Tragic Details Of Alec Baldwin's Ex Kim Basinger

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Since her big break in 1983's "Never Say Never Again" as a stunning Bond girl, Kim Basinger's name has been synonymous with the heyday of Hollywood. From her work as a model to her transition into acting, starring in 1989's "Batman," 1997's "L.A. Confidential," for which she won an Oscar, and 2002's "8 Mile," she made a name for herself as an icon. Even Basinger's marriage to Alec Baldwin (and subsequent fallout), made headlines for years — that is, until she seemed to disappear from the industry almost entirely. But there's a reason you don't hear much from Basinger anymore, as her devastating circumstances forced her to fade away from the spotlight.

After many years, the "Charlie St. Cloud" actor has finally revealed the extent of the trauma she endured throughout her life. From the troubles she faced at home as a child to her unlucky love life and mental health struggles, here are the many tragic details about Alec Baldwin's ex-wife.

It's been said that trauma can be passed down through generations. Just as Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's daughter Ireland endured tragic circumstances throughout her life, the "Nadine" star also experienced difficulty in her childhood — and it all could have begun with Basinger's mother, Ann Cordell Basinger. Anxiety is something the actor has dealt with her entire life, as she explained in April 2022 when she and Ireland sat down with Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris on "Red Table Talk."

"I was very perceptive about what was going on in my house — the strife, the fights," Basinger explained. "And I was just very, very sensitive." She went on to describe her mother as a "beautiful woman" but "troubled deeply," adding that she'd also struggled with anxiety her entire life. Her mother's mental state rubbed off on Basinger so much during her childhood that she said, "I always had a great fear of something happening to my mom. I was so afraid ... that I felt like I had to be home with my mom to save her." This led to the star coming up with excuses to leave school early to be at home with her mother. Eventually, the adults in Basinger's life began to notice her changing behavior. The actor underwent a psychological evaluation, and it was discovered for the first time that she was dealing with anxiety.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Before she was an Oscar-winning actor, Kim Basinger was a teenager with undeniable beauty and a talent for performing. She was involved in ballet, cheerleading, and pageants before going to college; however, she left school after just a year and signed with Ford Modeling Agency — a path other notable women have followed, like Jane Fonda, Brooke Shields, and Naomi Campbell. While moving to New York and becoming a model sounds like the dream, Basinger disliked the work. "It was very hard to go from one booking to another and always have to deal with the way I looked," she previously stated (via Hello! magazine). "I couldn't stand it. I felt myself choking."

Eventually, after landing a few one-off appearances on television shows like "Charlie's Angels" and "The Six Million Dollar Man," she left the modeling industry to further pursue acting. Basinger may not have loved every moment of her early career, but she has acknowledged how much of a leg up it gave her. "When I got to New York, I was very blessed," she told Interview Magazine in February 2014. "I didn't have to stop and be a waitress. I started making money at a very young age and was just very lucky. When asked about the faith she must've had in herself to pursue such a competitive field, Basinger replied, "Well, confidence. ... I'm not too in love with the word ambition, but I was driven."

Kim Basinger has spoken out about Alec Baldwin a number of times and how their relationship collapsed in 2002, but her lesser-known first marriage ended tragically as well. In 1980, while filming her first theatrical release "Hard Country," she met makeup artist Ron Snyder. The couple were together for nine years, but the relationship was fraught with difficulty and tension. In his 1998 memoir, "Longer Than Forever," he detailed how, a day after their wedding, Basinger had asked that he change his last name to be more similar to hers (via Marie Claire). He reluctantly agreed, landing on the surname Britton.

Not long after they married, Snyder quit his job to spend more time with Basinger on the set of her projects, in part so he could support her during the panic attacks she was experiencing. But as her career soared, resentment grew and things began to crumble in their relationship. In 1986, Snyder discovered his wife and her "No Mercy" co-star Richard Gere were having an affair when he found letters they'd written each other. Although they attempted to patch things up over the course of a couple years, the Hollywood couple ultimately divorced in 1989, and Basinger was left to pay $9,000 a month in alimony to Snyder.

In the midst of her divorce from Ron Snyder, Kim Basinger decided to kick off another venture by buying up a town — yes, an entire town. Along with a handful of other investors, the "Batman" actor bought most of Braselton, Georgia for just $20 million. The initial plan was to renovate its structures, build a movie studio, and bring in both business and tourism to help the town's economy flourish.

However, the residents of the small Georgian town were left in anticipation as the renovation plans never came to fruition and, in 1995, Basinger was forced to sell off her stake in the town. In speaking with Amarillo Globe-News in October 1997, the star of "The Getaway" recalled the financial troubles this investment caused her. "It was better than any education I could have ever gotten at any Seven Sisters school,” she said. "Just the experience of it all, just people. What people are capable of doing in the name of money.” That said, Basinger added that she fortunately garnered "clarity" and "strength" from the whole ordeal.

Some 20 years later, Basinger's unfortunate situation became the inspiration for a hit sitcom. Dan and Eugene Levy's beloved comedy series "Schitt's Creek" premiered in 2015, but the actor initially had no clue she had served as the showrunners' muse. "Who knew?" Basinger told Variety in February 2025. "I love that show. So, hey, made for good material."

Over the years, directors have utilized questionable techniques to get the most intensity of their actors. Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick, for example, are remembered as filmmakers who pushed their stars to the brink. Although these techniques have, for the most part, changed in recent years, Kim Basinger had a disturbing experience while working on "9½ Weeks" for a similar reason. The movie, filmed by Adrian Lyne, centered around a young woman who has a BDSM-esque love affair with a stranger played by Mickey Rourke.

It was a controversial project that left countless scenes on the cutting room floor, but it was Basinger's treatment throughout the film that had been perhaps the most troubling aspect. It was reported by The New York Times in 1986, upon the release of the movie, that the audition alone left her feeling humiliated. As she put it, ”It was like an earthquake in my life." Basinger had written off the film and Lyne, saying she would refuse to participate if selected for the role — but the director was persuasive.

In February 1986, the actor described the grueling filming process to Rolling Stone as "like an exorcism," as Lyne attempted to draw out genuine fear and arousal from her during the project. "I didn't want to do it — nobody wants to be taken that far," she added. "I was the sole emotional soul in the entire movie. Every nerve of mine was exposed to [the] cast, crew, everybody."

Sometimes, mixing family and business is not be the best idea, and unfortunately for Kim Basinger, she learned this the hard way. Several of her family members were involved in the failed Georgia town investment and when things went sideways, they had a massive falling out. The rift became apparent to the public when Basinger and Alec Baldwin tied the knot back in 1993. While he had 90 of his family members and friends in attendance, Basinger had just 10 guests — two of whom were her father and youngest sister Ashley. This left her mother and three other siblings completely out of the picture.

When Basinger won the Oscar for best actress in 1998, she scrambled to cover as much ground as she could in her acceptance speech, especially considering she had just 30 seconds. "I just want to thank everybody I have ever met in my entire life," the actor remarked. Basinger did go on to call out specific individuals, including the cast and crew of "L.A. Confidential," her husband, her daughter, and her sister Ashley — but her parents and other siblings didn't make the cut. While the Oscar-winner hasn't spoken much about her family drama, it wasn't until 2000 that she and her mother finally reconciled, according to People.

Some celebrities live on a surprisingly tight budget, but not all of them do it by choice. Given Kim Basinger's financial difficulties surrounding the investment in the Georgia town, you can only imagine the devastating blow that a lawsuit brought her in March 1993. Two years prior, she had agreed to star in Jennifer Lynch's dark film, "Boxing Helena," about a surgeon who cuts off the limbs of the woman he's obsessed with. But upon further discussions with her agent, Basinger went back on the decision due to the movie's graphic nature.

In turn, the producers sued Basinger for breaching an oral contract, and the judge ordered her to pay nearly $9 million. The full amount was later reduced to $7.4 million, but the sum was far from what the actor could afford. Unfortunately, Basinger was forced to file for bankruptcy and her assets were subject to liquidation in order to pay off the settlement. Thankfully for the actor, the decision was eventually overturned after she appealed.

Still, the entire ordeal left the Hollywood star with a bad taste in her mouth. Basinger had been bad-mouthed by the press, her reputation was damaged, and she was nearly taken for everything she had. In December 1994, she told Interview Magazine, "There has not been an emotion discovered yet that could describe the way that I have felt. If I had to describe this whole thing, I would say that it's been a very expensive education."

After meeting on the set of the film "The Marrying Man" in 1990, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin fell head over heels for each other. They tied the knot two years later, and their only child together, Ireland, was born in 1995. Sadly, the iconic Hollywood couple wasn't meant to last. Basinger filed for divorce in 2001, citing irreconcilable differences. Although their divorce was finalized the following year, their custody arrangement became an ongoing struggle that lasted seven years and cost Basinger, according to Baldwin's 2008 memoir, "A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce," $1.5 million in legal fees (via Yahoo).

Ultimately, the "L.A. Confidential" star filed for sole custody and Baldwin was granted visitation rights — until a devastating voicemail from the "30 Rock" actor was leaked, in which he referred to Ireland as "a rude, thoughtless little pig."

Despite the incredibly public divorce and custody proceedings, bitter excerpts leaked by the press, and understandably painful fallout, Basinger and Baldwin's post-divorce relationship is on good terms at long last. During her February 2025 interview with Variety, the "Fifty Shades Freed" star remarked, "Alec and I have a great relationship. I have great respect for where he is today, and his family." Basinger added that, although they don't see each other very often, they sometimes chat on the phone and she wants the very best for him.

Anyone who's dealt with anxiety in their life can attest to the impact it can have on your day-to-day life. While it was something Kim Basinger had been managing for years, she eventually developed agoraphobia, a severe anxiety disorder that includes a fear of open spaces, enclosed spaces, being in large crowds, or leaving home. Tragically, it's something that kept the actor firmly out of the spotlight — and trapped inside her house.

In 2022, Basinger got candid about having agoraphobia during her first interview in years. On "Red Table Talk," she described how things unfolded for her while shopping at a local store, saying, "I found something really overcoming me in such a way that I couldn't breathe." Basinger left her basket and headed to her car to calm down, and she didn't drive again for six months. The "Cellular" star explained that she stopped leaving the house, going out for dinner, or having people over.

"It's like something just completely shuts down within you and you have to relearn everything," Basinger remarked. "I had to relearn [how] to drive." She also experienced other symptoms like shakiness, dry mouth, and exhaustion. Eventually, after years of living with agoraphobia, the actor sought help at a treatment center where she tackled her anxiety and relearned the necessary skills to lead a normal life again.

In recent years, actors have shined a light on Hollywood's treatment of women — particularly, the roles they're forced into. While young stars have often been typecast as the sexy girlfriend who motivates the male protagonist, older actors can be made to feel like they can only play maternal roles. And while Kim Basinger's early part of her career was spent playing the Bond girl or the femme fatale, she felt a shift in what was expected of her as she aged.

From "Charlie St. Cloud" to "4 Minute Mile," she's played the mother role a number of times. "The truth is, [for the longest time, no one would] buy me as a mother," Basinger told Elle in June 2015, acknowledging that those days were now behind her. "And then I got offered every single mother role after that. They'd say, 'Get her, she can play the mother,' because people don't think outside the box very often," she added. Basinger's belief is that throughout the course of cinema, the role of the mother is essential and can come in many shapes and forms. "Women are important, and they have to be in the movies." However, the lack of creativity has left her shoehorned into similar parts time and again.

When Kim Basinger was dealing with agoraphobia, she understandably wasn't in the spotlight all too often. Though she hasn't specified the exact time in her life that she remained at home, her dwindling filmography could serve as a clue. Basinger reigned on the silver screen throughout the '80s and '90s but saw a decrease in film credits in the late aughts. However, come 2018, following the release of "Fifty Shades Freed," Basinger's movie career all but dried up — with the exception of providing her voice in the 2021 animated short "Back Home Again."

During her 2025 interview with Variety, Basinger reassured her interviewer that she hadn't left acting behind, not yet anyway. The actor described herself as "very picky," adding that there's simply "a lot of bad material" out there. With that, there is perhaps still some hope that Basinger will return to the screen again someday soon.