David Bowie's Wives: Angie Bowie and Iman

Angie Bowie: The First Marriage (1970–1980)

David Bowie's first wife was Mary Angela Barnett, known universally as Angie Bowie. Born on September 25, 1949, in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, to American parents, Angie was a model and aspiring actress studying at Kingston Polytechnic in London when she met Bowie in 1969 through a mutual acquaintance. The two shared an immediate rapport, bonded by their mutual interest in music, fashion, and the arts.

They married on March 19, 1970, at Bromley Register Office in Kent. The marriage was, by many accounts, as much a creative partnership as a romantic one. Angie was ambitious, outgoing, and possessed a sharp eye for visual presentation that complemented Bowie's own aesthetic instincts. Their relationship was openly unconventional, with both acknowledging the presence of other partners throughout the marriage.

Their son, Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones, was born on May 30, 1971. Originally known by his middle name Zowie, he later adopted the name Duncan and went on to become a successful film director, best known for Moon (2009) and Source Code (2011).

Angie's Influence on Bowie's Image

Angie Bowie played a significant role in the development of Bowie's visual identity during the early 1970s. She has been credited with encouraging Bowie's experiments with androgynous presentation and with helping to construct the flamboyant aesthetic that would culminate in Ziggy Stardust. Her own striking appearance and willingness to push boundaries of gender presentation made the Bowies one of the most visible and provocative couples in early 1970s London.

The extent of Angie's creative contribution to Bowie's career has been debated. She herself has claimed substantial influence over his visual direction, including involvement in costume selection, makeupchoices, and the conceptual development of characters. Others in Bowie's circle have suggested her role, while real, has been overstated in subsequent accounts. The truth likely lies between these positions: Angie was unquestionably part of the creative ferment from which Ziggy emerged, even if Bowie's own artistic vision was the driving force.

Divorce and Custody of Duncan Jones

The Bowie marriage deteriorated through the mid-1970s as Bowie's cocaine addiction worsened and his lifestyle in Los Angeles became increasingly chaotic. By the time Bowie relocated to Berlin in 1976, the marriage was effectively over, though the legal divorce did not come until February 8, 1980.

The divorce settlement was notable for its custody arrangement. Bowie was awarded full custody of Duncan — unusual in that era and reflective of the court's assessment of the respective circumstances of each parent. Angie received a financial settlement reportedly in the range of several hundred thousand pounds and agreed to a ten-year silence clause that prohibited her from publicly discussing the marriage until 1990.

Following the divorce, Angie Bowie pursued various media and entertainment ventures. She has written multiple memoirs and appeared on reality television programs, including the UK's Celebrity Big Brotherin 2016, where she was informed of Bowie's death on camera. Her relationship with Duncan has been described as distant in the years following the divorce.

Meeting Iman

After a decade of bachelorhood following his divorce, Bowie met the Somali-American supermodel Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend in Los Angeles in October 1990. Iman, born on July 25, 1955, in Mogadishu, Somalia, had established herself as one of the most prominent models in the world and had begun building a successful cosmetics business.

Bowie later described the encounter as an immediate and profound connection, stating that he knew from their first meeting that he wanted to marry her. The couple began a relationship that was, by the standards of the entertainment industry, remarkably private and stable. Friends and colleagues consistently described their partnership as genuinely loving and mutually supportive, in marked contrast to the turbulence of Bowie's first marriage.

The Iman Marriage (1992–2016)

Bowie and Iman married in a private civil ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 24, 1992, followed by a church ceremony at Saint James's Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy, on June 6, 1992. The marriage endured for nearly twenty-four years, until Bowie's death in January 2016.

Their daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones, known as Lexi, was born on August 15, 2000, in New York City. Bowie was reportedly overjoyed at the birth, having expressed a desire for more children throughout his marriage to Iman. The arrival of Lexi coincided with a period of relative domestic stability, as Bowie increasingly prioritized family life over the relentless touring and recording schedule of his earlier career.

Iman's influence on Bowie during their years together was subtler but arguably more profound than Angie's had been. Where Angie had contributed to the flamboyant exterior, Iman provided the emotional stability and personal grounding that allowed Bowie to continue evolving as an artist without the self-destructive behaviors that had characterized the 1970s. Those who knew the couple have consistently described Iman as Bowie's anchor — the person who made it possible for him to live a fulfilling private life alongside his extraordinary public career.

Private Life in New York

From the late 1990s onward, Bowie and Iman lived primarily in a large apartment on Lafayette Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Their lifestyle was, by celebrity standards, extraordinarily private. They were rarely photographed at social events, seldom appeared on red carpets, and maintained a domestic routine centered on family, art, and the cultural life of downtown New York.

Bowie was frequently spotted walking through SoHo, visiting bookshops and galleries, and dining at neighborhood restaurants with Iman and Lexi. This unassuming existence stood in stark contrast to the spectacular public personas he had inhabited throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and reflected a conscious choice to separate his artistic and personal identities completely.

The privacy extended to Bowie's health crisis. When he was diagnosed with liver cancer in approximately 2014, Iman was central to the decision to keep the illness secret, supporting Bowie's wish to maintain total control over the public narrative of his final years. She accompanied him through treatment while maintaining the outward appearance of normalcy that allowed Blackstar to be received as art rather than as a medical bulletin.

Iman After Bowie's Death

Following Bowie's death, Iman largely withdrew from public life, though she has made periodic appearances and statements honoring his memory. She has spoken publicly about her continuing grief and has stated that she considers herself still married to Bowie, expressing no intention of remarrying.

She continues to oversee her cosmetics brand and has been involved in the management of Bowie's estate, which was valued at approximately $230 million. Bowie's will divided his assets primarily between Iman, Duncan, and Lexi, with Iman receiving the Lafayette Street apartment and approximately half of the total estate.

Iman's quiet dignity in the years since Bowie's death has been widely admired, and her relationship with Bowie is frequently cited as one of the great love stories of popular culture — a partnership that demonstrated that the most radical and restless of artists could find stability and fulfillment in committed domestic life.

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