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Linda Lavin, lead character of CBS sitcom Alice and prolific stage and film actress, died at age 87 on Sunday. The Golden Globe winning actress parlayed her acting work into activism, marching for the Equal Rights Amendment and joining the National Commission on Working Women, per The Hollywood Reporter. She won two Golden Globes, a Tony, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame during a career in TV, Film, and Broadway, that spanned over six decades. Behind the scenes, at the time of her death she was married to Steve Bakunas. Prior to that, she was married twice.
So who is Linda Lavin’s husband, and who were the men who came before him? Read more about the luminous actress’ current husband and her previous two marriages below.
Steve Bakunas
At the time of her death, the Mid-Century Modern actress was married to musician and artist Steve Bakumas for nearly 20 years. According to the Daily Mail, Bakunas is two decades her junior, and they married in 2005 — on Valentine’s Day, no less. Per the outlet, they met six years prior to that at a theater in North Carolina. The couple lived in Wilmington, where they created a community theater (Red Barn Studio,) and later New York.
In an interview with PEOPLE, less than a month before her death, she gushed over her “wonderful” life with Bakunas. “I have a wonderful life, a wonderful husband who’s standing over there and I have a very rich and full life and I’m happy to show up,” she told the outlet for the December 4 red carpet interview. “I’m thrilled to show up at this time in my life. I’m really grateful.”
In October, she took to Instagram to share a photo with Bakunas and gush over their shared love. “Having the best birthday ever with my life’s love….so loving and joyful fun adverturesome and serene too!” she captioned the October 15 post.
Kip Niven
According to Wikipedia, Linda married actor Kip Niven in 1982, shortly after her first marriage ended. The duo met on the set of Alice, where Niven appeared in several episodes as a recurring character. Though the marriage lasted a decade, the 1992 divorce played out contentiously. According to Soap Central, Linda would later say Niven treated her with “disgust and contempt.”
The outlet claims he also made exorbitant requests in alimony, though the couple shared no biological children (Linda was a stepmother to Niven’s children from a previous marriage.) According to Soap Central, Linda claimed her ex made “no contributions” to the ill-fated union. “This husband made no contributions as a partner, father, or supporter of my career,” she reportedly stated. “Any reasonable person would have walked away with dignity after such behavior.”
Ultimately, per the outlet, the legal battle ended with Kip walking away with a $675,000 settlement — a sum far short of the $6 million total settlement he was reported to be after. Niven died in 2019, per Wikipedia.
Ron Leibman
Linda’s first marriage was to Tony winning actor Ron Leibman, whom she married in 1969. It lasted 12 years, ending in 1981. Little is known about Ron and Linda’s marriage, but according to PEOPLE, Ron would go on to marry Arrested Development actress Jessica Walter in 1983.
