We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Yoko Ono, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the second wife of John Lennon that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: She Got Married to the Same Man Twice. Ono married Anthony Cox in 1962. However, her divorce from first husband Toshi Ichiyanagi was not finalized at the time, so she had to annul her marriage with Cox and then remarry him once her divorce was finalized.
Number Seven: She Had a Troubled Relationship With Her Daughter. Ono gave birth to her daughter Kyoko in 1963. She was married to Anthony Cox at the time; however, they eventually got divorced in 1969, and she left much of the parenting up to Cox. Ono didn’t see her daughter at all between the years of 1971 and 1997.
Number Six: She Is Blamed for Breaking Up the Beatles. Despite everything Ono has achieved, she still has quite a contentious public image. In fact, not only is she often blamed for the breakup of the Beatles, but she is often compared to Courtney Love, and parallels have been drawn between Ono and Lennon’s relationship and the relationship between Love and Kurt Cobain.
Number Five: She Has Fought the Parole of Lennon’s Convicted Killer Eight Times. Out of concerns for her own personal safety, Ono has made sure Lennon’s murderer, Mark David Chapman, not be released an impressive eight times.
Number Four: She Has Two Grammy Awards. Ono won her first Grammy in 1981 for her work as an artist and producer, and she won her second one as a video producer in 2000.
Number Three: She and Lennon Were Arrested Together. Ono and John Lennon were arrested in 1968 while they were in London together. They were arrested for the possession of cannabis, and while Ono’s charges were dropped, Lennon was fined.
Number Two: She Founded Artists Against Fracking. In 2012, Ono and son Sean Lennon founded an organization called Artists Against Fracking. The organization was created to protest the fracking of natural resources, especially gas and oil.
Number One: She Is a Mainstay in Pop Culture. Ono has been repeatedly referenced in pop culture for decades, and she will probably continue to be referenced for years to come. Whether positive or negative, it’s clear that Ono has a major influence on the culture of our world.