Kristin Nelson

Sharon Kristin Nelson (née Harmon; June 25, 1945 – April 27, 2018) was a painter, actress, and author.

Sister of actors Mark Harmon and Kelly Harmon, she was married to actor and musician Ricky Nelson for 19 years.

Kristin was the daughter of American football star Tom Harmon and model and actress Elyse Knox.

Her younger siblings are model and actress Kelly Harmon and actor Mark Harmon.

She attended Marymount High School, an all-girls Catholic school in Bel Air, along with other children of celebrities including Mia Farrow, who was one of her closest school friends.

They began dating on Christmas Day 1961, when she was 16 and Rick was 21.

A year later, the couple announced their engagement.

In 1963, at age 17, she married teen idol Ricky Nelson and gave birth to their first child six months later.

Following her marriage to Rick in 1963, she joined him and his family on their television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as a regular cast member, first appearing in the episode "Rick's Wedding Ring".

They were married on April 20, 1963, in a Catholic ceremony at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Los Angeles.

Nelson was pregnant, and Rick later described the union as a "shotgun wedding".

Rick, a non-practicing Protestant, received instruction in Catholicism before the wedding and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith.

The couple went on to have three more children, but their extravagant lifestyle forced Rick to tour for long periods, placing great pressure on the marriage.

Subjects include When the Kennedys Were in the White House (1964) and The Day He Died (1990), a memorial to her father painted on a window frame that depicts a country church and rain clouds.

In 1965, she co-starred with Rick in the romantic comedy Love and Kisses, in which they demonstrated the troubles of a young couple of school age who get married—an "inspired casting", according to one critic.

She played police officer Jim Reed's wife Jean on Adam-12, guest-starred on other series and appeared in a few theatrical films, including The Resurrection of Broncho Billy, which won an Academy Award for best live-action short film.

Kristin had painted since the age of 17, and had her first one-woman art show in 1967.

Her work, which was described as "widely acclaimed" and has been likened to that of Grandma Moses.

Her oil paintings sold for up to $5,000 in the 1970s.

Kristin's brightly colored compositions found favor with Jacqueline Kennedy, Mia Farrow, Tyne Daly, Dwight Yoakam and other celebrities.

Her art career received a boost when Kennedy purchased her painting When the Kennedys Were in the White House.

Her paintings are conceived without perspective and are brightly colored with many figures included.

By 1975, the Nelsons were on the verge of breaking up.

When Rick returned from a tour in 1977, he discovered Kristin had moved him out of their home and into a rented house.

Less than a month later, she found him there with two Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders.

Rick later claimed that she had set him up to use the incident against him in court.

In October 1977, Kristin filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children and a portion of community property, but the couple temporarily reconciled.

In April 1980, the couple bought Errol Flynn's 1941 Mulholland Drive estate for $750,000.

Nelson wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but Rick continued touring relentlessly.

The dispute over Nelson's career created unpleasantness at home.

In October 1980, Kristin again filed for divorce.

Attempts to negotiate a preliminary settlement agreement were unsuccessful.

In February 1981, Nelson was temporarily granted custody of the children and $3,600 monthly spousal support.

Rick was required to pay family expenses such as property taxes, medical bills, and school tuition.

She retired from acting in 1982 following Liar's Moon.

In 1988, she met director-producer Mark Tinker, who asked her what she wanted to do with her life.

She told him, "I want to paint."

Kristin first met Ricky Nelson when she was "just another 12-year-old fan" of his.

In 1999, her paintings were published in a coffee-table-sized autobiography, Out of My Mind.

The paintings document her life story and are supplemented with diary entries and poems.