Who is Val Kilmers ex-wife Joanne Whalley?
YEARS before his relationship with Daryl Hannah, Val Kilmer tried his luck at marriage. We've got the lowdown. Born on 25 August, 1961, and hailing from Salford in England, Joanne is a British actress. She began her career at the age of 13 with several appearances on ITV's Coronation Street and has mainly appeared on television. Her big break on the British box was in 1985, when Joanne portrayed Emma Craven in the BBC drama Edge of Darkness. She then went on to play Nurse Mills in the film The Singing Detective. One of her biggest roles was in 1987, in the fantasy adventure film Willow, which allowed her to cross paths with Val Kilmer for the first time. Joanne and Val began dating almost immediately after their first meeting in 1988. They quickly bit the bullet and got married in March that same year. Joanne relocated to Los Angeles after tying the knot with the actor, before using the name Joanne Whalley-Kilmer for her work. She went on to star in many more films in Hollywood than in the UK, including Kill Me Again (1989), Shattered (1991), and Mother's Boys (1993). Married off-screen, Joanne and Val also formed an on-screen tandem, appearing in multiple movies together. While Val is known around the world for his starring role in Top Gun, he has shared the silver screen with Joanne four times. After appearing together in Willow, the couple worked together in 1989 in Kill Me Again. But they reiterated the experience even after their separation, in 1996. Reminder: Joanne filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences on 21 July, 1995. Val and Joanne appeared in Played, in 2006, as well as in the horror flick Twixt, in 2011. In the 1988 film Willow, Val was known as Warwick Davis' sidekick, mercenary swordsman Madmartigan. Joanne also had a secondary role in the movie, and slipped into the skin of Sorsha, Queen Bavmorda's (Jean Marsh) warrior daughter. Ironically, both of these characters fall in love and go on to build their own family. As mentioned above, while she has mainly appeared on television, Joanne starred in many movies on the big screen. Her credits, both as Joanne Whalley and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, include Scandal, Navy Seals, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Trial by Jury, and, more recently, Love Is Love Is Love. TV fans might recognise her as Princess Sophie Grimaldi from Gossip Girl, Vanoza Cattaneo from The Borgias and even Sister Maggie from Daredevil. After her wedding with Val, Joanne decided to take a short break from her acting career. This was because she wanted to focus on her role as a mother as she shares two children with the American star. Joanne welcomed a daughter named Mercedes on 29 October, 1991. A brother named Jack followed on 6 June, 1995. Both recently appeared on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival for the premier of their father's documentary, in which he opens up about his battle with throat cancer. Although Joanne and Val appear to be on good terms, she sued him in 2011, accusing of falling behind on child support payments for Jack.