Christine Forrest, George Romero’s Ex-Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Getty Director George A. Romero addresses the audience at the Night of the Living Dead World Premiere of Restored Print in 2016.

Legendary horror filmmaker George A. Romero, who was the pioneer of zombie movies, died July 19. He was 77-years old.

Romero was known for directing and co-writing the screenplay for the 1968 legendary film Night of the Living Dead</em>. He died of a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” a statement by Romero’s friend Peter Grunwald provided to the Los Angeles Times said. Romero died peacefully while listening to the scores of some of his favorite films, including 1952’s The Quiet Man. His wife Suzanne Desrocher and daughter Tina Romero were by his side when he died, The Times reported.

Romero is survived by his wife and his three children. He was married twice before tying the knot with Desrocher in 2011. One of those marriages was with Christine Forrest, an actress who has had numerous roles in Romero’s films.

Here’s what you need to know about Forrest:


1. Forrest Is an Actress & Has Starred in Many of Romero’s Films

Director George A. Romero and guests attend the “Survival Of The Dead” premiere at the Sala Grande on September 9, 2009.

Forrest is an actress and a producer known best for her numerous roles in Romero’s films. She was a cast member in Martin (1978), a vampire movie about a man who believes he’s a vampire and goes to live with his cousin in a small Pennsylvania town.

Forrester was in the movie as the character “Christine.”

Forrest was also in Monkey Shines (1988) and The Dark Half (1993). All movies were directed and written by Romero.


2. Romero & Forrest Met While Filming a Movie

Director George A. Romero

Romero and Forrest met on the set of the 1970 film Season of the Witch, which later became known as Hungry Wives after the distributor cut large parts of the movie and marketed it as a softcore pornography.

Romero said in an interview that he had aspirations of remaking the movie because they ran out of money during its original production. But because of friends, family members and co-workers, he was able to complete the film.

The movie is about a housewife who discovers that a local woman practices witchcraft. As the film moves on, the woman becomes interested in witchcraft herself.

“I love the theme of it … a woman who’s opening those doors and wanting to expand her horizons,” Romero said in the interview. “There are still a lot of guys out there that keep women locked in cages in a sense.”

The film was being filmed in Forrests’ mother’s home in Pittsburgh.


3. Romero & Forrest Have 2 Children Together

GettyDirector George A. Romero

According to Romero’s biography on IMDb, he and Forrest had two children together: Tima and Andrew Romero. Romero’s first wife Nancy director Cameron G. Romero.

Cameron’s IMDb page says that he’s followed in his father’s footsteps and directs commercials and films.

Forrest gave birth to Tina Romero and Andrew Romero and they have also made appearances in their father’s films. In the movie The Mistfits, Tina is a dancer on the side of the stage while the band is playing and Andrew is “a little devil” with a laser pointer riding on another character’s shoulders.

In a 2009 interview posted on a blog, Romero said he was most proud of Tina, who was studying to be a filmmaker at the time.

“I hope she really wants to do it and isn’t doing it just to follow in the footsteps,” he said. “She’s very talented, she’s really good.”


4. Forrest is the Namesake for Stephen King’s Christine

Director George A. Romero and a zombie arrive at the “Survival of the Dead” Midnight Madness screening during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Forrest’s IMDb says that she met author Stephen King while on the set of Romero’s 1982 film Creepshow. King liked the name Christine so much that he decided to use it in his 1983 novel Christine.

The book tells the story of a vintage automobile named Christine that’s possessed by supernatural forces in Libertyville, Pennsylvania. It was King’s 16th book published, his 13th novel and ninth under his own name.


5. The Couple Got Divorced & Romero Re-Married in 2011

Gary Streiner, director George A. Romero and Russ Streiner attend the Night of the Living Dead World Premiere in 2016.

A 2009 blog post on HomePageOfTheDead.co says that Romero was working out a divorce agreement with Forrest at the time, and it was finalized in 2010.

After the divorce, Romero met and married Desrocher, who was married to at the time of his death.

In 2009, he took up Canadian citizenship and became a dual citizen. Romero moved to Canada and was considered a permanent resident of the country. The blog wrote that when he asked about his divorce to Forrest, he said they got “tired” of each other.

“I think I’m the same guy,” he said in the interview. “I don’t know if Chris got tired of me or I got tired of her, whatever happened there I don’t even want to go into that, so I don’t know.

“I love Sus, I’m the same guy, my kids come up and visit, you know, so I don’t feel a big difference at all.”


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