James Lipton’s Ex-Wife, Nina Foch: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Getty Nina Foch in 2003.

James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio, passed away at the age of 93. Before he was married to wife Kedaki Turner, James Lipton was married to Nina Foch from 1954 to 1959. Here is everything you need to know about James Lipton’s ex-wife, Nina Foch.


1. James Lipton & Nina Foch Were Married in the 1950s for Five Years

Getty

James Lipton and Nina Foch were married from 1954 to 1959.

In 1970, James Lipton and Kedaki Turner were married. They’ve been married ever since. Tuner confirmed her husband’s passing after he retired from Inside the Actor’s Studio in 2018. She told TMZ: “I’m sure he would like to be remembered as someone who loved what he did and had tremendous respect for all the people he worked with.”

You can see a photo of Lipton and Foch together in 1955 here.


2. She Died of a Blood Disorder in 2008

GettyActress Nina Foch, director Randall Kleiser and film historian Robert Osborne attend the AMPAS Centennial Celebration for Barbara Stanwyck on May 16, 2007.

Lipton died at the age of 84 in 2008. She was living in Los Angeles when she died, and her cause of death was complications from myelodysplasia, a blood disorder, according to her obituary in The New York Times. This rare disorder involves a disruption in blood cell production. Over time, people may feel fatigued, pale, have unusual bleeding, or experience frequent infections.

She fell sick while she was teaching at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.


3. Nina Foch Was Married Three Times

GettyEarl Holliman, Gigi Perreau, Army Archerd, Pat Crowley, Lizabeth Scott, Robert Osborne, Lori Nelson, Nolan Miller and Nina Foch attend the AMPAS Centennial Celebration for Barbara Stanwyck on May 16, 2007.

Foch was married three times. Lipton was her first marriage. Then she was married to Dennis de Brito from 1959 to 1963 and they had one child. De Brito was a TV writer, The New York Times reported.

She was married to Michael Dewell, a theater producer, from 1967 to 1993.


4. She Was a Successful, Oscar-Nominated Actress & Drama Teacher

Foch was a successful, prolific actress and drama teacher. She signed with Columbia Pictures at 19. She had an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her Executive Suite in 1954. She is also well known for her roles in An American in Paris, The Ten Commandments, and Spartacus. Overall, she’s been in more than 50 movies and appeared on TV more than 100 times. She worked in TV until 2007, a year before she died.

Foch also taught drama and was still a faculty member when she died in 2008, according to the Los Angeles Times. She once said about teaching: “Believe it or not, teaching is the most rewarding thing I do. It has been the most successful thing I’ve done in my life.”


5. Her Only Child Is a Doctor & She Has Three Grandchildren

Foch had one child: son Dirk de Brito. Dirk is a doctor, according to Foch’s obituary, where he shared the cause of his mother’s death.

Foch also has three grandchildren.

Foch and Lipton did not have children.