Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch Marriage Profile

Rupert Murdoch's third marriage to the much younger Wendi Deng caused comments such as "trophy wife" and "may-december marriages" when the couple married aboard a yacht in 1999 soon after his divorce from his long-lasting second marriage.

News Updates:

7/19/2011: Attacked by a man with a pie, Rupert Murdoch was defended by wife Wendi who slapped the assailant, Jonnie Marbles, away. Wendi is now being referred to as a "tiger wife."

Rupert Murdoch aka Keith Rupert Murdoch: March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Australia.

Wendi Deng aka Deng Wen Di: December 8, 1968 in Xuzhou, China.

Although Murdoch denies the meeting, "Deng met Rupert Murdoch in autumn 1996 at a cocktail party at tycoon Li Ka Shing's Harbourfront Plaza hotel, which stands next to the Star offices."
Source: Neil Chenoweth. Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard. 2002. pg. 318.

Rupert Murdoch: "I met her casually once or twice at meetings of Star TV in Hong Kong. but I first took her out in June [1998] in London when she came over with a group from Star in Hong Kong and Beijing. I was a recently separated, lonely man, and I said, 'Let's go out to dinner one night,' and I talked her into staying in London a couple of extra days -- and that was the start of it."
Source: Neil Chenoweth. Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard. 2002. pg. 319.

On June 25, 1999, just 17 days after his divorce, Rupert and Wendi were married aboard the yacht Morning Glory in New York harbor. Rupert's children were among the eighty-one guests at the wedding which was officiated by Jacqueline Silberman, a New York judge. Murdoch Wedding Photo

Mark Honigsbaum: "Wearing a cream-coloured silk-and-lace gown designed by Richard Tyler of Australia, Deng walked up the aisle to the accompaniment of Welsh singing prodigy Charlotte Church."
Source: Mark Honigsbaum. "Astrologer adds to fears sweeping media empire as Rupert and Wendy wed." Guardian.co.uk. 6/27/1999.

Rupert has six children.

• Prudence Murdoch: Born in 1958. Her mother is Patricia Booker.
• Elisabeth Murdoch: Born in 1968 in Australia. Her mother is Anna Torv.
• Lachlan Murdoch: Born in London, UK in 1971. His mother is Anna Torv. Business executive.
• James Murdoch: Born in 1972 in Wimbledon, UK. His mother is Anna Torv. Business executive.
• Grace Helen Murdoch: Born in 2001 in New York. Her mother is Wendi Deng.
• Chloe Murdoch: Born in 2003 in New York. Her mother is Wendi Deng.

Rupert: A media magnate, Rupert Murdoch is one of richest people in the world. News Corporation Official Site

Wendi: Film producer, business woman, interpreter.

Rupert maintains several homes including: Manhattan Soho loft, London penthouse, mansion in Beverly Hills, California, estate in New South Wales, and ranch in Carmel, California. Additional homes are in Canberra, Australia, Los Angeles, California, and Centre Island, New York.

Wendi has one previous marriage.

• Jake Cherry: Wendi was married to Jake Cherry (30 years older) from February 1990 through 1993.

Jake Cherry: "She told me I was a father concept to her but it would never be anything else. I loved that girl."
Source: Tom Leonard. "How Murdoch's wife won her ticket to America." Telegraphy.co.uk. 11/02/2000.

Rupert has two previous marriages.

• Patricia Booker: Rupert and Patricia, a shop assistant and flight attendant, were married on March 1, 1956. They had one child together and later separated in 1960. Their divorce was final in 1967. Patricia died in 2000.

William Shawcross: "His family was worried about the match, and attributed it to his loneliness in the 'wilderness.' Part of the couple's honeymoon was spent inspecting the properties he had acquired."
Source: William Shawcross. Murdoch: The Making of a Media Empire. 1997. pg. 45.

• Anna Maria Torv: Born in Scotland, Anna is a journalist and novelist. Rupert met Anna in 1961 when she interviewed him. They were married on April 28, 1967 and had three children together. Their divorce was announced in April 1998 and was final on June 8 1999. In October 1999 Anna Maria married an investor, William Mann.

Neil Chenoweth: "But Murdoch's early biographer, Thomas Kiernan, paints a much cooler relationship between Rupert and Anna, with growing friction in the 1970s and 1980s resolved by an entente cordiale, where each maintained an emotional distance."
Source: Neil Chenoweth. Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard. 2002. pg. 319.

Thomas Kiernan: "Anna Murdoch indicated to me that she and Rupert had reached an accommodation, one of those ententes cordiales carved out by sophisticated people who have been married to one another long enough for their familiarity to spill into boredom, if not dislike."
Source: Thomas Kiernan. Citizen Murdoch. 1986. pg. 225.

Anna Murdoch: "I think that Rupert's affair with Wendi Deng -- it's not an original plot -- was the end of the marriage. His determination to continue with that. I thought we had a wonderful, happy marriage. Obviously we didn't."
Source: Neil Chenoweth. Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard. 2002. pg. 319.

Joanna Molloy: "Wendi Murdoch may be even smarter than Rupert Murdoch. She is no dummy. She is a consigliere to him, she has a self-interest. She is very protective of him and very involved."
Source: William Lee Adams. "Wendi Deng: The Life and times of Mrs. Rupert Murdoch." Time.com. 7/20/2011.

Steve Fishman: "She watches Rupert’s diet, supervises his health, and sometimes teases him. She’s not the meek sort -— Rupert doesn’t go for meek. 'Are you going deaf, old man?' a colleague heard her say to Rupert. It was a tender if pointed jab. 'She’s a very loving, supportive wife,' Rupert pronounced her."
Source: Steve Fishman. "The Boy Who Wouldn't Be King." NYMag.com. 9/11/2005.

News Corp source: "There's no doubt she's put a spring in the old man's step, but if he keeps going like this, she will wear him out."
Source: Mark Honigsbaum. "Astrologer adds to fears sweeping media empire as Rupert and Wendy wed." Guardian.co.uk. 6/27/1999.