Valerie Velardi Bio: Career, Net Worth & Robin Williams
People love gossiping about celebrities because of their peculiar lifestyle. While some Hollywood stars are known for their hard work and dedication, others are known for their infidelities. And during the latter cases, the likes of Valerie Velardi are the ones who suffer.
Valerie is a former spouse of the man who had extramarital relationships with other women. As frustrating as it is, she could not even do anything about her husband’s love affairs. As a result, divorce was the only solution.
The former wife of a major Hollywood talent had trouble preventing her husband from falling in love with other women. This is because she knew that a man who had reached his peak potential in his career would get any girl he wants.
Although Valerie has stayed away from the public’s eye for many years, she finally came into the media’s attention since she gave her candid statement in the documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind. Since then on, fans have been intrigued to know more about Robin’s first wife.
Let us take a closer look at Valerie’s complicated relationship, career, present status, and much more in this article.
Quick Facts
Before we jump into any further details, let us first take a glance at some quick facts.
| Name | Valerie Velardi |
| Nickname | Not available |
| Gender | Female |
| Birth Date | July 21, 1951 |
| Birth Place | Connecticut, United States |
| Religion | Not available |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | Masters in Dance Education |
| Horoscope | Cancer |
| Father’s Name | Leonard Velardi |
| Mother’s Name | Dee Velardi |
| Siblings | Leslie, Leonard, Peter, Theron |
| Age | 72 Years Old |
| Height | Not available |
| Weight | Not available |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Body type | Not available |
| Profession | Actress, Dance teacher, Yoga instructor |
| Award | Not available |
| Boyfriend | Not available |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Ex-Spouse | Robin Williams |
| Children | Zachary Zak Williams |
| Net Worth | $10 million |
| Social Media | Instagram, Facebook |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Valerie Velardi | Early Life, Family & Education
Valerie was born on the 21st of July 1951 to her parents Leonard Velardi and Dee Velardi. She was born and raised in Connecticut, US. The Velardi daughter has a sister named Leslie, three brothers; Leonard, Peter, and Theron Velardi. All 5 siblings are equally supportive of one another.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10216247652196830&set=pb.1018610699.-2207520000..&type=3
Valerie was the eldest child in the family. However, life was not that easy. Her parents got divorced while she was only 12 years. At the time, Valerie and her siblings used to live with their father. Since it was tough for Leonard Velardi to raise the children independently, his eldest daughter had to work and take care of her younger siblings.
Nonetheless, Valerie had not given up on her studies due to family issues. She completed her high school at St. Mary’s High School in New Haven, Connecticut. In subsequent years, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Goddard College in Vermont and a Master’s degree in Dance Education from Mills College, California.
Valerie Velardi | Body Measurement
Valerie hasn’t revealed the exact figures of her body’s measurement. However, what can clearly be seen is that she is considerably tall and has a decent body weight. After all, she is a yoga instructor by profession, so no wonder she has successfully maintained her body.
As for her facial appearance, she has hazel brown eyes and shiny blonde hair.
Valerie Velardi | Career & Profession
Ever since a young age, Valerie was interested in getting a role in movies. The 69-year-old started her career as a movie actress back in the 60s.
She debuted with her movie Rappaccini in 1966 when she was only 15 years. Later, she was also featured in the comedy movie Popeye in 1980. Her former husband was playing the main character in this movie.
After her second movie, Valerie suddenly disappeared from Hollywood. While it isn’t sure whether she voluntarily moved away from Hollywood, but she didn’t appear in any movies thereon after.
At the time, Valerie was married to a struggling actor, Robin Williams. Perhaps her husband’s infidel behavior in Hollywood had to do something with discontinuing her career as an actress.
After parting ways with Hollywood, Valerie pursued a master’s degree in Dance Arts from Mills College. Later, she gave dance lessons to her students until 1983 and later transitioned into a yoga teacher. Currently, she is a certified yoga instructor at Iyengar Yoga and conducts various yoga campaigns.
You might also want to read about Yessica Kumala Bio: Net Worth, Josh Holloway & Children.
Valerie Velardi | Marriage & Divorce
Valerie is the former wife of one of the successful Hollywood actor, Robin Williams. Moreover, Robin has tied the knot with three women in his life, and Valerie was his first wife.
How they met
Valerie and Robin first met each other in San Francisco in 1976. Back then, Robin was only a struggling actor and working to make ends meet. In the documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Valerie revealed how they started and ended their relationship.
One day when Valerie was at a pub, a bartender was making her drink. That bartender turned out to be none other than Robin himself. He was talking with a French accent, which Valerie absolutely loved. After a few flirty conversations, Valerie was quickly impressed by his charm.
Robin used to shamelessly operate his charm to flirt with every girl he came across, as it turned out. Despite knowing this, she was deeply in love and decided to be in a relationship with him.
After these lovebirds’ love grew, they decided to marry in 1978.
Children
Valerie and Robin gave birth to a son named Zachary Pym “Zak” Williams in 1983. The 31-year-old son is happily married to his girlfriend Olivia June. Recently, they welcomed a son named McLaurin Clement Williams.
Zak never wanted to follow his father’s dream of working as a Hollywood actor. However, he did make an appearance in a movie, The Graduates. Currently, Zak is an entrepreneur and an investor.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGTttQVh_an/
Moreover, Valerie also has a daughter from her current husband. Her name is Francesca Fataar. She was born in 1992. Her current profession is unknown at this time of writing.
Besides this, Robin has children from other relationships as well. They are Zelda Williams and Cody Williams.
Divorce
Sadly, this relationship could not last more than a decade. The couple married in June 1978 and divorced in December 1988. During the couple’s relationship, Valerie was well aware of her husband’s infidel behavior. She knew that Robin had extramarital relationships with other women.
Despite all that, Valerie continued with their relationship in the hopes that Robin would realize his mistakes.
Also, she thought that having a child with Robin would force him to end his unfaithfulness in their marriage. But the situation got worse when Robin started having affairs with their son’s nanny, Marsha Garces.
Robin impregnated Marsha while he was still married to Valerie. As a result, Valerie could not stand this and demanded a divorce from her husband.
Ex-spouse Death
Valerie’s former husband committed suicide in 2014 by hanging himself at his home in Paradise Cay, California. Robin was 63 at the time of his death. Back then, he was married to his third wife, Susan Schneider Williams.
Second Husband
Valerie Velardi is currently married to a South African multi-instrumentalist, Ricky Fataar. Nevertheless, it isn’t clear when the duo actually tied the knot.
Ricky has performed as a drummer and a guitarist for bands such as The Beach Boys. Moreover, he gained popularity due to his role as a member of The Rutles in the movie, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. Besides this, Fataar is also recognized as a record producer.
Valerie Velardi | Net Worth
Many would think that a divorce could end up ruining one’s life. But when you divorce a celebrity, most of the time, you end up making a fortune. This was the case for Valerie Velardi. Her divorce from Robin significantly increased her net worth by a great amount.
It is estimated that Valerie received as much as $20 million from Robin once the couple divorced. Furthermore, according to the court records, Valerie received more than $518k in 1989 from Robin’s profit-sharing plan.
Valerie Velardi | Social Media Presence
The 69-year-old American is active on Facebook and Instagram only. Despite being an ex-wife of a globally recognized person, fans have not taken much interest in her. On Instagram, she only has 393 followers. Likewise, she has 1,246 friends on Facebook.
Recently, she has posted pictures of her newly born grandson on both her social media account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJUOwPKBfeq/
Apart from social media, Valerie has hardly made any presence in the public’s eye. Ever since her divorce from Robin, she has chosen to stay away from Hollywood. However, after being away for a very long time, she made her first return to the media for a documentary film back in 2018.
Following her former husband’s death, a documentary show was set up in his memory. This documentary included every single detail about Robin’s life. Being one of Robin history’s most important parts, Valerie appeared in this documentary, revealing how their love story developed and ended.
Talking about the present moment, the 69-year-old prefers to live a serene life away from the noisy media. She is happy to be the grandmother of her beloved grandson, McLaurin “Mickey” Williams.
Doing yoga has brought significant peace in her life, and she enjoys teaching others the same. Moreover, from her testimonial in Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco, it seems that her favorite sutra is I:39.
She is enjoying every moment of her life with her family and friends.
FAQ
Did Valerie get COVID-19?
There is no report on whether Valerie was tested positive for Coronavirus.
How old is Valerie’s daughter?
Francesca Fataar is 28 years old.
What is Valerie doing now?
She is a certified yoga instructor at Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco.
