Inside Val Kilmer's First and Only Marriage — Who Was the Actor Married to?

Although Val Kilmer was in the movie industry for decades before his April 2025 death, the actor only married one time. Despite the high-profile nature of many Hollywood relationships, Val appeared to keep some of his family life a little more to himself, especially after his marriage ended, but it never stopped people from wondering who he was married to and what happened.

At the time of his death, Val was no longer married. After he and his wife divorced, he never remarried. However, the pair had two kids together, which kept them close, in a way. So, who was Val Kilmer’s first and only wife? She’s a fellow actor who remained married to Val for almost eight years before their split.

Val married actress Joanne Whalley in 1988. They met while filming the 1988 movie Willow, and they remained together until 1996, when they divorced. According to The Tampa Bay Times, it was Joanne who filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The outlet reported that Val didn’t find out about the divorce until he learned of it during a CNN segment he saw on television.

There were rumors of on-set romances that led to the couple’s split, which came two months after the first of their second child. But Val never admitted to being unfaithful to his wife during their marriage. Outside of their marriage, Joanne was in movies like Mother’s Boys with Jamie Lee Curtis and Peter Gallagher and Navy Seals. She was later in the miniseries Scarlett, based on Gone With the Wind, and even later on in her career, she had a multi-episode arc on Gossip Girl.

After Val and Joanne’s divorce was finalized in 1996, he went on to have several public relationships with celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah, and Angelina Jolie. He was also reportedly seen making out with Paris Hilton once. Despite dating well into his later years, Val never seemed to find the need to get married a second time.

Both of Val and Joanne’s adult kids, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer, followed in their parents’ acting footsteps. Jack was in the 2013 movie Palo Alto, and he is even one of the producers for the 2021 documentary Val about his father. His voice is used for the voiceover in place of Val’s. Mercedes has been in several short films, and she was an associate producer on Val. She is also a musician, and her Instagram has lots of photos and videos detailing her rising music career.

In 2021, both Jack and Mercedes spoke with Entertainment Tonight about working with their father on his documentary and his legacy. At the time, Mercedes shared that she believes Val’s legacy includes his intricate melding of serious theater acting and entertainment in films. Jack added his own thoughts about Val’s legacy.

"I think he’s just, like, a combination of Marlon Brando, Britney Spears, and Jimi Hendrix too," Jack said.