What actor was Aretha Franklin married to from 1978 to 1984?

Aretha Franklin was married to actor Glynn Turman from 1978 to 1984.

Franklin and Turman married on April 11, 1978, at her father C. L. Franklin’s church in Detroit. Turman was already an established actor, known for films such as Cooley High and later for television roles including A Different World. He also worked as a director and writer.

The marriage lasted roughly six years before the couple divorced in 1984. Turman was Franklin’s second husband: she had previously been married to Ted White, her manager, from 1961 until their divorce in 1969. That earlier marriage is a common source of confusion when people are asked about Franklin’s spouses.

Turman continued acting for decades after the marriage, appearing in productions such as The Wire, House of Lies, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Franklin, meanwhile, remained one of the defining voices of soul music, with hits including “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” and “Freeway of Love.”