Mary Marquardt - The Untold Story of Harrison Ford's First Wife

Mary Marquardt is a former illustrator and chef who is best known as the first wife of Hollywood star Harrison Ford. While she has led a very private life away from the media glare, Mary played a pivotal role in supporting Ford in the early days of his acting career.

Their marriage and eventual divorce were widely publicized due to Ford’s fame. However, Mary chose to focus on raising their two sons and building her career after splitting up with Harrison. She found success as a chef and artist while maintaining a dignified silence on her celebrity ex-husband’s relationships that continued making headlines.

Mary’s journey reveals the story of a woman who endured challenges ranging from a high-profile divorce to health conditions. But she emerged through it all successfully on her terms, with grace and quiet determination.

Early Life & Background

Born as Mary Marquardt in the year 1945 in the United States, little is publicly known about her early childhood or family details. She had a typical American upbringing and went on to study at the all-women’s Ripon College in Wisconsin during the 1960s.

As a student, Mary explored her talents in art and illustration, while also developing an interest in cooking and the culinary arts. By all accounts, she was leading a regular college life focused on building her skills, when she met a fellow student named Harrison Ford in one of her classes.

The young Mary Marquardt could not have predicted then that this meeting would lead her to eventually marry the man who would become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the coming decade. In the initial years together, Ford himself was still struggling to get his big break in acting.

Relationship & Marriage with Harrison Ford

Mary Marquardt and Harrison Ford met during their college years in Ripon sometime in the early 1960s. They started a romantic relationship which soon became serious. After dating for a couple of years, Mary and Harrison decided to take the next step and got married in 1964.

At just 20 years old, Mary became Harrison’s first wife, with the actor still in the nascent phase of his career. The newlyweds made a home together as Ford started auditioning for small roles in films and television shows. Reportedly, Mary took on part-time work to provide a steady income for the couple, while also supporting Ford’s hopes of succeeding as an actor.

For the next few years, the relationship progressed along typical lines for a young 1960s couple. In 1966, Mary and Harrison welcomed their first child, a son named Benjamin Ford. Three years later, their second son Willard Ford was born in 1969.

However, just as their family was growing, Ford’s acting career also started gathering momentum. With a starring role in the film American Graffiti in 1973, Harrison was on his way to stardom. This created strains on the marital relationship with Mary now having to share her husband’s time and attention with his booming career.

As Ford skyrocketed to global fame with his casting as Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie franchise, Mary found herself trying to balance life as a mother of two with being the wife of an increasingly popular celebrity. Ford’s rise to being one of Hollywood’s leading men placed an enormous amount of stress and scrutiny on their marriage.

Divorce from Harrison Ford

Despite Mary’s early sacrifices and support, the pressures of Ford’s stardom ultimately proved too much for the relationship to bear. Towards the late 1970s, a divide had grown between the couple and divorce was imminent.

Harrison Ford’s work on films like Star Wars and Apocalypse Now required long filming schedules that kept him away from home for extended periods. During this time, rumors also surfaced of an affair between Ford and his co-star Carrie Fisher.

For Mary Marquardt, coping with her husband’s lengthy absences and media speculation about his personal life took its toll. With the marriage strained beyond the point of reconciliation, the couple filed for divorce which was finalized in 1979.

Ending her 15-year relationship with the internationally famous Harrison Ford meant Mary had to make major adjustments as a newly single mother. She took on the primary responsibility of raising their sons Benjamin and Willard Ford, who were just entering their teens at the time of the divorce.

Despite the portrayal of their split in tabloids, Mary remained on cordial terms with her ex-husband. Both parents made efforts to co-parent their sons, with the children splitting time between Mary and Harrison’s homes. This amicable approach following the divorce allowed their family to adapt to the changes with minimum disruption to the kids’ lives.

Later Life & Career

Following the much-publicized split, Mary Marquardt chose to redirect her focus toward rebuilding her career ambitions and interests that had taken a backseat during her marriage.

She returned to college in the 1980s to formally study and train in her passions of cooking and art. After years of balancing domesticity with supporting a famous spouse, Mary was finally pursuing her dreams.

Her natural flair for cuisine led her to build a successful career as a professional chef. Mary also tapped into her artistic talents to establish herself as an illustrator, incorporating her love for food and design.

In the decades that followed, Mary built fulfilling work in these creative fields that had long inspired her. She further expanded her experience in the restaurant industry by collaborating with her son Benjamin Ford, who had also developed a passion for food and became a chef himself.

Mother and son worked together at Benjamin’s eating joint Cafe FX. But Mary has since retired from her cooking career sometime in the early 2000s. Now in her late 70s, she is said to be focused on enjoying time with her family including her grandchildren.

Throughout the years, Mary has actively maintained a dignified distance from the incessant media attention on ex-husband Harrison Ford’s romantic relationships and status as a Hollywood heartthrob.

She appears to share a warm bond with their sons Benjamin and Willard, who have also largely stayed out of the public eye. Benjamin’s restaurant work represents one strong connection to Mary’s accomplished career in the food industry.

Harrison Ford’s Personal Life Post-Divorce

After ending his first marriage to Mary Marquardt in 1979, Harrison Ford was involved in a few romantic relationships for some years. He was linked to actresses Melissa Mathison and Veronica Cartwright before eventually marrying screenwriter Melissa Mathison in 1983. Ford and Mathison had two children together, a son named Malcolm and a daughter named Georgia. However, this second marriage also ultimately ended in divorce in 2001.

Ford pair went on to marry actress Calista Flockhart in 2010, with whom he continues to share a stable marriage. Throughout his two divorces and subsequent relationships since splitting with Mary, Ford has maintained that she is an excellent mother to their sons. Despite intense media scrutiny over the years, he remains appreciative of Mary’s graciousness and integrity.

There are no reports that Mary Marquardt has publicly commented on her ex-husband’s love life or his continued fame as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors even today in his 80s. She has built an independent existence on her terms, managing to evade the sensationalism around her famous former spouse.

Conclusion

In summary, Mary Marquardt played an integral role as Harrison Ford’s first wife and mother of his two elder sons. Her support in the early risky phase of Ford’s acting career provided the stability for him to focus on honing his craft.

When that career exploded in popularity, the strains took a toll on their marital relationship. But Mary picked up the pieces of her life with quiet strength after the divorce, juggling new responsibilities as a single parent along with establishing her own professional identity.

Despite setbacks ranging from the pressures of being married to a celebrity to health issues like her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, Mary has emerged through it all successfully on her own terms. She built an identity that allowed her to define life beyond just being Harrison Ford’s former spouse.

Decades after an acrimonious divorce that became tabloid fodder, Mary retains her dignity and focuses on things that matter – her passions, family, and privacy. Hers is a story of grace under fire and making the most of life’s complex journey with determination.