Inside Donald Sutherland’s Marriage, ‘Silly Mistakes’ Led Him to His Co-Star Wife Francine Racette

Donald Sutherland died at the age of 88, leaving behind his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus and Kiefer, and daughter Rachel. The actor has had four grandchildren.

Donald was married three times. His first marriage, to Lois May Hardwick, lasted from 1959 to 1966. His second marriage was to Shirley Douglas. Donald and Shirley were married from 1966 to 1970 and had two children, twins Kiefer and Rachel.

He then married French-Canadian actress and co-star Francine Racette in 1972, after meeting her on the set of Alien Thunder. The couple welcomed three sons together, Rossif Sutherland, Angus Redford Sutherland and Roeg Sutherland.

Donald and Francine remained together for five decades. He previously spoke about the decisions he made in his career and the Hunger Games star spoke about his relationship with Francine. “It was all my fault. “I was very foolish,” he told The Guardian in 2005. “But if I hadn’t made the mistakes I made, I wouldn’t have met the wonderful woman I’ve been married to for over 30 years, so I guess she makes the right mistakes.” mistakes”.

Francine was born in September 1947 in Quebec, Canada. She graduated from the National Theater School of Canada in 1966. She is also an actress and has worked in American and French films. She worked in films such as Four Flies on Gray Velvet, Lumière and Les Vilaines Manières. She worked with her late husband twice and they co-starred in Alien Thunder and The Disappearance.

He retired from acting in the 1980s, his last film being the 1987 biographical drama Au revoir les enfants.

Donald’s son Kiefer announced the news of his father’s passing on Thursday, June 20. He shared a photo of himself with the legendary actor, along with a touching tribute. “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” Kiefer wrote. “Personally, I think he is one of the most important actors in the history of cinema. He never shies away from a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and he did what he loved, and you can never ask for more than that. life well lived.”