Shawn King, Larry King’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Larry King, the award-winning TV and radio host, died Saturday morning, January 23, at the age of 87, per his Twitter account. King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his account tweeted. No cause of death was given, but King had been hospitalized for more than a week with COVID-19, according to CNN.

Over the years, King was married eight times, to seven different women. King ultimately stayed married the longest to Shawn Southwick King. The beloved television and radio host married Southwick King on September 5, 1997. The couple welcomed two sons together, Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20.

The two were married for 22 years until Larry King filed for divorce in August 2019, per USA Today. He cited irreconcilable differences, and the date of separation is listed as June 6, 2019, per court documents obtained by People.

1. Southwick King Was Larry King’s Last Wife

Larry King married his seventh and final wife on September 5, 1997. The two got married in a hospital room, shortly before King was to undergo heart surgery. Together, the two welcomed two sons together: Chance in 1999 and Cannon in 2000. She and King share a 16-year age gap.

Although King filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage, he told People that he would, “always care” for his wife, but that “it just hit a point where we didn’t get along,” in February 2020.

“We had a big age difference and that eventually takes its toll,” he said. “It became an issue.”

2. Southwick King Had Also Been Married Before

Prior to marrying Southwick King, Larry King had been married seven times before, to six women. He married, divorced, then remarried Alene Akins. Like her estranged husband, Southwick King had also been married in the past.

The 61-year-old mother married football player Daniel Southwick in 1980, according to People. The couple had one son, Danny Southwick, in 1981. The marriage didn’t last, and they divorced years later.

3. Southwick King Is a Former Singer & Actress

Southwick King is a former singer, television host, actress and producer. She grew up in the Hollywood area and was born into a musical family, via People. Her dad is the former Vice President of Artist & Repertoire at Capitol Records, worked as Marie Osmond’s manager for 35 years, and managed her estranged husband. Her mother was a singer, who performed with the Ray Conniff group and was a studio singer for Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, according to her bio from Latter-day Saints Musicians.

She pursued acting and starred on various television series including Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Cover Up, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and Who’s the Boss? She also appeared in films such as Bombshell, Monaco Forever and Christmas Eve, which she produced, per IMDb. Like her mother, Southwick King wanted to sing and released an album called In My Own Backyard in 2005, per her Latter-day Saints Musicians’ bio.

4. Southwick King Had Been Accused of Having Affairs

Before filing for divorce in 2019, Larry King previously filed in 2010, but they initially reconciled. Earlier that year, the National Enquirer reported that Southwick King had been having an affair, per Page Six. The man later came forward and admitted to the affair, but the Kings decided to stay together.

In 2016, rumors circulated that Southwick King was having another affair. “It’s true, and Larry is completely embarrassed and anguished by all of this,” a source told People at the time. “He doesn’t know what to do.” Both the Kings denied the speculation. Southwick King has not yet publicly commented on her estranged husband’s death.

“You said an interesting word, ‘rumor.’ I’ve been in the business — next May, it’ll be 60 years — and I’ve dealt with rumors a long time,” he said during an interview with Home & Family in August 2016. “Interviewed people involved with rumors. Rumors are what they are — they’re rumors. And I tell you the truth, I don’t pay any attention to them.”

5. Southwick King Is Mormon

Larry King was a Jewish agnostic, but his estranged wife practiced a different religion. Southwick King is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She and her father both attended college at Brigham Young University in Utah, according to the Daily Mail.

King confessed that their difference in religion was a primary cause for the split. “Also, [Shawn] is a very religious Mormon and I’m an agnostic atheist, so that eventually causes little problems,” he confessed to People when discussing his divorce in February 2020. “We overcame a lot, but eventually it became a ships-passing-in-the-night situation.”

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