Val Kilmer, the actor who starred in Top Gun and Batman and earned a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy, has died aged 65. His daughter Mercedes Kilmer confirmed that he died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends. He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered, his daughter added.
As fans look back on Kilmer's legacy – which includes iconic roles like Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in Top Gun in 1986, Jim Morrison in The Doors in 1991 and Batman in Batman Forever in 1995 – it is almost impossible not to reflect on his colourful romantic history and his infamous 'bad boy' persona.
The Batman actor dated several of the most iconic Hollywood stars of the day, including Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Carly Simon and Cher. After starring in Willow in 1988, he married his British co-star Joanne Whalley, with whom he had two children before they divorced in 1996.
Val Kilmer's most notable Hollywood relationships
Cher, 1982 – 1984
Cher and Val dated for two years. After he left acting school he went to join the singer in Las Vegas, where she was staying at Caesar’s Palace. 'Cher trafficked in intoxicating glamour and I, a Valley boy, fell under her spell,' the actor once wrote. Cher was 13 years his senior and recently recalled on the Howard Stern Show that Val, who she was 'madly in love with', was one of the only celebrities to ever break up with her.
However, the pair remained friends over the years. When Val was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Cher reportedly helped him through it and even invited him to stay at her guest house during his recovery.
Carly Simon, 1986
It was at the New York premiere of Top Gun in 1986 that Val met the American singer-songwriter, Carly Simon at a party. Apparently, they began dating shortly afterwards and used to talk about 'everything under the sun'.
Joanne Whalley, 1988 – 1996
After meeting on set, Val and Joanne fell in love quickly and got married later that year. Joanne then moved to LA to live with Val and changed her surname to Whalley-Kilmer. However, their romantic bubble did not last long and the relationship was often marred with controversy and cheating rumours. Despite having two children together, Mercedes Kilmer, 33, and Jack Kilmer, 29, they divorced only a few months after Jack's birth because of 'irreconcilable differences'.
As an actor herself, Joanne featured in films such as The Virgin Queen and A Texas Funeral, and appeared on the small screen in series including The Edge of Darkness and Gossip Girl. She also shared the screen with Val on four occasions, including Willow and Kill Me Again, and twice after their divorce in Played in 2006 and Twixt in 2011.
While they managed to salvage their relationship as co-parents and co-stars, according to The Times, the former couple struggled with 'constant rumours about [Val's] on-set romances' during their marriage. Apparently, Val's status as a 'sex symbol' caused ruptures and he reportedly found out Joanne had filed for divorce 'while watching CNN in a hotel rom' – an experience he described as 'no fun', according to the Tampa Bay Times.
He told the publication his divorce was 'the second most expensive in New Mexico' and came 'only two months after the birth of their second child'.
Cindy Crawford, 1996 – 1998
After Val's divorce he, naturally, moved on with one of the most famous supermodels in the world. He reportedly dated Cindy Crawford for two years in the mid-90s shortly before she married her current husband Randy Gerber in 1998. The couple share two children including the model Kaia Gerber.
Val used to credit Crawford with helping him find happiness after his divorce. 'Did I date Cindy Crawford? Yeah, she’s very nice. A smart girl with a great sense of humour,' he said in a 2005 interview with The Guardian. 'She’s a fantastic cook, too, always carried recipes around when she travelled.'
Angelina Jolie, 2004
At some point between Billy Bob Thornton and Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie dated Val. In his memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry, he wrote that Angelina was 'perhaps the most soulful and serious of them all. When people ask what she’s like, I say she’s like other women and other superstars, just more. More gorgeous. More wise. More tragic. More magic. More grounded. Is it worth it? Worth knowing people who require weeks of effort to understand even a little? Yes'.
Recalling what it was like working with her on the 2004 film Alexander Val added, 'I couldn’t wait to kiss Angie, buy her a Gulfstream jet and have a V+J painted in rainbow glory on the tail. Adding that, 'She had recently adopted her first child, Maddox, and the paparazzi were obsessed with this postmodern Madonna, the perfect picture of unapproachable stardom and impossibly chic maternal instinct.'
Daryl Hannah, mid noughties
In the early 2000s, Val dated the American actress Daryl Hannah after they met working together on the film In God We Trust. He called their breakup his 'most painful' heartbreak.
In his memoir, Val wrote that the split was devastating. 'Lord knows I’ve suffered heartache. But Daryl was by far the most painful of all. (Neil Young, I always loved you, but I’m afraid I hate you now.),' as he put it. 'I knew I would love her with my whole heart forever and that love has lost none of its strength.”
'I haven't had a girlfriend in 20 years'
Since that relationship Kilmer remained single. In his memoir he revealed, 'I haven’t had a girlfriend in 20 years. The truth is I am lonely part of every day.'
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).