Robert Wagner's Life in Photos (2024)

Robert Wagner as a Child

Born in Detroit on Feb. 10, 1930, to Robert Wagner, Sr. and Hazel Boe Wagner, the actor was known as "RJ" (for Robert Junior) growing up.

Robert Wagner and His Sister

In an excerpt from his memoir, Pieces of My Heart, Wagner recalled his close relationship with his sister, who was four years older: "Mary Lou was the valedictorian of her class, but she wanted a quiet, domestic life, and she got it. She's a wonderful woman, with a totally different life than mine. She's had five children and numerous grandchildren. She's lived in the same house in Claremont for decades and doesn't venture out that much."

Robert Wagner's Early Career

The star's family moved to California when he was young, and he broke into acting in his late teens with an uncredited role in 1950's The Happy Years. By 1955, when this photo was taken, he embraced his teen heartthrob status. "I was a bobby-sox idol at that time," he told PEOPLE in 2008. "I had it made. I've always carried a little anxiety about my next step, but I was pretty secure then."

Robert Wagner's Old Hollywood Career

The star shared a photo from a screen test he did with Marilyn Monroe for 1951's Let's Make It Legal.

Robert Wagner's First Marriage to Natalie Wood

In his memoirs, the actor says he dated many of Hollywood's most famous women (including Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Collins). He tied the knot with a teenage Natalie Wood in Scottsdale in 1956. "We were kids," he recalled to PEOPLE. "She was the first big love of my life."

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood at the Oscars

The newlyweds looked like Hollywood royalty at the Academy Awards in 1957, just months after they had wed.

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood's Divorce

The couple (pictured in 1959) called it quits in 1961 and were officially divorced in 1962.

Robert Wagner in The Pink Panther

The actor (on set in Rome with costars Claudia Cardinale, David Niven and Peter Sellers) had a starring role in the popular 1963 action comedy.

Robert Wagner's Second Wife

After his divorce, Wagner and actress Marion Marshall dated for several years before marrying in 1963. They had one daughter, Katie, and were together for about a decade before divorcing in 1971.

Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief

"My hair — that was the look in the early '70s," the actor recalled to PEOPLE of the shellacked look he sported in this 1970 film. "I loved Bette [Davis] dearly."

Robert Wagner's Remarriage to Natalie Wood

After his engagement to Tina Sinatra ended, Wagner and Wood reconnected and were married again in 1972 on a boat off the coast of Malibu. They had a daughter together, Courtney, and he raised Natasha, Wood's daughter from a previous relationship, after her death by drowning in 1981.

Wood's death was ruled an accident, but decades later, the investigation was reopened and Wagner was named a "person of interest." Natasha told PEOPLE the allegations were "outrageous" and painful for her family: "I know that if my mom had been in any kind of distress he would have given his life for her. I know that as as well as I know my name."

Robert Wagner Marries Jill St. John

In 1982, the actor began dating an old friend and fellow actor, Jill St. John (pictured here with him in a 1967 publicity still for How I Spent My Summer Vacation). They dated for eight years before tying the knot in 1990.

Robert Wagner in Hart to Hart

The star had a massive TV hit in Hart to Hart with Stefanie Powers, in which they played a glamorous married couple who often found themselves solving crimes. The writers "always wanted us to fight, but we resisted it," he recalled to PEOPLE.

Robert Wagner and His Family

In 1983, he, Jill and his daughters attended a Hart to Hart charity softball game.

Robert Wagner in Austin Powers

The actor enjoyed a career resurgence in the late 1990s with his role as Number 2 in the Austin Powers films. "One of the biggest breaks I ever got," he recalled to PEOPLE of his casting in the film alongside Mike Myers. "I was on [SNL] with Mike, and he wrote the part for me."

Robert Wagner on Two and a Half Men

His Two and a Half Men character (seen with Charlie Sheen) died in bed with Jenny McCarthy's character, but "what a way to go!" he told PEOPLE.

Robert Wagner and His Family

For his 90th birthday in 2020, the star's children arranged a family portrait. Pictured alongside Wagner and St. John are Natasha Gregson Wagner and her daughter, Clover; Katie Wagner and her son, Riley; and Courtney Wagner.

Robert Wagner and Jill St. John's Love Story

The couple (pictured in 2017) were each other's fourth and longest marriage, and have acted together in six films and a theatrical production of Love Letters.

Robert Wagner as a Grandfather

Wagner and St. John live most of the year in Aspen, and enjoy working and spending time with their family. "Happy Father's Day to Me. I am blessed to be a dad and grandfather to these incredible people," Wagner captioned this photo in 2020.

Robert Wagner Today

In addition to continuing to act (you saw him in 2021's Space Jam reboot), the actor has written several memoirs and shares many memories and glimpses into his personal life on his Instagram.