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| The Texan and the Digger: Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch's whirlwind romance | The Texan and the Digger: Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch's whirlwind romance |
| (6 months later) | |
| Forty years ago, she was the young Vogue model hanging out with Bryan Ferry, Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger – at the heart of the sybaritic 70s music scene. | Forty years ago, she was the young Vogue model hanging out with Bryan Ferry, Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger – at the heart of the sybaritic 70s music scene. |
| He, on the other side of the world, was fighting an intense tabloid war with Robert Maxwell after buying the Sun newspaper in the hope of demolishing its leftwing rival, the Daily Mirror. | He, on the other side of the world, was fighting an intense tabloid war with Robert Maxwell after buying the Sun newspaper in the hope of demolishing its leftwing rival, the Daily Mirror. |
| Now – after a whirlwind romance no one predicted – Jerry Hall, 59, and Rupert Murdoch, 84, are getting married. Four months after they first met, a wedding is planned sooner rather than later, possibly even before Murdoch’s 85th birthday on 11 March. “They are not going to hang about,” said one friend of the couple. | Now – after a whirlwind romance no one predicted – Jerry Hall, 59, and Rupert Murdoch, 84, are getting married. Four months after they first met, a wedding is planned sooner rather than later, possibly even before Murdoch’s 85th birthday on 11 March. “They are not going to hang about,” said one friend of the couple. |
| Sources say it will be a small affair and take place in London and not, as has been speculated, on the sunny slopes of his Californian Moraga Estate vineyard, one of Murdoch’s many. | Sources say it will be a small affair and take place in London and not, as has been speculated, on the sunny slopes of his Californian Moraga Estate vineyard, one of Murdoch’s many. |
| It will be the media mogul’s fourth marriage – and, technically, her first. Her Bali wedding to Mick Jagger, her partner of 23 years, was ruled by the high court as not legally binding when they split 16 years ago. London friends of the model – including former BBC executive Alan Yentob, playwright Tom Stoppard and actor Joan Collins – are expected to be guests, as are the 10 children the couple have between them. | It will be the media mogul’s fourth marriage – and, technically, her first. Her Bali wedding to Mick Jagger, her partner of 23 years, was ruled by the high court as not legally binding when they split 16 years ago. London friends of the model – including former BBC executive Alan Yentob, playwright Tom Stoppard and actor Joan Collins – are expected to be guests, as are the 10 children the couple have between them. |
| “They are very sweet together, in a little couple bubble. They act like a married couple already, talking over each other, holding hands. She puts her feet up on his legs, they disagree on things like any married couple. She hates [Donald] Trump, he understands Trump, it’s been like that from the beginning,” says one who has been in their company. | “They are very sweet together, in a little couple bubble. They act like a married couple already, talking over each other, holding hands. She puts her feet up on his legs, they disagree on things like any married couple. She hates [Donald] Trump, he understands Trump, it’s been like that from the beginning,” says one who has been in their company. |
| What Murdoch is said to like is her sense of independence, while associates of his say she can “match if not out-do him” with stories from her life at dinner parties. Hall, a firm fixture on the London social scene, does not want or need a boost from the tycoon’s power and wealth. His last marriage was to Wendi Deng, which ended acrimoniously following her reported infatuation with Tony Blair, who had become a close Murdoch friend after his time at No 10. | What Murdoch is said to like is her sense of independence, while associates of his say she can “match if not out-do him” with stories from her life at dinner parties. Hall, a firm fixture on the London social scene, does not want or need a boost from the tycoon’s power and wealth. His last marriage was to Wendi Deng, which ended acrimoniously following her reported infatuation with Tony Blair, who had become a close Murdoch friend after his time at No 10. |
| For the notoriously political Murdoch family that is critical. “She’s not looking to run the company, she’s not looking to move the furniture around. There are lot of people around Murdoch who are looking to him for a step up. She’s not grabby in any way, she’s not on the make. She’s not looking for a piece of the action,” said a source. | For the notoriously political Murdoch family that is critical. “She’s not looking to run the company, she’s not looking to move the furniture around. There are lot of people around Murdoch who are looking to him for a step up. She’s not grabby in any way, she’s not on the make. She’s not looking for a piece of the action,” said a source. |
| Most of Murdoch’s $11.4bn (£8bn) wealth is in the family trust, which controls much voting stock in his two empires – 21st Century Fox and News Corporation. Until Deng came along, the trust’s beneficiaries were his four children, , James, Lachlan and Elisabeth. Under the divorce settlement with his second wife, Anna Torv, no one else could be admitted to the trust. | Most of Murdoch’s $11.4bn (£8bn) wealth is in the family trust, which controls much voting stock in his two empires – 21st Century Fox and News Corporation. Until Deng came along, the trust’s beneficiaries were his four children, , James, Lachlan and Elisabeth. Under the divorce settlement with his second wife, Anna Torv, no one else could be admitted to the trust. |
| But that changed when Deng had children. She demanded they be treated equally. A compromise agreement was reached giving Grace, 14, and Chloe, 12, an equal stake in the family trust but no voting rights. This time, though, there is no belief that the News Corp inheritance will be further divided. | But that changed when Deng had children. She demanded they be treated equally. A compromise agreement was reached giving Grace, 14, and Chloe, 12, an equal stake in the family trust but no voting rights. This time, though, there is no belief that the News Corp inheritance will be further divided. |
| The youngest daughter of five, Hall – with her charming Texan drawl – has led an extraordinary life, quitting a violent home when she was 16 to head to Paris. She knew nobody but quickly landed at the centre of the cutting-edge arts scene, sharing digs with Grace Jones, being discovered by the photographer Helmut Newton and posing on the cover of French Vogue within months. | The youngest daughter of five, Hall – with her charming Texan drawl – has led an extraordinary life, quitting a violent home when she was 16 to head to Paris. She knew nobody but quickly landed at the centre of the cutting-edge arts scene, sharing digs with Grace Jones, being discovered by the photographer Helmut Newton and posing on the cover of French Vogue within months. |
| By the age of 21, she had featured on 40 Vogue covers, was engaged to Roxy Music frontman Ferry, was enjoying the pleasures of Studio 54 in New York – the haunt of the likes of Michael Jackson, Woody Allen and Debbie Harry – and earning $1,000 a day. She had a fling with multimillionaire horse breeder Robert Sangster and was painted by Warhol six times. By 1978, she had ended up with one of the most famous rock stars in the world , Mick Jagger. | By the age of 21, she had featured on 40 Vogue covers, was engaged to Roxy Music frontman Ferry, was enjoying the pleasures of Studio 54 in New York – the haunt of the likes of Michael Jackson, Woody Allen and Debbie Harry – and earning $1,000 a day. She had a fling with multimillionaire horse breeder Robert Sangster and was painted by Warhol six times. By 1978, she had ended up with one of the most famous rock stars in the world , Mick Jagger. |
| Hall is wealthy in her own right but does not come near the billionaire league with a relatively modest £10m settlement when she split with Jagger 16 years ago. She also got half of the 26-room house they shared in Richmond but can only stay until she is 65, co-habits or remarries, prompting the cliched speculation that she is after a slice of Murdoch’s money. | Hall is wealthy in her own right but does not come near the billionaire league with a relatively modest £10m settlement when she split with Jagger 16 years ago. She also got half of the 26-room house they shared in Richmond but can only stay until she is 65, co-habits or remarries, prompting the cliched speculation that she is after a slice of Murdoch’s money. |
| Although she spent years being cuckolded and had to endure the humiliation of an extra-marital child to a Brazilian model, Jagger and Hall remain close and it is unlikely poverty would ever be a challenge for her – whether she met Murdoch or not. | Although she spent years being cuckolded and had to endure the humiliation of an extra-marital child to a Brazilian model, Jagger and Hall remain close and it is unlikely poverty would ever be a challenge for her – whether she met Murdoch or not. |
| Such is her loyalty to Jagger, that in 2009 she handed back a £500,000 advance from Harper Collins (ironically owned by Murdoch) for her autobiography after the publisher rejected it because there was not enough dirt on the Rolling Stone frontman and his monumental philandering. | Such is her loyalty to Jagger, that in 2009 she handed back a £500,000 advance from Harper Collins (ironically owned by Murdoch) for her autobiography after the publisher rejected it because there was not enough dirt on the Rolling Stone frontman and his monumental philandering. |
| Their relationship transcends their role as parents to their four children. They “rebonded” after his partner L’Wren Scott killed herself, according to one of Jagger’s friends, and they spent Christmas together in Richmond. They were both expected at the premiere of Martin Scorsese’s HBO TV series Vinyl in New York on Friday night. James Jagger, their son, plays the part of a punk rocker. | Their relationship transcends their role as parents to their four children. They “rebonded” after his partner L’Wren Scott killed herself, according to one of Jagger’s friends, and they spent Christmas together in Richmond. They were both expected at the premiere of Martin Scorsese’s HBO TV series Vinyl in New York on Friday night. James Jagger, their son, plays the part of a punk rocker. |
| Murdoch and Hall met last summer in Australia, where Hall is touring with The Graduate, in which she plays the predatory older love interest, Mrs Robinson. They were introduced by Penny Fowler, niece of Murdoch’s sister Janet Calvert-Jones and “got on immediately”. | Murdoch and Hall met last summer in Australia, where Hall is touring with The Graduate, in which she plays the predatory older love interest, Mrs Robinson. They were introduced by Penny Fowler, niece of Murdoch’s sister Janet Calvert-Jones and “got on immediately”. |
| Within weeks they let it be known they were dating, making their first public outing at the Rugby World Cup final in Twickenham in October. They spent increasing amounts of time together – he has been flying to London more frequently and they spent New Year’s Eve together on a yacht in the Caribbean with some of their children. | Within weeks they let it be known they were dating, making their first public outing at the Rugby World Cup final in Twickenham in October. They spent increasing amounts of time together – he has been flying to London more frequently and they spent New Year’s Eve together on a yacht in the Caribbean with some of their children. |
| Yet, the announcement of their engagement in a classified advert in the Times stunned everyone, not least because of Murdoch’s advanced years, prompting the usual cliches about trophy wives and gold diggers. “Jerry Hall to Wed a Toad,” was the headline on snipey New York website Gawker while the New York Daily News, a rival to Murdoch’s New York Post, referred to them as the “Beauty and the Beast”. | Yet, the announcement of their engagement in a classified advert in the Times stunned everyone, not least because of Murdoch’s advanced years, prompting the usual cliches about trophy wives and gold diggers. “Jerry Hall to Wed a Toad,” was the headline on snipey New York website Gawker while the New York Daily News, a rival to Murdoch’s New York Post, referred to them as the “Beauty and the Beast”. |
| The bigger open question may not be future finances, but how a man so long the bogeyman of the left can rub along with those in her social circle, many of whom have been featured in his tabloids and some whose phones have been hacked. But it is not the first time, Hall has swapped rock royalty for the power-playing world of politics and business. On 1 December she sat next to Henry Kissinger at a gala dinner in New York. Four days later she met the Patriots owner Robert Kraft at an American football game. | The bigger open question may not be future finances, but how a man so long the bogeyman of the left can rub along with those in her social circle, many of whom have been featured in his tabloids and some whose phones have been hacked. But it is not the first time, Hall has swapped rock royalty for the power-playing world of politics and business. On 1 December she sat next to Henry Kissinger at a gala dinner in New York. Four days later she met the Patriots owner Robert Kraft at an American football game. |
| In November, Hall invited Yentob to the News Corp box at the O2 for a U2 concert. Just days earlier the BBC executive and presenter had been branded a “big head” with an ego as colossal as his bank balance by the Sun. Although Yentob is friendly with Murdoch’s daughter, Elisabeth, he would not be the first on his Christmas card list. | In November, Hall invited Yentob to the News Corp box at the O2 for a U2 concert. Just days earlier the BBC executive and presenter had been branded a “big head” with an ego as colossal as his bank balance by the Sun. Although Yentob is friendly with Murdoch’s daughter, Elisabeth, he would not be the first on his Christmas card list. |
| Hall oozes charm and warmth in her many TV interviews. Before Murdoch arrived in her life, she noted: “Texans have in common with Australians, in that they are quite strong, hardy people.” It’s a quality she will need in spades for the next chapter of her life with the man they once called the Dirty Digger. | Hall oozes charm and warmth in her many TV interviews. Before Murdoch arrived in her life, she noted: “Texans have in common with Australians, in that they are quite strong, hardy people.” It’s a quality she will need in spades for the next chapter of her life with the man they once called the Dirty Digger. |
| Jerry Hall – a potted biography | Jerry Hall – a potted biography |
| Born 2 July 1956 | Born 2 July 1956 |
| Career Supermodel discovered by influential fashion photographer Helmut Newton dubbed the “king of kink” for his provocative Vogue cover shoots. She dominated modelling in the 1970s and moved onto acting in her 30s – ranging from Batman to panto in London. | Career Supermodel discovered by influential fashion photographer Helmut Newton dubbed the “king of kink” for his provocative Vogue cover shoots. She dominated modelling in the 1970s and moved onto acting in her 30s – ranging from Batman to panto in London. |
| High point Being a young model and a muse. By the time she was 21 she had appeared on 40 fashion covers. She appeared as the mermaid on Roxy Music album Siren and was the inspiration for the Rolling Stone’s Miss You. | High point Being a young model and a muse. By the time she was 21 she had appeared on 40 fashion covers. She appeared as the mermaid on Roxy Music album Siren and was the inspiration for the Rolling Stone’s Miss You. |
| Low point Jagger’s affair with Luciana Morad, who became pregnant with his son Lucas. She learned of the boy’s birth through the newspapers in 1999. | Low point Jagger’s affair with Luciana Morad, who became pregnant with his son Lucas. She learned of the boy’s birth through the newspapers in 1999. |
| What she says “My mother taught us the man was the head of the family but the woman was the neck and you could turn him anyway you like.” | What she says “My mother taught us the man was the head of the family but the woman was the neck and you could turn him anyway you like.” |
| What they say “Will there be room for Rebekah Brooks now that Hall is on scene?” – a keen Murdoch watcher. | What they say “Will there be room for Rebekah Brooks now that Hall is on scene?” – a keen Murdoch watcher. |
| • This article was amended on 23 February 2016. An earlier version said Jerry Hall had met the food billionaire Robert Kraft at an American football game. He has no connection with Kraft Foods. | • This article was amended on 23 February 2016. An earlier version said Jerry Hall had met the food billionaire Robert Kraft at an American football game. He has no connection with Kraft Foods. |