Nerine Kidd was William Shatner’s third wife, and her story is one of the saddest chapters in his long life. She was a model with a promising career, she married one of the most recognizable actors in the world, and less than two years later she was gone, found at the bottom of their backyard pool. Here’s what actually happened.

Nerine Kidd: Bio

Who Was Nerine Kidd

Nerine grew up in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood, one of five kids in her family. Her brother later described her as someone who moved easily between two worlds, comfortable with her low-key Boston roots and her flashier life in Los Angeles. Every summer growing up, she and her siblings would head to a lake cottage for vacation, a detail that later struck friends and family as painfully ironic given how she died. Not long after high school, she left Boston for New York, hoping to break into modeling. It worked out for her. She landed modeling contracts and a handful of TV gigs, including a national Brut cologne commercial. Eventually she made her way to Los Angeles, chasing bigger opportunities in front of the camera.

How Nerine Kidd Met William Shatner

Nerine and William met in 1994 on the set of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, which Shatner was directing in Toronto at the time. There was a 28 year age gap between them, but by most accounts the attraction was immediate. Shatner later described the pull toward her as instant, and the two started dating not long after that meeting. They also shared an interest in horses and outdoor activities, which gave them common ground beyond the initial spark.

Their Marriage and Its Struggles

William and Nerine got married in November 1997 in Pasadena, California. Leonard Nimoy stood beside Shatner as his best man, a detail that says a lot about how close Shatner and his Star Trek castmates remained off screen. At the wedding reception, Shatner declared Nerine to be his queen, expressing his deep admiration before their guests. The marriage didn’t stay smooth for long. Before their wedding, Nerine Kidd was reportedly struggling with alcohol addiction, and Leonard Nimoy reportedly advised William Shatner about the situation. Nimoy, who had gone through his own struggles with alcohol, later tried to support Nerine during some of her hardest moments. Less than a year in, Shatner filed for divorce in October 1998, hoping it would push Nerine toward getting help. The two ended up reconciling instead of finalizing the split, and they were still together when she died the following year.

Nerine Kidd’s Career in Modeling and Acting

Before she ever met Shatner, Nerine had built a real career on her own. She modeled in New York and worked in Europe, picked up commercial work, and landed small parts here and there, including a role in the 1999 film A Twist in the Tale. She wasn’t just known as Shatner’s wife. She’d been supporting herself in entertainment for years before that, and friends remembered her as someone with genuine charisma on camera, not just a famous man’s spouse.

Her Battle With Alcoholism

This is the part of Nerine’s story that’s hardest to read, but it’s central to understanding what happened to her. She faced a years-long battle with alcohol addiction, had two prior drunk driving convictions, and underwent treatment several times. At the time of her death, she actually had a pending court date tied to one of those cases, and reports say she missed her final scheduled court appearance the same day she died. William Shatner later wrote about his efforts to help Nerine Kidd, recalling that her psychiatrist advised that ending the relationship might be the only way to encourage her to pursue sobriety. Nerine badly wanted to have a child with Shatner, but he told her that wouldn’t happen until she could show a sustained period of sobriety. It’s a brutal thing to hear about someone you love, and Shatner has been open about how much it weighed on him in the years since.

Nerine Kidd’s Death

On August 9, 1999, Shatner came home to their house in Studio City after spending the day with his daughters. Nerine wasn’t in the house. He found her in the backyard, at the bottom of their pool. He dove in fully clothed to pull her out and tried CPR while calling 911, but it was already too late. The autopsy that followed showed she’d been drinking heavily that night and had a sedative in her system as well. Her blood alcohol level was reported at roughly three times California’s legal driving limit. Investigators also found an injury to her neck, and the official cause of death was listed as drowning associated with neck trauma. The working theory was that she’d dove into the pool, hit her head, and wasn’t able to get herself back to the surface. Police ruled out foul play. Family members back in Boston found the circumstances strange, since Nerine had grown up around water and was known as a strong swimmer. Still, nothing about the investigation suggested anything other than a tragic accident.

How William Shatner Honored Her Memory

Shatner was devastated. After her body was found, he addressed reporters outside their home, saying simply that she meant everything to him. In the years after her death, he set up the Nerine Shatner Memorial Fund to support Friendly House, a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps women recovering from addiction rebuild their lives. He also wrote a song about the night he found her, included on his 2004 album Has Been. Decades later, Shatner has said the memory of that night has never really left him, even though he’s continued to speak about her with love rather than only grief. He went on to marry his fourth wife, Elizabeth Anderson Martin, in 2001, but he’s said in interviews over the years that Nerine’s death remains one of the hardest things he’s ever lived through.

Also Read: Dorothy Jo Gideon: Inside the Life of Bob Barker’s Wife

FAQs About Nerine Kidd

Who was Nerine Kidd?

She was William Shatner’s third wife, a model and commercial actress who married him in 1997 and died in 1999 after drowning in their backyard pool.

How did Nerine Kidd and William Shatner meet?

They met in 1994 on the set of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, which Shatner was directing in Toronto.

How did Nerine Kidd die?

She drowned in the swimming pool at the Studio City home she shared with Shatner on August 9, 1999. The autopsy found high levels of alcohol and a sedative in her system, along with a neck injury, and ruled the death accidental with no foul play.

Did William Shatner and Nerine Kidd have children?

No. Nerine wanted a child, but Shatner asked her to first prove she could stay sober for a sustained period, which didn’t happen before her death.

Did Shatner and Kidd get divorced before she died?

He filed for divorce in October 1998, but the two later reconciled and were still married when she died in August 1999.

How did William Shatner honor Nerine Kidd’s memory?

He created the Nerine Shatner Memorial Fund to support an addiction recovery nonprofit, and later wrote a song about the night of her death for his 2004 album Has Been.

Final Thoughts

Nerine Kidd’s story doesn’t fit neatly into a headline about a Hollywood marriage. She had her own career, her own struggles, and a battle with addiction that ultimately cost her life far too early. William Shatner has never hidden how hard her death hit him, and the fund he started in her name has kept helping other women fight the same illness that took her.

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