Nerine Kidd was just a beautiful kid from a working-class Boston family who was trying to make it in the modeling and acting worlds when she met outspoken William Shatner in 1994 on the set of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. She was in her 30s. He was in his 60s.
They married in 1997, against the advice of some of her family and Shatner's friends.
In many ways, it was an odd match. Her family was so in awe of Shatner that her brother Warren always called him "Mr. Shatner".
The sometimes unpredictable William Shatner was world-famous, largely due to playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek. He was rich and famous and powerful. Nerine? She was a kid from working-class Boston, insecure and uncertain of herself in Shatner's world.
And there were other issues. Nerine had a drinking problem that only got worse after she married Shatner in 1997.
Then on August 9th, 1999, William Shatner came home to find her lifeless, naked body at the bottom of the swimming pool.
So, what actually happened between William Shatner and Nerine Kidd? Let's have a look and see. Shatner went on to find more fame and fortune in the Star Trek franchise and in TV shows like Boston Legal and 3rd Rock From the Sun. But it's no exaggeration to say he was a changed man after Nerine's death.
The Mega-Star And The Wannabee Model
By the time Nerine was old enough to get her driver's license, William Shatner was playing heartthrob Captain James T. Kirk in the TV version of Star Trek (1966-69). She wanted big things and achieve not so big things. As a young girl, Nerine had some success as a model but was never anywhere near the top rung of the ladder. She merely hung around on the fringes of the jet-setters.
Beginning in 1985, she tried her hand in Hollywood with little success. So she was indeed a model and an actress, but the work wasn't coming in on a regular basis.
The day she met Shatner on that movie set, she called her dad, all excited. She had met the man who starred in Star Trek! She had been dating older men, men with money. According to the Los Angeles Times, her dad didn't approve of Nerine dating Shatner. William Shatner was daddy Kidd's age.
And he certainly didn't approve of their marriage in 1997.
In 1999, things did not look good for the Shatners. William Shatner, at wit's end over Nerine's drinking, had filed for divorce. Reports were that the couple was trying to reconcile. But it didn't look good.
William Shatner has said: “Leonard Nimoy telephoned me just before I married Nerine. He said just one sentence, ‘Bill, you do know that Nerine is an alcoholic.’ I’m not sure what Leonard expected me to say. ‘I know she is,’ I told him. ‘But I love her.’ "
Nimoy was quiet for a minute or so and then said quietly: ‘Well, Bill, then you are in for a rough ride’.” And he was.
After Nerine's death, Shatner set up a memorial fund to help women struggling with addiction. He has said he felt he had to do something positive, to help himself and others.
The Love Of His Life
After Nerine's death, Shatner was eaten up with grief. He stayed out of the public eye for almost two years.
Even more than twenty years after Nerine's death, he says "Her death still haunts me There are times I’ll see someone who resembles her, and I’ll think, 'Oh my God, that looks like Nerine.' And the nightmare of the event is still there. It’s always there."
And he freely admits that after his wife's shocking death he himself just wanted to die. And he calls her "the great love of my life". And he insists that she was a wonderful human being with one weakness "that killed her".
And very poignantly, he adds" I did think that my love could save her, but that wasn't to be the case."
Police, of course, questioned Shatner. But since he had been having dinner with his daughter some miles away, and even had a restaurant receipt to prove it, he was never really a suspect. The police concluded pretty quickly that she had drowned after diving into the pool headfirst, hitting her head and knocking herself unconscious. According to reports, she regularly drank Vodka before swimming. Her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal driving limit.
But Shatner does say that what Nerine's death taught him was how precious and fleeting life is. Nearing 90-years-old he is still going strong, taking on projects that would daunt a man half his age. Shatner still lives at the Los Angeles house he shared with Nerine.
After Nerine's death, Shatner married Elizabeth Martin in 2001. She was his fourth wife. The couple called it quits in 2020.
And Shatner does not like being on his own. Who knows. Maybe there's a Mrs. Shatner the Fifth out there somewhere. From what William says, he certainly hopes so. Nerine may have been the love of his life, but life goes on.