Elizabeth Ann Weber (born 1942; Age: 82 years old) is an American lady best known as the first wife of Billy Joel, the legendary rock and roll musician.
Elizabeth was already married to Jon Small, Billy’s friend and band mate when she met the hit maker, but that did not stop them from having a clandestine affair behind Jon’s back. After their cover was blown, she went to pitch her tent with Joel and they exchanged wedding vows in 1973. Though her earlier career was never mentioned, Elizabeth started working for Billy as his manager after their nuptials. She never had any children with Billy but she shares one son with Jon.
Summary of Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Biography
- Full Name: Elizabeth Ann Weber
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 1942
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Age: 82 years old
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Husband (Wife): Jon Small and Billy Joel (ex-husbands)
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Children: Sean Small
- Siblings: Frank
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Height in Inches: 5 feet six inches
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Height in Centimetres: 155cm
- Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Weight: 47 kg
- Famous For: Being the ex-wife of Billy Noel
Where is Elizabeth Ann Weber From?
Elizabeth Ann Weber is a New Yorker. Though her exact date of birth has never been disclosed, it is common knowledge that she was born in New York in 1942. It goes without saying that Elizabeth is an American by nationality but her ethnicity is not known.
Similarly, the identities of her parents have remained unknown to date. We only know that she has one sibling who goes by the name Frank.
Reports have it that Elizabeth studied in a private school in New York for her early academic education and when she was ready to go for higher studies, she joined New York University where she earned what was described as remarkable managerial skills. However, her particular course of study is not known.
What Does Billy Joel’s First Wife Do For A Living?
Perhaps because she has never been a mainstream celebrity, sources never talked about what Elizabeth Ann Weber did for a living before she married Billy Joel. However, after she got married to the rock and roll superstar, she manipulated him until he let her manage the financial aspect of his music.
As a financial manager, Elizabeth was a shrewd negotiator and took the credit for several of the musician’s business deals and music contracts. Her indisputably superior business practices earned her an unpalatable tag as many started seeing her as a “tough and unfeminine lady”, though her astuteness saw to the effective sealing of multiple deals.
While Elizabeth’s marriage with Billy lasted, all his close allies got really worried about him once they confirmed her to be both controlling and manipulating. Outside that, Elizabeth was outrightly rude to people and was obviously awed by the rock and roll lifestyle rather than her husband.
Elizabeth and Billy Had a Scandalous Start
Despite the fact that Elizabeth Ann Weber was already married to Billy’s friend and band mate, Jon Small, Billy found it difficult to take her off his mind after their first meeting. In fact, the rock and roll king confessed to being infatuated with the woman and went ahead to do everything possible to have her.
Talking to Fred Schruers in an interview session, Billy said Elizabeth was far removed from the typical American girls that he was used to. He described her as a woman that was very seductive but couldn’t cook, nor take care of the home front. That may have been what fascinated him about her.
Billy was still part of The Hassles rock and roll group alongside Jon Smalls ( Elizabeth’s husband) when she started dating his wife behind his back. Jon and Billy later collaborated to form their own band, Attila as Jon was completely unaware of their clandestine affair.
Secret affairs they say do not last forever and that was the case with Elizabeth Ann Weber’s affair with Billy. Jon soon uncovered their dalliance and all hell was let loose, marking the end of the Attila music band and their partnership that has lasted for years.
After she got caught, Elizabeth decided to distance herself from both Jon and Billy as she was nowhere to be found for weeks.
Billy was Devastated by Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Actions
As someone who was caught red-handed with his friend’s wife, fans expected Billy Joel to at least show some remorse but that was not the case. The rock and roll musician was greatly distressed by his lover’s disappearance. Besides, the subsequent failure of his then-upcoming album was like the final nail in the coffin as Billy became suicidal.
After taking an overdose of Nembutal, he placed a call to his friend Jon to apologize and would have died if Jon had not rushed to the rescue. It was Jon who scooped him off the floor and took him to the hospital where he was eventually revived.
That was not the only attempt Joel made on his life as the musician still tried to end it all a week later. This time around, he emptied a cup of furniture polish into his system, and save for a family member that found him, he would have died. This particular incident landed him in a mental health facility where he started undergoing therapy.
Elizabeth Eventually Became Billy Joel’s Wife in 1973
Fortunately for Billy, his love interest decided to come back. Elizabeth Ann Weber and Joel went ahead to culminate their relationship in a wedding that took place in 1973. At the time of their nuptials, the rock and roll star was in his early 20s while Elizabeth was already in her early thirties. Obviously, the seven-year age gap between the couple did not stop them from becoming man and wife.
The couple never deemed it necessary to reveal the details of their wedding to the public, thus, little information like its exact date, venue, and type of wedding ceremony are not known.
It’s important to note that at this time, Elizabeth was already a mother of one through her marriage with Jon and she brought her son, Sean, with her to Billy’s home. After she became her second husband’s manager, the duo went on to have what can be best described as a rocky nine years of marriage.
While their union lasted, Billy said Elizabeth Ann Weber served as a source of inspiration for his music. The mother of one was the one who inspired him to compose songs like Just The Way You Are, She’s Always a Woman, and She Got a Way. Billy’s 1973 single, Piano Man which showcased, the 52nd Street crooner’s Waitress Practicing Politics character was equally inspired by her.
Meet Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Ex-Husband, Billy Joel
Billy Joel was born William Martin Joel on the 9th of May 1949, in New York City. Obviously an American by nationality, Billy is of White ethnicity.
He is a man of many hats; he is listed as a vocalist, songwriter, and pianist. Although he started his music career by joining several bands, he went ahead to record a highly successful career as a solo artist.
The peak of his career was between 1971 and 1993 when he dropped a total of 12 pop and rock albums. He attained another level of fame in 2001 with the release of his album of classical works.
To date, Billy has remained on the list of the best-selling musicians of all time and number four as America’s fourth-best-selling solo artist, selling over 160 million records worldwide. Some of his best works include Just the Way You Are, Piano Man, Movin’ Out, She’s Always a Woman, and Only the Good Die Young among others.
Why Did Elizabeth Ann Weber and Billy Joel Divorce?
Though Billy viewed Elizabeth Ann Weber in the light of his salvation when she finally became his wife in 1973, things turned the other way around within just a few years. The couple never really let anyone in on the exact reasons for their separation and divorce but it is common knowledge that Elizabeth was the one who filed for a divorce in 1982.
By this time, the rock and roll legend wasn’t just ready to end his marriage, which led him to make several attempts to win Elizabeth back. In a bid to rekindle the dying flames of their love, Billy presented the mother-of-one a house gift worth $4 million (Elizabeth and her son lived in the house till 1977; the townhouse was located on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City.
With time, winning Elizabeth back began to seem like an effort in futility. To make matters worse, Billy got involved in a motorcycle accident that left him with injuries on his hands.
While in the hospital, he was thinking of his ongoing messy divorce and his jeopardized music career, envisaging how everything will become right again if only Elizabeth agrees to return as his support. However, unknown to him, she was hatching a totally different plan.
When Elizabeth Ann Weber eventually showed up at the hospital, she didn’t even consider her husband’s health and went on to present him with a contract that will make her the beneficiary of his fortune.
That particular visit was like an eye-opener to Billy, who had been viewing Elizabeth through rose-colored spectacles. Finally, in his right senses, the music hit maker blatantly refused to append his signature to the deal.
According to Billy, he wasn’t totally out of his senses, though he may well have been a big fool for love throughout their time as man and wife. The singer said that particular encounter killed every passion he ever had for Elizabeth on the spot.
Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Time as Billy’s Manager Triggered a Lot of Controversies
While Elizabeth Ann Weber was managing her second husband’s affairs, her controlling and manipulative business techniques caused more harm than good. Because Joel was totally smitten with her, he failed to see the real Elizabeth.
The mother of one manipulated Billy to get her brother, Frank, into the company and according to the musician, it has remained one of his biggest mistakes. Frank hadn’t Joel’s manager for long when his marriage with Elizabeth crashed and strangely enough, Frank decided to side with Billy and thus, continued working in his establishment after the divorce.
Unbeknown to Billy, Elizabeth Ann Weber’s brother was doing some undercover transaction behind him, siphoning and stealing money in tens of millions. In 1989, Billy filed a lawsuit against Frank, demanding 30 million dollars in contemporary damages in addition to 60 million dollars in punitive damages.
The lawsuit was still in progress in 1990 when Frank played a smart card and declared bankruptcy. This led Billy to agree to settle for a paltry $3 million out of court.
According to Joel, the experience has remained a big blow to his personal and professional life, which he will never forget in a hurry. The musician even made reference to it in his official biography, “I hooked up with Borgias. What a family to pick” Joel said.
Elizabeth Never Attempted to Hide Her Love For Money
Throughout the duration of her marriage to Joel, Elizabeth Ann Weber never bothered to hide her love for money and sooner than later, everybody around them got to know.
The unsuspecting Joel initially started attributing his inspirations to Elizabeth and being the type of person she is, she wasted no time in demanding her own share of the proceeds from any track attributed to her.
While Joel was paying her for being his inspiration, he was also giving her large sums of money as payment for her job as his manager, yet she wasn’t satisfied. At the end of the day, Elizabeth was raking in 50% of Billy’s earnings.
There was an unforgettable occasion when the singer played the new song, “Just the way you are” on her birthday and all Elizabeth Ann Weber could think of was the monetary aspect of the new release. She demanded he publish the song through her so she could reap the publishing right and was very serious about it.
The lyrics of Joel’s track, ‘She’s Always a Woman’ happens to be a perfect depiction of Elizabeth’s persona and it goes thus;
She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
Where is Billy Joel’s First Wife Now?
Because Elizabeth Ann Weber was never a mainstream celebrity, her whereabouts after her divorce from the rock and roll musician has remained unknown. This is quite understandable since it was her union with the famous musician that brought her to the limelight in the first place.
However, despite the fact that she has long left the spotlight, many fans of the legendary singer still express curiosity about where Billy’s first and most memorable wife is and what she is doing with her life.
It is important to note that Elizabeth, who was born in 1942, has already hit 82 and considering her current age, many have enquired to know if she is still alive. However, getting answers on her whereabouts has proved quite difficult, but sources got an inkling in 2018 when the $4 million-worth townhouse Joel used to entice her to forget their differences hit the market for a whopping $20 million.
The townhouse being on the market is an indication that the owner is still very much alive and sources have since confirmed this. They have also concluded that the mother of one is currently living a settled life somewhere and there is no record of any other marriage for Elizabeth Ann Weber.
On the flip side, Billy Joel recovered from his infatuation with Elizabeth and has since moved on with his life. However, he seems to be unlucky in love as he has recorded three marriages and two divorces since then. He married Christie Brinkley in 1985, Katie Lee in 2004, and Alexis Roderick in 2015; he is still with Alexis.
