For the past four decades, Ann-Margret has been a talented performer in the entertainment industry, working as an actress, dancer, and singer in nightclubs, as well as in movies and on television. In addition to having a fruitful career, she was happily married to the actor Roger Smith for the better part of her life.
Actress Ann-Margaret was married to actor Roger Smith, whom she wed in 1967 and stayed married to until his death. Ann-Margaret is of Swedish and American ancestry. In addition to that, he was her manager.
The Hollywood starlet was closely involved in an affair that lasted a full year with the famous singer Elvis Presley. Further information on Ann-Margret’s marriage and family may be found below.
Roger Smith in a black coat with Ann-Margret in a fur collar coat pictured in 1970 in New York. | Source: Getty Images
THE TRUE STORY OF ANN-MARGARET’S MEETING WITH SMITH AND FINDING LOVE
When Ann-Margaret made her first movie, “Pocketful of Miracles,” in 1961, she met producer Smith, who would later become her husband.
She had just turned 18 and had not yet established herself as the sexy female lead recognized for roles alongside Hollywood stars such as Dick Van Dyke and Elvis Presley when she played those parts.
Smith, who was in his late 20s and acting in “77 Sunset Strip,” confessed to New York magazine in 1976 that every other lady he encountered was infatuated with him. He told the publication that his first impression of Margret was:
“Every other woman I met was falling all over me. But this innocent, fresh-faced beauty only spoke to me when I spoke to her and ignored me the rest of the time. I was impressed.”
Ann-Margret and her husband Roger Smith pose for a photo in 1975 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
They would not run into each other again for another five years. Then, Margret’s career was at an all-time high, and Smith had just divorced his wife of nine years, the Australian actress Victoria Shaw.
Smith began their relationship when he invited her to the San Francisco nightclub where he was singing. The following day, the screenwriter took his future wife out to dinner, and afterward, they followed it up with a ride on his private plane. In 1994, Ann-Margret shared the following with the New York Times:
“The man I married is the man I knew I was going to marry on the third date.”
In the meantime, Smith was officially still married, so her parents disapproved of the relationship. Two years after the end of his divorce, the couple decided to go ahead and wed in a civil ceremony in Las Vegas, even though he had recently been divorced.
Ann-Margret holding a piece of wedding cake while standing beside her new husband Roger Smith, after marrying in a civil ceremony on May 8, 1967. | Source: Getty Images
Smith, who was 34 then, married Ann-Margret, who was 26 then, on May 9, 1967, in a cigarette-filled suite at the Riveria Hotel. Once, the bride shared with People:
“This is not the way I envisioned my wedding. Everyone thought I was pregnant because I was crying through the whole thing. But we did it.”
After the wedding, the couple decided to focus their attention on more significant matters. Smith’s help paid off his wife’s debts in a little over two years, and the entire amount was greater than her annual salary.
Newlyweds Roger Smith and Ann-Margret cut their wedding cake after their nuptials at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas on May 8, 1967. | Source: Getty Images
Not only did he have a thing for Ann-Margret, but he also had confidence in her talents and was proud of what she had accomplished in her career. It wasn’t long after that when he started making suggestions about managing her.
Smith stated that performing did not fulfill him as it once did, and he praised his partner’s “raw talent.” The lengthy time spent apart had a part in concluding, and he explained it to me later as follows:
“When I met Ann-Margret, I felt happy for the first time. Once I found Ann-Margret, I couldn’t stand to be without her, and, surprisingly, she couldn’t stand to be without me.”
Ann-Margret and her husband Roger Smith pose for a portrait in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
ANN-MARGRET DESIRED SMITH TO BE LIKE HER FATHER.
The couple’s matters differed greatly from what they presented to the outside world. It was thought that Ann-Margret was not as fragile as she looked and that her husband was not as powerful as he appeared to be. They were completely dependent on one another.
Reportedly, the actress from “Bye Bye Birdie” had a bond with Smith similar to that of her mother and her husband. There were other times in which Ann-Margret deferred to Smith. But, when it came to her professional life, she obtained what she wanted quietly but effectively.
It was almost as though he had matured into the role of her ideal father. Conversely, Smith’s public identity was severely diminished when he divorced his lovely wife.
Roger Smith and his wife Ann-Margret during the 48th Academy Awards at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 29, 1976, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Because he gave up his profession and his aspirations to look after hers, he settled for becoming obsessed with her. Ann-Margret considered Smith to be the perfect companion. He had an outstanding mind for business and enjoyed the planning and attention to detail required.
She once recalled that she had lived with her cherished husband for three years before she could trust him enough to give him control of her professional life. The 81-year-old woman stated she was cautious about putting her faith in others. Smith revealed some personal information about his wife.
“Her drives were stronger than mine. My goals have changed many times, but she set out to be exactly what she is. And she got it.”
Ann-Margret and Roger Smith were pictured at John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 11, 1969, in New York. | Source: Getty Images
Smith gave up his acting career to spend more time with his wife and instead concentrated on screenwriting. Nonetheless, he quickly transitioned into his full-time role as Ann-Margret’s mentor, manager, and father.
Smith revealed that he frequently claimed that he was bored with acting but that this was due, in part, to the fact that he felt lonely. He admitted that his first impression of Ann-Margret was that she was unique:
“Unlike anyone I had ever met, she made me a better person. She wanted me to be like her father, and I wanted to do it for her.”
“It’s corny but true; I liked myself much better by doing what she wanted. Being with her was more important than all my childhood dreams about being a famous actor,” he continued.
Ann-Margret and Roger Smith during After Dark Ruby Awards at Waldorf Astoria Hotel on March 17, 1975, in New York City, New York. | Source: Getty Images
THE PARENTS WANTED CHILDREN TOGETHER
When Ann-Margret’s performance in the 1971 film “Carnal Knowledge” earned her a nomination for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress, she developed addictions to alcohol and prescription medications.
While performing in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she shattered her left arm, cheekbone, and jawbone a year after falling off an elevated platform on stage.
Smith helped her when he flew a stolen jet out of Burbank, California, and took her to the doctors at a hospital connected to UCLA.
After suffering a near-fatal accident in a fall from a platform during her act in Lake Tahoe, Ann-Margret has the cast on her broken left arm signed by her spouse, Roger Smith. | Source: Getty Images
Because her jaws had to be wired shut following facial reconstruction surgery, Ann-Margret could not return to work for 10 weeks. An earlier story said that she broke her kneecap, which could make it hard for her to dance professionally.
Yet, before too much time had passed, she was back on stage, acting almost normally again. After that, the couple strongly desired to start a family together. Smith came into this marriage with three children from a prior union. In October of 1985, it was disclosed by the star of “52 Pick-Up” that she and her husband had been attempting to create a family for thirteen years.
Ann-Margret and her husband of fifty years, Roger Smith, during their visit to New York City, New York. | Source: Getty Images
The couple considered even more drastic measures, such as using a fertility pump and an experimental device that injected hormones into her stomach to stimulate ovulation.
Even though Ann-Margret, who was 44 at the time, and her husband of eighteen years already had children, she longed for children of her own even though she had been successful for years:
“The point is, if I meant to have a child, I would have one. Whatever my higher power feels is right for me, I will accept. This may sound simplistic, but I believe in the serenity prayer.”
“God, grant the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference,'” the singer continued.
Ann-Margret and Roger Smith during a sighting at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1972 in New York. | Source: Getty Images
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER OF THE WEST
In a question-and-answer session in July 2014 with Interview Magazine, Ann-Margret was asked whether she had raised Will Smith’s children as her own, to which she responded, “The wicked stepmother of the west.”
She agreed she should be a disciplinarian and talked to the children about the values they already knew. Ann-Margret gave the following answer when asked what lessons her parents taught her when she was young:
“Respect. I met them when they were 3, 6, and 7, and now they’re not. Two of them are doctors. I don’t want to get into that because it’s very private.”
Ann-Margret and Roger Smith pose in the press room at the 2010 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 21, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Tracy, who is her stepdaughter, is currently 65 years old. The age of the stepson, Dallas, is 61, while that of his older brother, Jordan, is 64. Even today, their stepmother maintains close relationships with each of them.
Smith, the head of the family, had been sick with myasthenia gravis, a nervous system disease, for over twenty years before it was remission.
Smith passed away on June 4, 2017, when he was 84. He had been suffering a serious illness for some years before passing at a Los Angeles hospital. Ann-Margret, his wife, and his three children, with whom she maintains a strong relationship, are the only people he leaves behind after his passing.
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