It seems that everything Harrison Ford touches becomes franchise gold: "Star Wars." "Indiana
Jones." "Blade Runner." But he hasn't had quite as much good fortune in his life off the screen.
For instance, his historic divorce. Long before Ford began dating his current wife,
Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, he was married to Oscar-nominated screenwriter
Melissa Mathison. Ford and Mathison met on the set of Apocalypse Now in 1976,
and eventually wed in a small courthouse ceremony in 1983. While they were together, Ford said,
"It wasn't just the look of her. It was the way she behaved, the intellectual connection we made."
The couple had two children together, Malcolm and Georgia, and stayed together for 18 years.
By the time the marriage ended, Ford was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood,
having made his mark in the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises,
as well as blockbusters such as Patriot Games, and Air Force One.
"Get off my plane!"
Because Ford and Mathison never had a prenuptial agreement, the divorce ended
up being one of the most costly in Hollywood history. According to Forbes, the estimated
settlement was a staggering $85 million, with Mathison having negotiated an additional share
of Ford's future earnings from DVD sales of films he made while the two were married.
Mathison, who wrote the script for Steven Spielberg's iconic film E.T
The Extra-Terrestrial, passed away in 2015 after battling neuroendocrine cancer. Ford
did not make a public statement following his ex-wife's death.
Ford has actually been married three times, and has five children. In 2016,
Ford opened up about his only daughter, Georgia's battle with epilepsy and the difficulty she had
getting a proper diagnosis. Speaking about his daughter's diagnosis, Ford explained,
"When you have a loved one who suffers from this disease,
it can be devastating. You know how it affects their lives, their future,
their opportunities, and you want desperately to find mitigation."
According to Ford, Georgia had her first seizure as a child and was subsequently prescribed
medication for migraines. After several other episodes throughout her young life,
Ford's daughter was finally diagnosed with epilepsy. Ford was emotional when recounting
the relief at finding the right doctor who prescribed Georgia the correct medication,
and openly praised his daughter's resilience while speaking at New York
University Langone Medical Center's event for Find a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures.
It was not the first time Ford spoke publicly about the disease. During an
interview at the premiere of his 2010 film Morning Glory, the actor said,
"There's a history of epilepsy in my family,
and I'm really aware of what a devastating affliction it can be. It not only affects
the person who suffers from epilepsy, but it affects their entire family."
At age 80, Ford's career is still thriving, proving that acting is not just a young
man's game. The fact that Ford is still a working actor is all the more impressive,
considering the number of injuries he's suffered throughout his career.
According to Newsweek, Ford bruised his ribcage and tore his ACL while performing
his own stunts for 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. He also got hurt while making 1984's The
Temple of Doom, suffering from a herniated disk. If you're a fan of 1993's The Fugitive,
you may have wondered why Ford's character moved with a limp. As it turns out,
he had torn ligaments while filming, but refused to have surgery until they finished the movie.
What's more, in 2014, Ford broke his leg while filming Star Wars:
Episode VII. While being interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, the actor opened up about the injury.
"They closed a f-ing door on me."
He went on to jokingly blame director JJ Abrams for the injury,
using a Han Solo action figure to demonstrate what happened. However,
the incident was no laughing matter at the time. Surgery was required, and The Guardian reports
that the production firm behind the film was fined $2 million for violating health and safety codes.
In 2021, the actor, who was 78 at the time, sustained an injury to his shoulder while
rehearsing a fight scene for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, according to Deadline.
Filming continued while Ford took a brief hiatus, and the actor bounced back once again.
Fans of the original Star Wars trilogy cannot deny the chemistry between Harrison Ford's Han
Solo and Carrier Fisher's Princess Leia. In her 2016 memoir The Princess Diarist,
Fisher finally spilled the details of her and Ford's affair that began while they were filming
the 1977 classic film, and their relationship got fairly serious in a short amount of time.
Tragically, Fisher passed away unexpectedly in December of 2016,
and Ford was among her many colleagues and fans mourning
the loss. Ford's public statement feels even more poignant knowing what we know
about his and Fisher's past. Expressing his condolences to Fisher's family, he wrote,
"Carrie was one-of-a-kind [...] brilliant,
original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life bravely."