Who is Harlene Rosen? Get to know Woody Allen's first wife

Harlene Rosen was married to Woody Allen in the late 1950s when he was starting his career as a comedy writer. Their immature marriage became the subject of Woody's comedy, and he would frequently taunt his wife, which led to a defamation lawsuit. After their bitter divorce in the early 1960s, Rosen chose a quiet life.

Key takeaways

• Harlene Rosen and Woody Allen were married for about six years from 1956 to 1962, but they had no children together.
• Rosen squashed his beef with the filmmaker over five decades later when she wished him a happy 80th birthday.
• Woody Allen is currently in his third marriage with Soon-Yi Previn, who was his stepdaughter during his relationship with actress Mia Farrow in the 1980s.

Harlene Rosen's profile summary

Harlene Rosen was a teenager when she married Woody

Woody Allen proposed to his teenage sweetheart Harlene Rosen in 1955. They tied the knot the next year in March 1956, when she was only 16 years old, and he was 20 years old.

Both Rosen and Woody continued to pursue their education while living and working in the Big Apple. The short Hollywood star called their marriage 'fine' in a July 2015 interview with NPR, but revealed he did not do it entirely for love.

It got me out of my parents' house and got me into New York City and reality. My wife was a nice, smart person.

Allen and Harlene's marriage turned rocky as soon as it started

Woody revealed that the couple had an unhappy marriage in his November 1963 stand-up comedy on The Steve Allen Show. He said they considered divorcing early on, but the New York divorce laws were not favourable for their situation.

I had a bad marriage, and it was partially my fault. For the first year of marriage, I had a bad basic attitude toward my wife. I tended to place my wife underneath the pedestal all the time, and we used to argue and fight.

In David Evanier's 2015 book, Woody: The Biography, Allen's friend Jack Victor said that the ex-couple never had any honeymoon period. They were both young and realised they had made a mistake.

Wood wrote to me regularly from California, but especially during the honeymoon. I could see it wasn't a honeymoon anymore. There were problems—it just didn't work out, really.

Harlene Rosen became the subject of Woody's jokes

The ex-couple's union fell apart partly because the stand-up comedian started mocking Harlene Rosen in his nightclub performances and on television. He often referred to her as Quasimodo while talking about their relationship, which did not sit well with his ex-wife. 

In 1967, Harlene took legal action against Woody Allen and NBC for defamation of character from his insults on the Tonight Show. She was granted a temporary cease and desist order against him before the matter was settled in the early 1970s.

Allen paid Harlene alimony of less than $100

Woody Allen and his ex-wife, Harlene, split in 1959 after about three years of marriage. They finalised their divorce three years later in November 1962. The Oscar-winning filmmaker was ordered to pay Harlene spousal support of $75 per week and up to $175 weekly if he got a steady job until she remarried.

Woody was making $25 per week before he stopped attending New York University to pursue comedy full-time. By the end of their marriage, he was making around $1,500 per week, according to Time Magazine.

Allen's career went uphill in the 1960s with successful projects like 'What's New Pussycat?' and What's Up, Tiger Lily? By the late 1960s, he was making approximately $250,000 a year, but it is unclear if he increased the amount of alimony payments to Rosen.

Harlene let go of her beef with Woody after over 50 years

In November 2015, Harlene sent biographer David Evanier a statement directed to her ex-husband. The message was to be included in his book, Woody: The Biography, ahead of the filmmaker's 80th birthday. It read:

Wondrous Woody, you inspired me with your enormous energy, creativity and charisma... After our teenage summer of love, marriage was difficult... You established a career. I completed four years of college. We supported each other, learnt about life and became adults. There was sadness, tears, laughter and love.

Woody married Louise Lasser after Rosen's divorce

In February 1966, the Annie Hall creator married his second wife, actress Louise Lasser. She appeared in several of his movies, including What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Bananas (1971).

Allen Woody and Louise called it quits on their marriage nearly four years later in January 1970. Despite their divorce, they continued to work together.

Woody Allen's controversial marriage to his stepdaughter

The Midnight in Paris writer started dating actress Mia Farrow in 1980, and they were together until early 1992, but he never made her his wife. Together, they welcomed son Ronan Farrow in 1987 and adopted daughter Dylan O'Sullivan and son Moses Farrow.

Mia had seven other children (adopted and biological), including Soon-Yi Previn, when she started her relationship with Woody. The actress broke up with the filmmaker after discovering inappropriate pictures of her 21-year-old adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, in his home.

In December 1997, a then 62-year-old Woody Allen married his stepdaughter, Previn, despite their significant age gap of 36 years. The couple lives in New York City with their two adopted daughters, Bechet Allen and Manzie Allen.

In September 2018, Woody Allen's spouse Soon-Yi publicly defended him against abuse allegations. In a rare New York magazine interview, she criticised her adoptive mother, Mia Farrow, while discussing their mother-daughter relationship.

Conclusion

Not much is known about Harlene Rosen today. Her ex-husband, Woody, is still married to Previn and has hinted at retiring after almost seven decades in show business.

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Source: Briefly News