reasons typically referenced around the split include the pressures of fame and relationship breakdown issues that became too large to repair.
It’s important to keep this honest: the public does not have a complete, private, blow-by-blow record of their marriage. What the public does know is that their divorce was significant and widely covered, which suggests the split wasn’t a quiet “we grew apart” footnote. It was a major change in the life of someone who was already a major public figure.
When a couple divorces after many years—especially with children involved—it’s usually not one single moment. It’s a buildup: stress, mismatched expectations, communication breakdown, and the simple erosion that can happen when two people no longer feel like they’re living the same life.
The Financial Side Of The Divorce And Why People Still Talk About It
One reason people still mention Bill Murray’s first divorce is because it’s often discussed as expensive. High-earning celebrities frequently face large settlements because:
- income is high during the marriage years
- assets grow quickly in peak-career eras
- support calculations can be significant when children are involved
- Hollywood careers have unpredictable future earnings, which can affect legal negotiations
So even if you’re not personally interested in the “money part,” that’s why the divorce remains part of the public conversation. The bigger the fame, the more the financial side becomes a headline—whether the couple wanted that or not.
Why Margaret Kelly Stayed So Private After The Split
After divorce, some ex-spouses turn into public personalities. Margaret Kelly didn’t. That choice says a lot. It suggests she wasn’t trying to build a new public identity from the relationship, and she likely prioritized family stability and privacy over media narratives.
That’s also why information about her can feel limited. She isn’t constantly correcting misinformation, posting updates, or giving “tell-all” interviews. As a result, many internet bios repeat the same few facts: her name, the marriage years, and the children.
Bill Murray’s Life After His First Marriage
After divorcing Margaret Kelly, Bill Murray later married again and had more children. But his first marriage remains the foundational chapter for people who want to understand his personal timeline. It’s the period where he was still relatively young, still building, and becoming the version of Bill Murray that audiences now treat as iconic.
In a way, that makes Margaret Kelly a significant figure in his life story—even if she never sought that spotlight.
Why People Search “Bill Murray First Wife” Instead Of Just “Bill Murray Wife”
People tend to search “first wife” when:
- they want the original spouse connected to a celebrity’s early rise
- they’ve heard there was more than one marriage and want the timeline
- they want to understand how many kids came from which relationship
- they’re trying to separate real facts from rumor-heavy gossip pages
Bill Murray has had more than one major relationship, so “first wife” becomes the cleanest way to get the correct name without mixing different eras together.
Bottom Line
Bill Murray’s first wife was Margaret Kelly. They married in 1981, divorced in 1996, and shared two sons, Homer and Luke. Their marriage spanned a huge era of Murray’s career rise, which is why it still gets searched today. Margaret remained largely private throughout and after the relationship, so the public record is relatively limited—but the key facts are clear: she was his first spouse and a major part of his early family life.
Featured image source: https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/bill-murray-defends-snl-cast-critics-lousy-1236236995/
