Who was Roald Dahl’s first wife?

Roald Dahl’s first wife was the American actress Patricia Neal.

Dahl and Neal married in 1953 and had five children together. Neal was an established Hollywood performer whose film career included roles in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Hud. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Hud in 1963.

Their marriage was marked by severe family tragedies, including the death of their daughter Olivia from measles encephalitis in 1962 and serious injuries suffered by their son Theo as an infant. Neal later experienced a major stroke while pregnant in 1965 but made a notable recovery and returned to acting.

Dahl and Neal divorced in 1983. Dahl married Felicity Crosland, known as Liccy, later that year. Patricia Neal’s connection with Dahl is therefore separate from his second marriage and from the actresses who played characters in screen adaptations of his books.