Rocky Parker was the former wife of Patrick Dempsey. Born in 1940 and 74 years old at the time of her death, Dempsey’s ex-wife was an actress whose career stretched from the 1980s to the late 2000s before she died in 2014.
She was 47 years old when she got married to her much younger lover, who was only 21 years old. The rocky marriage lasted for seven years before it ended in divorce. Following the divorce, she remained single until she lost her life. Many years later, her name is still mentioned in relation to her failed marriage to the actor.
Summary of Rocky Parker’s Bio
- Full name: Rochelle Natalie Parker
- Nickname: Rocky Parker
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: February 26, 1940
- Rocky Parker’s Age: 74 (at death)
- Died: 2014
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Pisces
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Rocky Parker’s Husbands: Patrick Dempsey (1987 to 1994), John David Haas (1964 to 1968), Sheldon Leonard Stein (1958 to Unknown)
- Rocky Parker’s Children: Noelle Parker, Corey Parker, David Parker
- Famous for: being Patrick Dempsey’s ex-wife
Rocky Parker was Brought Up in New York
Professionally known as Rocky Parker, the actress was born Rochelle Natalie Parker on February 26, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York. It was also there that she was brought up on Hokinson Avenue, but her family would later move to Bayside Queens.
She is of American nationality and white ethnicity, but there is not so much information that is available as regards her family members and childhood. We know, however, that she got her education from Martin Buren High School.
Rocky Parker and Patrick Dempsey Met On a Set of a Play
The unconventional love story between Patrick Dempsey and Rocky started in 1984. At the time, Parker had already established herself as an actress and acting coach. She was also a theatre performer. It was thanks to this that the path of the then 44 years old actress met Patrick, who was only 18 years old at the time. The two appeared in a play where she had the role of playing as his aunt.
Despite their extended age difference of 26 years, they still fell in love and dated for the next three years before they finally got married in 1987. At the time, he gushed over his wife, stating that he loved being in a relationship with a woman who had lived through more than he did. He also added that he was not sure it would ever work if he dated anyone his age.
It was reported that during the marriage, Rocky was very helpful to her man, whom she said could barely read or write when they first met, as a result of dyslexia which he was diagnosed with as a child. She would later reveal that she helped him get off drugs and alcohol when they were together. The actor claimed Rocky helped his career in more ways than one as she helped him to get through with his scripts as well as relax and take things easy.
Their Marriage was Rather Rocky
The marriage between Patrick Dempsey and Rocky Parker was not the best. For one, there were issues relating to domestic violence. There was a report that the actor once attacked his former wife on the set of Can’t Buy Me Love in 1987. According to court papers, Patrick beat up Rocky when they were on set to the point that she got injured and later suffered arthritis.
The simple reason for the attack was said to be that he wanted to see what it was like, beating up a woman. The allegation was contained in 1994 divorce court papers filed by Rocky, asking for their marriage to be ended. She claimed that during their time together, she had to resort to seeing a psychiatrist at some point.
More than that, she resorted to using anti-depressants and other prescription medications so that she could get through. Rocky Parker would later recant the statement when it came to the limelight. The Bridget Jones star’s legal team reportedly contacted Parker, who gave out a statement stating that her allegations were made in the heat of the divorce and her allegations were false.
Whatever the case, the marriage did not survive for more than seven years before it ended in 1994. Before then, the couple had already separated in 1991 after Dempsey told his then-wife that he had met another woman. Parker reportedly filed for divorce in the same year, but it was all lengthy and fiery. They did not have any kids between them.
Following the divorce, the actor was made to pay his former lover £7,500 a month in spousal support. She also got a BMW Convertible and keep their home.
Patrick Dempsey was Not the Only Man She Married During Her Lifetime
While Rocky’s marriage to Patrick Dempsey was what attracted much attention to her, that was not her only marriage. Before her union with the actor, she was previously married twice.
Her first marriage was to Sheldon Leonard Stein. While there were not many details about the union, it is on record that the pair got married when Rocky was still a very young woman in 1958. The union was blessed with a child, David Parker, but it didn’t last long before the pair went their separate ways.
The second man she was married to was John David Haas. The pair got married in 1964, and they were together until 1968, when the marriage ended in divorce. Before this time, the pair had already had a child, Corey Parker, who has taken after his mother as an actress.
She also got into a relationship with Nick Ferri, which produced a daughter, Noelle Parker, who was born in 1971. She is also a producer and actress, just like her mother.
On his part, Patrick Dempsey was not married before he met and walked down the aisle with Rocky. After his divorce, he married a much younger woman, Jillian Fink, who is a make-up artist and hairstylist. The pair got married in 1999 and have been blessed with three kids; Talula Fyfe Dempsey, Darby Galen Dempsey, and Sullivan Patrick Dempsey.
Patrick Dempsey’s Ex-wife was an Actress and a Model
More than just the former wife of Dempsey, Rocky had a flourishing career as a model and actress, among other things. She started out as a model when she was a teenager of only 17 years. At the time, she got to appear in several print ads.
She also had a career in some theatre productions before she moved to the screen. She had a minor role as a woman on a train in the 1987 film, In the Mood. Two years later, she was in Happy Together and then Hung Up in Elena in 2002, where she voiced for AAA Guns.
Parker was a director in the 1999 film Ava’s Magical Adventure. She was a crew member in various other productions, including Cat Buy Me Love in 1987.
Rocky Parker was 74 Years Old When She Died
At the age of 74 and 20 years, after her marriage to Parker ended, Rocky Parker died in 2014. The former actress lost her life in Los Angeles following a battle with lung and throat Cancer.
She had stayed away from the limelight for a few years before she passed away, with one of her last works dating back to 2018 when she appeared in The Rainbow Tribe as an elderly woman. Since then, not much much heard about her and her ill health until her sad passing.
