Billy Bob Thornton Spouse, He has been married six times. His current wife is Connie Angland. They have been together for over two decades and married since 2014. That marriage is his longest and most stable.
The five marriages before it were short, turbulent, and heavily covered by entertainment media. The most famous was his whirlwind union with Angelina Jolie, which lasted three years and produced some of the most unusual celebrity headlines of the early 2000s.
This article covers every marriage in full — who each woman was, what happened, and what the confirmed record shows.
Quick Bio Table: Billy Bob Thornton
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Billy Bob Thornton |
| Born | August 4, 1955 |
| Birthplace | Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA |
| Age (2026) | 70 years old |
| Education | Attended Henderson State University briefly |
| Occupation | Actor, director, screenwriter, musician |
| Major Oscar | Best Adapted Screenplay — Sling Blade (1997); Best Actor nomination same year |
| Children | 4 confirmed: Amanda Brumfield, Harry James Thornton, William Langston Thornton, Bella Thornton |
| Current spouse | Connie Angland (married September 22, 2014) |
| Total marriages | Six |
| Current residence | Los Angeles area |
| Net worth (estimate) | $35 million (unverified) |
| Twitter/X | Limited public presence |
| Recent major work | Landman (Paramount+, 2024–present) |
Marriage 1: Melissa Lee Gatlin (1978–1980)
Billy Bob Thornton married Melissa Lee Gatlin in 1978. He was 23 years old. He was not yet famous — he was working odd jobs in Arkansas and had not yet moved to Los Angeles.
The marriage lasted two years. They divorced in 1980. In the divorce filing, Melissa cited “incompatibility and adultery” on Billy Bob’s part. That specific language is confirmed in public court record summaries reported by People and Hollywood Life.
Their daughter, Amanda Brumfield, was born on June 30, 1979, during the marriage. Amanda grew up estranged from her father, raised primarily by her mother.
Amanda Brumfield’s adult life became publicly documented in a painful way. In 2008, she was charged in connection with the death of a one-year-old child — her friend’s daughter — who died in Amanda’s care. She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was released in 2020 after serving approximately 12 years.
Billy Bob has not spoken publicly about Amanda’s conviction or incarceration in any confirmed interview.
Marriage 2: Toni Lawrence (1986–1988)
His second marriage was to actress Toni Lawrence. They married in 1986.
Note on dates: Multiple sources conflict here. Some list this marriage as 1980–1988. Others — including Parade — list it as beginning in 1986. The 1986 start date is more consistent with the timeline, as there is a documented gap between his 1980 divorce from Melissa Gatlin and his next confirmed marriage.
Toni Lawrence is an actress with television credits. The specific nature of their relationship — how they met, why it ended — is not documented in detail in any source reviewed. The marriage ended in divorce after approximately two years.
They had no children together. This is confirmed across all reviewed sources.
Marriage 3: Cynda Williams (1990–1992)
Billy Bob married actress Cynda Williams in 1990. She had a role in his film One False Move (1992) — a crime thriller he co-wrote and in which both appeared. The couple divorced before the film was even released.
Billy Bob later told People directly: “We were just friends; we had no business being married.”
That quote is confirmed in People magazine and cited across multiple sources. It is the most candid on-record description of any of his early marriages.
No children resulted from this marriage.
Marriage 4: Pietra Dawn Cherniak (1993–1997)
Billy Bob met Pietra Dawn Cherniak, a model, outside a Los Angeles restaurant in 1992. They married in 1993.
Together they had two sons:
- Harry James Thornton (born during the marriage)
- William Langston Thornton (born during the marriage)
The marriage lasted four years — his longest before Connie Angland. They divorced in 1997.
The divorce was contested and covered by entertainment media. According to People magazine’s coverage cited in Hollywood Life, Pietra’s side raised questions about custody and the circumstances of the split. The specific grounds are not fully documented in public records beyond the media coverage.
Billy Bob has not extensively discussed this marriage in confirmed interviews.
The Laura Dern Situation: Not a Marriage, But Important
Between his fourth marriage and fifth, Billy Bob was in a relationship with actress Laura Dern. They dated for approximately two years.
The relationship ended in an unusual way. Laura Dern later said publicly that she came home one day to find that Billy Bob had moved out and had become engaged to Angelina Jolie without telling her. She told the press she found out from a stranger.
In November 2025, Billy Bob discussed Laura Dern in a Rolling Stone interview. He said: “That was one of the greatest times of my life. She and I are still very, very close friends. And that was the one that ended up being a really civilized breakup. We simply split up because our lifestyles were so different.”
His description of the breakup as “civilized” and Laura Dern’s public account of discovering the split through a stranger are in direct conflict. Both are documented. Billy Bob’s quote is from a confirmed 2025 Rolling Stone interview. Laura Dern’s account is from confirmed press interviews from the early 2000s.
Marriage 5: Angelina Jolie (2000–2003)
The most famous of Billy Bob Thornton’s marriages.
He and Angelina Jolie met while filming Pushing Tin in 1999. She had been married to actor Jonny Lee Miller from 1996 to 1999. Billy Bob was still with Laura Dern when he and Jolie began their relationship.
They married on May 5, 2000, in a civil ceremony in Las Vegas. They wore casual clothes. They exchanged wedding rings. They also exchanged small vials of each other’s blood worn as necklaces — a detail that became one of the most widely reported celebrity stories of the early 2000s.
He was 44. She was 24. The age gap was 20 years.
The marriage generated constant media coverage. They were photographed frequently. They made joint public appearances. They discussed each other in interviews in unusually personal terms.
The divorce was filed in 2002 and finalized in 2003. It was brief — three years of marriage. Neither gave a comprehensive public explanation for the split at the time. Jolie adopted her first child, Maddox, during the marriage. Billy Bob has no biological children with Jolie.
What is known: she was traveling extensively for humanitarian work as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador beginning in 2001. He later said their lifestyles became incompatible. No detailed public statement from either party fully explains what ended the relationship.
Billy Bob has not been harsh about Jolie in any confirmed post-divorce interview. Jolie has not addressed the marriage in depth in recent years.
Meeting Connie Angland: The One That Lasted
The story of how Billy Bob Thornton met his current wife is one of the more specific, confirmed, and human details in his entire relationship history.
He told it himself on The Drew Barrymore Show in November 2024:
“She said, ‘My sister’s gonna visit, and I got a feeling that you’re really gonna like her.’ And, sure enough, I did. And we were together within probably a couple of months maybe.”
The “she” in that quote was a colleague on the set of Bad Santa (2003). Connie Angland’s sister visited the set. Billy Bob met her. They connected.
That detail — confirmed in his own words in a national television interview — is the starting point of his most successful relationship.
Marriage 6: Connie Angland (2014–present)
Connie Angland was born in 1965. As of 2026, she is approximately 60 years old. Billy Bob is 9 years older. That is the smallest age gap of any of his six marriages.
She is a professional special effects artist, puppeteer, and makeup artist. Her confirmed film credits include Men in Black and Planet of the Apes. These are major productions requiring specialized technical skill. She was a working professional in her own right long before she met Billy Bob.
How they met: On the set of Bad Santa (2003), where her sister introduced them. He was recently divorced from Jolie. They began dating within months.
Marriage date: They married on September 22, 2014. They had been together for approximately 11 years before getting married. Billy Bob told Fox News Digital in June 2025 that they had been together for 23 years at that point — suggesting the relationship may have deepened earlier than 2003, though the Bad Santa set meeting is the confirmed starting point.
Their daughter: Together they have a daughter named Bella Thornton, born in 2004. As of June 2025, Billy Bob confirmed to Fox News Digital that Bella was 20 years old and attending California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California.
What he has said about her: On The Drew Barrymore Show in November 2024, Billy Bob said Connie “kind of drug me out of the gutter, which was awesome.”
In a separate interview cited by Parade, he said: “I mean, the whole romantic part of it has to be there, but at the base of it has to be a friendship, and we are friends.”
These are the two most significant confirmed public statements he has made about Connie specifically.
Duration comparison: As of 2026, they have been together for over 22 years and married for 12. That is longer than all five of his previous marriages combined.
All Six Marriages: Summary Table
| # | Spouse | Married | Divorced | Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melissa Lee Gatlin | 1978 | 1980 | Amanda Brumfield (b. 1979) |
| 2 | Toni Lawrence | 1986 | 1988 | None |
| 3 | Cynda Williams | 1990 | 1992 | None |
| 4 | Pietra Dawn Cherniak | 1993 | 1997 | Harry James Thornton; William Langston Thornton |
| 5 | Angelina Jolie | 2000 | 2003 | None |
| 6 | Connie Angland | 2014 | Still married (2026) | Bella Thornton (b. 2004) |
His Children: Four Confirmed
Billy Bob Thornton has four confirmed children across his marriages:
Amanda Brumfield — daughter with Melissa Lee Gatlin. Born June 30, 1979. Grew up estranged from her father. Convicted in connection with the 2008 death of a child in her care. Sentenced to 20 years. Released 2020.
Harry James Thornton — son with Pietra Dawn Cherniak. His birth year is not confirmed precisely in public records. He has a limited public profile.
William Langston Thornton — son with Pietra Dawn Cherniak. Also a limited public profile. He has appeared in some entertainment industry contexts.
Bella Thornton — daughter with Connie Angland. Born 2004. As of 2025, she is 20 years old and attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, confirmed by Billy Bob himself in a June 2025 Fox News Digital interview.
Key Conflicts in the Record
Several facts about his marriages are reported inconsistently across sources:
Toni Lawrence marriage dates: Some sources say 1980–1988. Others say 1986–1988. The 1980 start date would overlap with the end of his first marriage in 1980 — logistically possible but not confirmed. The 1986 date is used in this article as the more internally consistent figure.
Cynda Williams marriage dates: Sources list 1990, 1989, or occasionally other years as the start date. The most consistent account is 1990–1992.
“Together for 23 years” (Fox News Digital, 2025): Billy Bob said this in June 2025. If accurate, it would place the start of the relationship in 2002 — before his 2003 divorce from Jolie was finalized. This could mean the relationship started informally in late 2002. The Bad Santa set meeting (2003) remains the most cited starting point. Both facts — the 23-year claim and the 2003 meeting — are included here without choosing one over the other.
Amanda Brumfield’s conviction year: Some sources say 2008 (charge), others say 2011 (verdict), others say sentenced 2008. The most consistent account is that she was charged in connection with events from 2008 and sentenced. She was released in 2020. This article does not specify a verdict year because the sourcing is inconsistent.
Toni Lawrence’s child: One source (push.divar.ir) incorrectly states that Billy Bob and Toni Lawrence had a daughter named Amanda Brumfield. Amanda Brumfield is his daughter with Melissa Lee Gatlin — his first wife, not his second. This error appears to be a transcription mistake in that source and is corrected here.
Billy Bob’s Career: Context for the Marriages
Understanding his marriages requires understanding the arc of his professional life.
He grew up in Malvern, Arkansas. His father was a high school teacher and basketball coach. His mother was a psychic and clairvoyant who read for clients — a background he has discussed in interviews as formative and unusual.
He moved to Los Angeles in his 20s with almost no money. He famously survived on crackers and mustard during periods of poverty before his career broke through. He worked as a waiter and in other jobs while writing screenplays.
His breakthrough came with Sling Blade — a film he wrote, directed, and starred in. It won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1997 and earned him a Best Actor nomination. That same year, he was also famous enough to be written about in major publications for his personal life for the first time.
His career since has included A Simple Plan (1998), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Monster’s Ball (2001), Bad Santa (2003), Friday Night Lights (2004), The Astronaut Farmer (2006), Goliath (Amazon series), Fargo (FX series, Season 1), and most recently Landman (Paramount+, 2024–present), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2025.
He is also a musician. His band is called The Boxmasters. He has released multiple studio albums. Music is a serious pursuit for him, not a celebrity side project.
He has discussed openly his fear of marriage, his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, his various phobias (including a well-documented aversion to antique furniture), and his longtime sobriety from alcohol. All of these personal details exist in confirmed interviews and form part of his public persona.
What Is Unclear
- The exact marriage and divorce dates for Toni Lawrence (1986 vs. 1980 as start year)
- The exact year of Billy Bob’s meeting with Connie (2002 vs. 2003 based on conflicting his own statements)
- Amanda Brumfield’s exact sentencing timeline
- Harry James and William Langston Thornton’s birth years
- The specific reasons for the divorces from Toni Lawrence and Pietra Dawn Cherniak
Final Word: Six Marriages, One That Worked
Billy Bob Thornton spent the first five marriages figuring out what didn’t work. He married people he shouldn’t have married, divorced quickly, and was honest about his failures afterward.
The sixth marriage — to a woman he met through her sister on a movie set — is where everything stabilized. Connie Angland is not a celebrity. She is a working special effects artist and puppeteer with legitimate craft credentials. They share a friendship. They share a daughter. They have now been together for longer than all of his previous relationships combined.
He has described her as the person who pulled him out of the gutter. He has described their relationship as being built on genuine friendship rather than just romance. He said all of this publicly, on national television, in his own words.
Whatever the five marriages before hers meant, the sixth is the one that held.
He is 70 years old. She is 60. Their daughter is at college in California. He is currently starring in one of the most-watched series on Paramount+.
That is where the story stands in 2026.
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FAQ: 12 Real Questions About Billy Bob Thornton’s Spouses
1. How many times has Billy Bob Thornton been married?
Six times. His marriages were to Melissa Lee Gatlin (1978–1980), Toni Lawrence (1986–1988), Cynda Williams (1990–1992), Pietra Dawn Cherniak (1993–1997), Angelina Jolie (2000–2003), and Connie Angland (2014–present). He is currently married to Connie Angland.
2. Who is Billy Bob Thornton’s current wife?
His current wife is Connie Angland. She is a special effects artist, puppeteer, and makeup artist whose credits include Men in Black and Planet of the Apes. They met on the set of Bad Santa in 2003, dated for 11 years, and married on September 22, 2014. They have one daughter together, Bella Thornton.
3. How did Billy Bob Thornton meet Connie Angland?
He met her on the set of Bad Santa (2003) through her sister. In his words on The Drew Barrymore Show (2024), a colleague told him her sister was coming to visit and she thought he would like her. He did. They began dating within months.
4. Who was Billy Bob Thornton’s most famous wife?
Angelina Jolie, his fifth wife. They married on May 5, 2000, in Las Vegas and divorced in 2003. The marriage was widely covered because of their public behavior — including wearing vials of each other’s blood as necklaces — and the 20-year age gap between them. She was 24 when they married; he was 44.
5. Why did Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie divorce?
No official or detailed explanation was given by either party at the time. Billy Bob later cited incompatible lifestyles. Jolie was increasingly dedicated to international humanitarian work from 2001 onward. The divorce was filed in 2002 and finalized in 2003.
6. How many children does Billy Bob Thornton have?
Four. Amanda Brumfield (daughter with Melissa Lee Gatlin, born 1979); Harry James Thornton and William Langston Thornton (sons with Pietra Dawn Cherniak); and Bella Thornton (daughter with Connie Angland, born 2004). He has no biological children with Angelina Jolie.
7. What happened to Billy Bob Thornton’s daughter Amanda Brumfield?
Amanda Brumfield was convicted in connection with the death of a one-year-old child in her care in 2008. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was released in 2020. Billy Bob has not spoken publicly about her conviction in any confirmed interview.
8. Why did Billy Bob Thornton and Laura Dern break up?
Laura Dern said publicly in interviews that she came home to find Billy Bob had moved out and was engaged to Angelina Jolie. She said she found out from a stranger. In a 2025 Rolling Stone interview, Billy Bob described the relationship warmly and said they split because their lifestyles were different. Their accounts do not fully reconcile.
9. Who is Connie Angland?
She is a special effects artist, puppeteer, and makeup artist based in Los Angeles. Her confirmed film credits include Men in Black and Planet of the Apes. She was born in 1965 and is approximately 60 years old as of 2026. She has maintained a private life throughout her relationship with Billy Bob Thornton. She rarely gives public interviews.
10. What is Billy Bob Thornton’s net worth?
His net worth is estimated at approximately $35 million. This figure is cited across multiple sources and reflects his earnings from acting, writing, directing, and music over four decades. No verified financial document is publicly available.
11. How long have Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Angland been together?
In a June 2025 interview with Fox News Digital, Billy Bob said they had been together for 23 years — which would place the beginning of their relationship in approximately 2002. They are confirmed to have met on the Bad Santa set in 2003. They married September 22, 2014. As of 2026, they have been married for 12 years and together for over 22 years.
12. What is Billy Bob Thornton doing now?
He stars in Landman, a Taylor Sheridan drama series for Paramount+. The show premiered in 2024 and earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2025. He continues to record music with The Boxmasters. He lives in the Los Angeles area with Connie Angland. Their daughter Bella attends Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.