Who Is Ringo Starr's Wife? All About Barbara Bach

Mar. 15, 2025

Barbara Bach and Ringo Starr.Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty

Barbara BachandRingo Starrproperly met on the set of the 1980 movieCaveman, but the drummer later told PEOPLE that Bach saw him play with The Beatlesback in 1965.

Over the course of the decades-long relationship, Bach and Starr — born Richard Starkey in 1940 — have been through a lot together. In a 1981 interview withPlayboy, Bach shared that the couple faced a lot of negative press when they first began dating. She also didn’t expect to meet someone she would want to marry.

“We both had the same philosophy, neither one ever wanting to marry again,” she said. “Richard already has three children, aged 10 to 13. Quite honestly, I never thought I’d be so lucky, to fall so much in love that I’d want to do the whole thing over. My family was shocked.”

In 1981,Bach and Starr got marriedin London and the pair have been together ever since.

The couple had another reason to celebrate whenStarr and his career were honoredin the specialRingo & Friends at the Ryman, which premiered on CBS in March 2025. Country stars includingSheryl CrowandMickey Guytonjoined together to pay tribute to his music.

So who is the actress and model married to Ringo Starr? Here’s everything to know about Barbara Bach.

She and Starr met on the set ofCaveman

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Bach met Starr when they were cast as love interests in the 1980 filmCaveman. Starr later admitted that he wasattracted to Bachfrom the moment she showed up at the airport in Los Angeles, despite the fact that they were both in relationships with other people at the time.

In her 1981 interview withPlayboy, Bach said that when the two did fall for one another, they fell hard. “A lot of garbage has been written about us, none of it interesting,” she said. “The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end ofCaveman. Working, we got along fine, but we each had other people, our respective friends. Then, all of a sudden, within a week — the last week of shooting — it just happened. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”

She attended a Beatles concert in 1965

Though Bach and Starr didn’t properly connect until 1981, they actually crossed paths 15 years earlier when Bach sawThe Beatlesplay at New York’s Shea Stadium in 1965.

“Barbara, her sister Marjorie, and Joe [Walsh] were all at Shea Stadium. He tried to marry me but he had to settle for my wife’s sister. Marjorie even had a Beatle wig on,” Starr told PEOPLE in 2017. Bach’s sister Marjorie marriedJoe Walsh, guitarist forthe Eagles, in 2008.

She wasn’t the biggest Beatles fan

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While she might have attended thelegendary Shea Stadium concert, Bach told PEOPLE in 1981 that she only went becauseher sister liked the band. “My sister Marjorie was crazy about the Beatles,” she said. “I liked[Bob] Dylan,Ray Charlesandthe Rolling Stones.”

She and Starr survived a car accident

Bach and Starr had a near-death experience in 1980 when they survived a car crash together. Starr swerved to avoid a truck, and he hit two light posts before flipping the car twice. From then on, the couple pledged to do everything together. “We decided wewouldn’t spend any time apart,” Starr said. “So far the longest break was five days, and that was too long. I want to live every minute with Barbara.”

She married Starr in 1981

Ringo Starr Instagram

The couplegot marriedin April 27, 1981. Along with around 70 other guests, former BeatlesMcCartneyandHarrisonattended the London wedding, making for a bittersweet reunion only months afterJohn Lennonwas killed. Guests were treated to an impromptu performance when McCartney began playing piano while Harrison strummed the guitar and Starr drummed on an ice bucket.

She and Starr entered rehab together

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Bach and Starr entered treatment together at the Sierra Tucson Rehabilitation Clinic in 1988. Starr has been open about the impactentering treatment had on his career, telling PEOPLE, “I didn’t tour in the ’80s, and not a lot in the ’70s. I sort of got involved in a lot of substances and they became more important than anything else. In ‘88 I ended up in rehab and in ‘89 I put the first All-Starr Band together. I got back on track, and that’s what I’ve done ever since.”

The pair left rehab and changed their lives. They became vegetarians and have supported numerous organizations helping those who are struggling with substance addiction.

She was a Bond girl

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Bach had been working in film for years before meeting her husband. She starred in the 1977James BondfilmThe Spy Who Loved MeoppositeRoger Moore. “It was a pleasure working with Roger, he wasa kind and good man,” Bach said when Moore died in 2017. “A true gentleman. Peace, love and condolences to his wife and family.”

She and Starr have been married for over 40 years

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The couple have been together for over 40 years. In 2015, Bach and Starr opened up to PEOPLE about their decades-long romance. Bach said there’s onlyone secret to their relationship: “I love the man, and that’s it.”

Starr added, “There’s no escape … I think I love Barbara as much [today] as I did [when we met] — and I’m beyond blessed that she loves me and we’re still together.”

source: people.com