Dennis Hopper (1936-2010)

Riding rough

January, 2010: Suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, Dennis Hopper filed for divorce from Victoria Duffy, his wife of nearly 15 years, despite - and possibly because of - his illness.

Hopper is the Hollywood movie actor and director who shot to fame in Easy Rider. He and Victoria signed a prenuptial agreement when they married nearly 15 years ago, according to entertainment blog TMZ. The agreement enables the wealthy actor to retain property, art and other assets worth millions of dollars if they were to divorce. His wife would also have to vacate their home.

If they had not separated and he were to die while they were happily (or not) living together, she would have become a merry widow, at least financially. She would have been entitled to a large amount of cash as well as valuable property.

Victoria is Hopper's fifth wife. He had adult children from previous marriages, one of which was to singer Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. That marriage lasted all of eight days, an experience that Phillips later described as "excruciating."

In his divorce filing from Victoria Duffy, two doctors certified that Hopper was mentally competent.

Hopper and Victoria have a six-year old daughter, and some American lawyers believe that the court could overturn the prenuptial agreement to protect the child.

29 May 2010: Dennis Hopper died in California.

January 2011: Christie’s New York auction of  the Dennis Hopper collection contained 256 items instead of 288 after Victoria brought an injunction claiming that 32 pieces belonged to her. The sale brought in more than £1m.