Veronica Porché Ali
Veronica Porché Ali (born Veronica Porche;[1] December 16, 1955) is an American psychologist and the former wife of boxer Muhammad Ali.
Veronica Porché Ali | |
|---|---|
 Veronica Porche Ali (far left) and Muhammad Ali at a White House dinner in 1977 | |
| Born | December 16, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Clinical psychologist |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2, including Laila Ali |
| Website | veronicaporchepsyd |
Porché was born in Los Angeles, California on December 16, 1955, to Ethel and Horace Porche, both of Louisiana Creole descent. She attended Holy Rosary Catholic boarding school in Lafayette, Louisiana for 2 years before returning to Echo Park, Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Belmont High School in Los Angeles in 1973 and attended the University of Southern California.
She was the third wife of American boxer Muhammad Ali, and is the mother of his two daughters, actress and undefeated professional boxer Laila Ali[2] and author Hana Yasmeen Ali. They were married at the Presidential Compound in N'Sele according to the Islamic tradition.
Ali and Porche began a relationship in 1974 while in Kinshasa, Zaire. Porché was one of the four poster girls who had promoted the Rumble in the Jungle fight in Zaire versus George Foreman. Porché and Ali were then married in Los Angeles in the summer of 1977. They divorced in December 1986.
She studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse to overcome shyness and had limited experience as an actress. She played a tour guide, Ranger Emily, in the 1986 film Terror on Alcatraz and made a cameo appearance in "Freedom Road" starring Ali and Kris Kristofferson. She co-hosted a segment of "Good Morning, New York" and appeared as herself in a made-for-TV documentary, Intimate Portrait: Laila Ali (2001) (TV). In the film Ali, she was played by Michael Michele.[3] Both Porche and Ali stated at the time that their relationship and other aspects of the film were inaccurately portrayed.
Personal life
In 1992, six years after her divorce from Ali, Porche married jazz artist and actor Carl Anderson, who played Judas Iscariot in the original production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as the 1973 film of the same name. The couple traveled together in the mid 1990s when Anderson reprised his role and toured the United States. Anderson died of leukemia in 2004. In May 2007, she appeared with her two daughters, Laila and Hana, on Dancing with the Stars.[4]
References
- USA Today article http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/10/muhammad-alis-ex-wife-reveals-details-about-their-secret-wedding
- "Laila Ali expecting a baby". Sandrarose.com. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
- Veronica Porche Ali on IMDb
- "Dancing with the Stars: Season 4, Episode 19 : Round 10 Results (I)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
