Background

Lee Majors was born on April 23, 1939, in Wyandotte, Michigan. His father died shortly before his birth in a steel mill accident. That tragedy was followed shortly by his mother's death when he was 18 months old. She was hit by a drunk driver while waiting to cross the street on her way to work. Lee did not know he had been adopted by his aunt and uncle until his teenage years when he had found the newspaper clippings about his parents' deaths.

After he had learned of his past, Lee was not put off. Instead, he was motivated to become someone so that his adoptive parents would never regret their decision of adopting him. Lee attended Indiana University on a football scholarship before he transferred to Eastern Kentucky State College which is known today as Eastern Kentucky University. Suffering a back injury, Lee was paralyzed for two weeks before he recovered. The experience put Lee off from attempting any more sports in the future.

In 1962, Lee graduated with a degree in physical education and history but had a longing desire to go into acting. Lee acted and performed plays at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville Kentucky giving him a taste of what to expect from his future. After college, Lee received an offer to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals but turned it down.

After having problems with his wife, Lee decided to stay in Los Angeles and study acting under Estelle Harmon at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Dick Clayton, who had been the agent of James Dean, suggested he attend his acting school, After only one year of acting school, Clayton felt Lee was ready to begin his acting career.

Relationships

While a college student, Lee married Kathy Robinson. They had a son who was named Lee Majors II in 1962. The following year, they moved to Los Angeles, California where Lee began working with the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks. It was not long after that their marriage hit some bumps and Kathy moved back to Kentucky with their son while Lee remained in Los Angeles to work on his acting career.

Lee has been married four times in his life. His marriage with Kathy lasted from 1961 to 1964. After her, there was a marriage to Farrah Fawcett in 1973. While he was on The Million Dollar Man, she was on Charlie’s Angels. The two popular TV stars were often seen in the headlines together. They got separated in 1979 and divorced in 1982, Farrah died on June 25, 2009, after her long battle with cancer.

The former Playboy model, Karen Velez was his third wife in 1988 and had three children together. They had a daughter named Nikki Loren and twin sons named Dane Luke and Trey Kelley. Lee's fourth and current wife is actress and model Faith Cross whom he married in 2002.

In 2003, Lee gave his fans a scare when he underwent a major bypass heart surgery to repair a blocked artery.