Cary Grant's Journey To True Love And Fatherhood

Iconic Hollywood star Cary Grant walked down the aisle four times before finding lasting love with Barbara Harris in the early 1980s. Despite the heartaches he endured throughout his life, Cary discovered "great love" when he became a father and eventually married his fifth and final spouse, Barbara, who exclusively shared her story with Closer.

A Father's Unwavering Devotion

Cary's only daughter, Jennifer Grant, born to him and his ex-wife Dyan Cannon, remembers her father as an incredibly dedicated parent. One unforgettable Halloween, young Jennifer rang the doorbell at an unfamiliar house, only to have her dad answer. Cary had rented a home in the neighborhood where his daughter would be trick-or-treating so he could surprise her. "I just sort of ran up, got the candy, gave him a hug, and left," Jennifer, now 55, shares in the latest issue of the magazine, currently available on newsstands. "I was embarrassed, I think, by the extent of his love and devotion to me."

From Hollywood Heartthrob to Heartbroken Star

Many would dream of receiving such devotion from Cary. In the 1940s and '50s, he was Hollywood's most sought-after leading man, starring in iconic films like Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, and North by Northwest. Yet, behind the scenes, Cary battled personal demons that wreaked havoc on his relationships. It wasn't until his 60s, when he began confronting his past, that he could fully embrace the love he found with his daughter and his last wife, Barbara, 70.

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A Childhood Trauma That Shaped His Life

Growing up as Archibald Leach in Bristol, England, Cary believed his mother, Elise, had abandoned him when he was just 9 years old. It wasn't until his 30s that he discovered his father had actually committed her to an asylum. By then, the damage was done. "I think the disappearance of his mother at such a young age resulted in him not trusting women," Cary's widow, whom he married in 1981, tells Closer. "He initially believed that she had just left to go to the seaside."

A Pattern of Toxic Relationships

By the time Cary married his first wife, actress Virginia Cherrill, in 1934, he had already fallen into a destructive pattern. He would meet someone and fall obsessively in love, but his possessiveness, need for control, and self-absorption would always lead to the relationship's demise. His marriages to Virginia and his second wife, heiress Barbara Hutton, whom he wed in 1943, were marked by several breakups and passionate reconciliations before ultimately ending. "Cary is a dear," Barbara said in 1945. "But he isn't interested in anything but his career, and when you're married to a man, you must have something to talk about."

Seeking Change Through Therapy

Cary's marriages to actresses Betsy Drake and Dyan Cannon didn't fare any better, but in the 1960s, he made attempts to break this unhealthy cycle through analysis. "He was going through LSD [therapy], which was perfectly legal [at that time]," Barbara tells Closer. "He thought it was extremely helpful. It brought up a lot of parts of his life that he had buried, either consciously or not. They weren't always attractive things to face. But he used to say it removed an awful lot of his barnacles."