Rupert Murdoch Is Engaged, Planning a June Wedding

Rupert Murdoch is engaged to Elena Zhukova, a retired molecular biologist, with plans for a wedding.

A source confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday that the 92-year-old media mogul plans to marry Zhukova, 62, on June 1 in a ceremony on his California vineyard and estate, Moraga.

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Murdoch reportedly started dating Zhukova in the summer after he met her through his third wife, Wendi Deng. Zhukova is said to be a retired molecular biologist who was studying diabetes, including at the University of California, Los Angeles. The New York Times first reported the new engagement.

The news comes nearly a year after Murdoch announced his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, a retired dental hygienist, in the spring of 2023. But he broke it off a few weeks later.

The upcoming June nuptials would make it Murdoch’s fifth marriage. He was previously married to model Jerry Hall from 2016 to 2022.

He first tied the knot in 1956 to Patricia Booker, but they divorced 11 years later in 1967. They share one child. He later married his second wife, Anna Maria Torv, in 1967, and they had three children together. The pair split in 1999 after 32 years of marriage. Murdoch and Deng, his third wife, got married in 1999, but they divorced in 2013. They also share two children together.

Zhukova, who moved to the United States from Moscow, was previously married to billionaire energy investor Alexander Zhukov.

Last year, Murdoch revealed that he was stepping down as the chairman of his empire, Fox Corp. and News Corp, transitioning to the role of chairman emeritus. His son Lachlan Murdoch took over the top title at the two companies.

“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” he wrote in a letter to employees in September. “But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams and a passionate, principled leader in Lachlan who will become sole chairman of both companies.”

Lachlan Cartwright contributed reporting.

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