Meet Ringo Starr’s former Bond girl wife of 45 years, and his lookalike son, who took up the rock ‘n’ roll mantle

Barbara first crossed paths with her future husband in 1965 when she attended a Beatles concert at New York’s Shea Stadium, despite not being the band’s biggest fan. 

“Barbara, her sister Marjorie, and [Eagles guitarist] Joe [Walsh] were all at Shea Stadium. He tried to marry me, but he had to settle for my wife’s sister. Marjorie even had a Beatle wig on,” he told People in 2017. 

Barbara admitted she only went to the show because of her sister. “My sister Marjorie was crazy about the Beatles,” she said. “I liked [Bob] Dylan, Ray Charles and the Rolling Stones.”

Fast-forward 15 years, and Ringo and Barbara officially met on the set of the 1980s film Caveman, when they were cast as love interests. Both were in other relationships at the time, but Ringo admitted he was instantly attracted to Barbara.

In a 1981 Playboy interview, Barbara insisted that their relationship was strictly platonic at first, but she admitted that when they fell for each other, it moved quickly. 

“A lot of garbage has been written about us, none of it interesting,” she said. “The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end of Caveman. Working, we got along fine, but we each had other people, our respective friends. Then, all of a sudden, within a week — the last week of shooting — it just happened. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”

Barbara starred opposite Roger Moore in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and said working with the late actor was “a pleasure.” Speaking after his 2017 death, she said, added: “He was a kind and good man. A true gentleman. Peace, love and condolences to his wife and family.”

The couple vowed to spend as little time apart as possible after they survived a near-fatal car accident in 1980. Ringo hit two light posts before their car rolled twice after swerving to avoid a truck. 

“We decided we wouldn’t spend any time apart,” he said. “So far the longest break was five days, and that was too long. I want to live every minute with Barbara.”

In 1988, the couple entered the Sierra Tucson Rehabilitation Clinic together and left changed people, becoming vegetarians and supporting several substance addiction organizations.

“I didn’t tour in the ’80s, and not a lot in the ’70s. I sort of got involved in a lot of substances, and they became more important than anything else,” he told People. “In ’88 I ended up in rehab, and in ’89 I put the first All-Starr Band together. I got back on track, and that’s what I’ve done ever since.”

Ringo welcomed three kids, Zak, 60, Jason, 59, and Lee, 55, with his late ex-wife Maureen Cox, and his sons both followed in his musical footsteps.

While Jason was a drummer in various indie bands before his retirement, it was Zak who took up the rock ‘n’ roll mantle as drummer for The Who. The Grammy winner played and recorded with the band from 1996 to May 2025, when he left following a “collective decision.”

“I’m very proud of my near 30 years with The Who,” Zak told People at the time. “Filling the shoes of my Godfather, ‘Uncle Keith,’ has been the biggest honor, and I remain their biggest fan. They’ve been like family to me.”

Zak has also drummed for Oasis, Johnny Marr, Paul Weller, Yoko Ono, Steven Van Zandt, and many more.