Inside Frank Sinatra's four marriages on his would be 110th birthday

Frank met his first wife, Nancy Barbato, in 1934. The couple married five years later in Nancy's hometown, Jersey City. Nancy grew up in the small beach town with her Italian-American family. During the early years of their relationship, Nancy worked as a secretary.

Between 1940 and 1948, the couple welcomed three children – Nancy Sandra Sinatra, Francis Wayne Sinatra Jr., and Christina "Tina" Sinatra.

The couple's relationship began to fracture when they moved to Hollywood and Frank's many extramarital affairs began. The singer famously began dating Ava Gardner in 1947. And while Nancy knew about the affair, she chose not to divorce her husband. "I have something too fine and precious to give up," she said in a rare interview in 1950, per The New York Times.

But, a year later, Nancy and Frank separated. She became the primary parent to their three children, but remained close friends with Frank until his death. Nancy passed away at 101 in 2018, never remarrying and keeping Sinatra as her last name.

"I know [Frank] never stopped loving her. And I know she never stopped loving him," the couple's granddaughter A.J. Lambert wrote in a 2015 story for Vanity Fair. "'Thank God I never re-married,' [Nancy] said. I was never even close. I would have had to be in love, and I would never fall in love again.'"

Just 72 hours after he divorced Nancy Sinatra, Frank married actress Ava Gardner, a major Hollywood star. She met the singer while still married to Mickey Rooney. Frank and Ava reconnected while on set at MGM, detailed in the 2017 biography Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies.

"I looked at [Ava] and said, 'Jesus, you got prettier since last time I saw ya,'" Frank said, according to the biography. “This was not the young girl from Carolina at the studio. This was a woman who was glorious."

Throughout their relationship, both Frank and Ava had extramarital affairs. Ava also revealed she had two abortions during their partnership. Additionally, while they were married, Ava became an even bigger star, while Frank struggled to sell records and lost his MGM movie contract.

Ava and Frank finalized their divorce in 1957. Like with Nancy, Frank remained close with his second ex-wife until she died at 67 in 1990.

The now famous actress, Mia Farrow, was married to Frank for two years. Mia met Frank in the 20th Century Fox lot when she was just 19 and he was 50. "I told my mother right away I was seeing Frank. She approved," she told DuJour Magazine.

In 2023, the actress revealed to Instagram that she and Frank dated secretly for a year. Mia shared a throwback photo of her and Frank, writing: "#TBT the Share Party – a charity evening was our first public appearance as a couple. It was a western theme. I was petrified."

Frank and Mia married in 1966 when she was 21-years-old. "He looked very handsome and he was beaming. I can't remember saying the actual vows. I felt dazed," Mia captioned Instagram photos from their wedding day. "I really don't have words for how deeply happy we were…I loved him with all my heart."

But, after just two years of marriage, the couple divorced in part because of Mia's dedication to her career. The actress revealed to Vanity Fair in 2013 that Frank wanted to be the sole provider and didn't understand why Mia wanted to work. "That's the way men thought, and you felt pretty guilty wanting something for yourself," she explained.

In similar fashion, Mia and Frank stayed close until his death. She even called him the great love of her life.

Frank's fourth and final wife, Barbara Marx Sinatra, was no stranger to high profile relationships. Before meeting and marrying Frank, she was married to Zeppo Marx, an American comedic actor known for Duck Soup and Monkey Business. Barbara divorced Zeppo in 1973 and went on to tie the knot with Frank on July 11, 1976.

"The year I married Frank Sinatra was a very good year," Barbara wrote in her 2011 memoir. "It had taken us five years of flirting and courting to finally say 'I do.' It probably took another year before I grew accustomed to the idea that I now carried his iconic name. Even to say 'Mrs. Sinatra' out loud felt like bragging."

Frank and Barbara didn't live as glitz of a life as his previous wives. Instead, they settled down in California with their dogs, playing tennis and golf. The couple was together until Frank's death. In 2017, Barbara died at 90 years old.

Frank's three children followed in his footsteps. Nancy studied music, dancing, and voice at UCLA in the 1950s. She is best known for her hit song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin," and became the first American to perform a James Bond title song. Nancy has two children – Angela Jennifer "AJ" Lambert Paparozzi and Amanda Catherine Lambert Erlinger.

Frank Jr. became a jazz singer and songwriter. He was his dad's bandleader and often lived in Frank's shadow. In 1963, Frank Jr. was kidnapped at gunpoint from Harrah's Lake Tahoe and held for ransom. He has never spoken publicly about the harrowing event, but the three kidnappers – Barry Keenan, Joe Amsler and John Irwin – were convicted for their roles and sentenced to time in prison.

Out of the three Sinatra children, Tina chose the quietest life. Instead of being on-stage or on-screen, she works behind the scenes producing films and preserving her dad's legacy. In 2000, Tina penned her memoir, My Father's Daughter, which described the family's relationships, how she and her siblings reacted to her dad's many relationships, and more.