Billy Bob Thornton has lived one of Hollywood’s most eventful romantic lives, walking down the aisle six times over the course of five decades. But after years of headline-grabbing relationships, including a whirlwind marriage to Angelina Jolie, the “Landman” star has settled into what he himself describes as the most stable and lasting relationship of his life. So who is Billy Bob Thornton married to today? The answer is Connie Angland, a former film industry makeup and special effects artist who has been by his side for more than two decades.
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Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Angland’s Long Road to Marriage
Thornton and Angland’s story began in 2003, shortly after his divorce from Jolie, when the two met on the set of the holiday comedy “Bad Santa.” Angland’s sister, Carrie, was working as a makeup artist on the film and introduced the pair, sensing the two might hit it off. According to Thornton, the timing couldn’t have been better. He has said he was going through a difficult period in his life at the time, and Angland’s presence had an immediate steadying effect on him.
The couple grew close quickly and welcomed a daughter, Bella, in September 2004, just over a year after they met. Despite the strength of their bond, marriage wasn’t part of the plan for another decade. Thornton has been candid about his own hesitation, telling interviewers over the years that he didn’t want to subject Angland to the “Number Six” label that would inevitably follow a wedding announcement given his history. Eventually, though, the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony at their Los Angeles home in October 2014, surrounded by family.
What Makes This Marriage Different
Thornton has been unusually reflective about why his relationship with Angland has outlasted all five of his previous marriages combined. In various interviews, he’s pointed to friendship as the foundation of their bond, explaining that romance alone was never enough to sustain his past relationships. He’s described their connection as built first on being friends, with romance layered on top rather than the other way around.
He’s also credited their daughter Bella as a unifying force in the marriage. Now in her twenties and attending college in California, Bella has remained a consistent source of connection for the couple as they’ve navigated the ups and downs of a long-term relationship. Thornton has said the parental bond they share has helped keep them grounded together through the years.
Perhaps most tellingly, Thornton has openly acknowledged that Angland helped pull him out of a rough patch when they first met, crediting her for supporting him through a period he has referred to as a “lost weekend.” That sense of gratitude appears to have stuck with him well into their marriage.
A Career Behind the Scenes
Unlike several of Thornton’s previous partners, many of whom were fellow actors, Angland built her career behind the camera rather than in front of it. She worked for years in the film industry as a puppeteer and special effects makeup artist, with her first major credit coming as an animatronic engineer on the 1990 cult favorite “Arachnophobia.” She went on to contribute to major studio productions including “Men in Black,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Men in Black II,” which marked her final credited project before she largely stepped away from on-set work. Angland keeps a low public profile and does not appear to maintain any social media accounts, mirroring the more private lifestyle the couple has cultivated together.
Billy Bob Thornton’s Five Previous Marriages
To understand why Thornton’s relationship with Angland stands out, it helps to look at what came before. His first marriage was to fellow Arkansas native Melissa Lee Gatlin in 1978, when he was just 22 years old; the couple welcomed a daughter, Amanda, before divorcing in 1980. He went on to marry actress Toni Lawrence in 1986, though that marriage ended in divorce in 1988. His third marriage, to actress Cynda Williams, lasted from 1990 to 1992. His fourth wife, Pietra Dawn Cherniak, whom he wed in 1993, was the mother of his two sons, William and Harry; that marriage ended in 1997.
Thornton’s fifth and most publicized marriage came in 2000, when he wed Angelina Jolie after the two met filming “Pushing Tin.” The relationship became tabloid fodder for its unconventional displays of affection, including the couple’s well-known habit of wearing vials of each other’s blood around their necks as a symbol of their bond. The marriage lasted just over two years before the pair separated in 2002 and divorced the following year. Despite the split, Thornton has said the relationship remains one he looks back on fondly, and he has maintained an amicable rapport with Jolie in the years since. Thornton was also previously engaged to actress Laura Dern in the late 1990s before that relationship ended in 1999.
Still Going Strong
More than two decades after they first met, Thornton and Angland’s relationship continues to hold steady. As Thornton has continued to find career success with the hit series “Landman” alongside his music career with his band, The Boxmasters, Angland has remained a constant presence at his side, including at red carpet premieres and awards ceremonies. Their marriage, now well into its second decade, has become the defining relationship of Thornton’s personal life — proof, in his own words, that the sixth time was the one that finally stuck.
For an actor whose love life once seemed to generate as many headlines as his film career, the quiet consistency of his marriage to Connie Angland represents a notable and welcome change of pace.
