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Dennis Hopper's estate up for grabs by wife Victoria Duffy
Dennis Hopper, who died Saturday (May 29) from complications of prostate cancer, has been trying to divorce his wife of 12 years -- Victoria Hopper -- since January. But his death at age 74 -- before the divorce could be made final -- will now leave his estate up for grabs.Under the prenup, Victoria stands to get 25% of Dennis' fortune and a $250,000 life insurance payout if they were still married and living together when Dennis died.
TMZ reports that Victoria has been living in a separate, although connected, house on Hopper's property, as allowed by the court. She will no doubt argue in the upcoming probate hearings that they were therefore legally living together. The couple has a daughter, Galen Grier Hopper, born in 2003.
It's sad that this marriage came to such a bitter end. When the Dish Rag talked with Dennis in 2001, when he had been sober for 18 years, he told me that it was Victoria who first spoke to him in 1992 at Rebecca's, a Venice restaurant Hopper frequented, where she was working as a hostess.
"I had been separated from my last wife for just a week and I was eating alone. She seated me and then came over and said, 'I don't want to bother you now but when you're finished, would you mind if I asked you about your art. I just saw your show at the James Corcoran Gallery and I'd like to discuss it with you.' We have been together ever since."
I asked Hopper if Victoria's horse sense (literally, she rides and trains high strung thoroughbred horses) is why their marriage worked so well.
He admitted: "Victoria just knows how to deal with me. If she sees me in a mood, she comes over, touches me and says, 'How are things going?' But if she needs to stay away, she stays away. She has an understanding. We just don't get into confrontations."
Like all good things, that apparently came to an end. Sad.
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I sure hope she doesn't get much of it, since she seemed to be trying to get rid of him before he passed. I don't think she deserves it. She can go gold dig elsewhere, now that he is gone.
Victoria lived with Dennis as a much beloved wife for 16 years, she didn't move in a year ago. They have a 7 year old child who needs to be cared for and educated. She cared for Dennis when he was diagnosed with cancer, it was only when he was told he was terminal and the cancer had metastasized that Dennis's oldest daughter manipulated his fear and pain to instigate the divorce. Marin has never worked, or rather kept Dennis' calendar to the tune of 100k a year and lived with him for free - he paid for her child/ren's education. The fear and greed is all in Marin's mind, she was losing her father, her only source of income and the estate, what she considered her rightful home. Remember Marin wasn't the wife but a middle-aged child who had been taken care of her entire life. This is nothing more than a power grab that left Dennis alone and agitated in the last few months of his life. There's more but this is really pretty ugly and Dennis was the big loser in this mess. This is going to be ugly but Victoria is Dennis' widow and nothing can change that.
Hi. I'm Marin's husband, John Goldstone. It was called to my attention that this was written about my wife and daughter. Marin was the Fashion Director of Elle Magazine, and has her own company called Hayward, inspired by her maternal grandfather, Leland Hayward. Why don't you google him? He was an inspirational figure.
Marin and I co-own Hayward and co-founded it together. It is doing very well. In addition to this business, I am a producer, and have worked successfully as an executive in Hollywood for years. Dennis did not pay for our daughter's education. Marin and I did. If you'd like to comment about someone's family, why don't you write in about your own? And please don't mention our daughter ever again.
For the record: Marin loved her father very deeply. He was a sweet, sweet man, a wonderful father, a terrific grandfather, and I'm honored to have been his son-in-law. Please don't sully my wife, or my father-in-law, by writing these cruel things. They simply aren't true.
Thank you.
John Goldstone