Val Kilmer’s only documented marriage was to Joanne Whalley, whom he met while filming Willow in 1987. Cher is the most prominent other name in his love life, and she appears in his memoir and in the Associated Press obituary as a past relationship and later friend. Beyond those two, the published accounts name several more partners but do not give reliable dates for most of them. This article separates what the sources establish from what they only mention.
How each name is sourced
The names below come from three kinds of material: the publisher’s description of Kilmer’s memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry; the Associated Press obituary published in April 2025; and Biography.com’s profile of Kilmer. The table shows what each source actually supports.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Moonwalk: A Memoir | $23.38 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir | $10.26 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic – A Modern-Day Memoir from the Trailer Parks of Vegas... | $15.25 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Intimate Audrey: An Authorized Biography | $15.96 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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The Book of Sheen: A Memoir | $17.50 | Buy on Amazon |
| Name | How the source names them | Where it appears | Dates given |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joanne Whalley | Former wife and co-parent | Biography.com; Associated Press obituary; memoir publisher description | Met 1987, married 1988, divorced 1996 (Biography.com) |
| Cher | Past relationship; later friend | Memoir publisher description; Associated Press obituary; Vanity Fair interview, May 4, 2020 | Not stated |
| Cindy Crawford | Relationship discussed in the memoir | Memoir publisher description | Not stated |
| Daryl Hannah | Relationship discussed in the memoir | Memoir publisher description | Not stated |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Reported relationship after the marriage to Whalley deteriorated | Biography.com | Not stated |
Joanne Whalley: the one dated relationship
Biography.com reports that Kilmer and Whalley met while making Willow, married in 1988, had two children, Mercedes and Jack, and divorced in 1996. The Associated Press obituary describes the marriage and divorce and names the same two children, so the core facts rest on more than one source.
Use the name Joanne Whalley. She was sometimes credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer during the marriage, but the shorter form is enough to tell the story.
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Cher: a past relationship and a later friendship
Three sources name Cher. The memoir’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, says Kilmer recounts high-profile romances with Cher, Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah and Whalley. The Associated Press obituary, published in April 2025, says he dated Cher. In a May 4, 2020 Vanity Fair interview with Donald Liebenson, the memoir is presented as containing reflections on Kilmer’s friendships with Cher and Marlon Brando.
Taken together, these sources establish two things: Cher was a romantic partner, and the connection continued afterward as a friendship. They do not establish when the relationship began or ended, how long it lasted, or what happened between them. Those details are not in the published accounts, and this article does not fill them in.
Other names in the published accounts
Cindy Crawford and Daryl Hannah appear only in the memoir’s publisher description, which says Kilmer discusses them. Biography.com also lists Michelle Pfeiffer among reported relationships that followed the breakdown of the marriage to Whalley. That is a general placement in time, not a date range.
Attribute each claim to the source that makes it. “The publisher says the memoir recounts a relationship with Hannah” is accurate; “Hannah dated Kilmer from 1990 to 1992” is not supported by the material available. The lists should be read as names, not as a sequence.
What Kilmer said about writing the memoir
In an emailed interview with Vanity Fair in 2020, Kilmer explained his reasons for writing the book: “I wrote it with the best of intentions, to satisfy a long-held desire to prove my honesty, or confront my hypocrisy, and in so doing, possibly help someone.” The statement concerns the memoir’s purpose. It does not confirm or date any particular relationship.
How to judge a claim about Kilmer’s relationships
- Who is the source? A memoir or its publisher’s description reports Kilmer’s own account. A profile or obituary reports what others have written. Treat these differently.
- Does it give a date? Only the Whalley marriage has a start and end date in the material reviewed. A relationship without a date should be described as undated.
- Is a second source present? Whalley’s marriage, divorce and children are confirmed by both Biography.com and the AP obituary. Most other names rest on a single mention.
- Does the claim describe a period or a duration? Phrases such as “after the marriage deteriorated” place a relationship relative to another event. They do not establish how long it lasted.
Using the memoir as a source
I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir is the main first-person source on these relationships. Simon & Schuster lists the paperback at 320 pages with ISBN 9781982144906. Because the book is Kilmer’s own account, its statements about private relationships are his version of events. Where it is the only source for a claim, say so.
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