Sara Dylan: Bob Dylan’s First Wife, Her Life Before, During $ After Marriage

Sara Dylan was Bob Dylan’s first wife, married to him from 1965 to 1977, during the years when he moved from folk singer to one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. She was also, before that marriage, a model and actress in her own right, and she later became known as the mother of singer Jakob Dylan.

Unlike Dylan’s second marriage, which remained secret for years, Sara Dylan’s marriage was public in its outline, but she herself stayed largely private. Much of what is known about her comes from biographical accounts, Dylan’s own songs, and the divorce record, rather than from interviews with her.

Her Early Life and First Marriage

Sara Dylan was born Shirley Marlin Noznisky in 1939 in Wilmington, Delaware. Published sources differ on the exact day in October 1939, so this article gives the year and place rather than a day that cannot be settled from the sources consulted.

She moved to New York City in 1959 and married magazine photographer Hans Lownds that same year. During that marriage she was known as Sara Lownds, a name Lownds persuaded her to take. Their daughter, Maria, was born on October 21, 1961. Within about a year of Maria’s birth, that marriage began to fail, and it ended in divorce in about 1961 or 1962.

Meeting Bob Dylan and Their Secret Wedding

Sara Lownds met Bob Dylan in 1964, when she was working as a film production secretary. Dylan was then in the middle of his transition from acoustic folk to electric rock, a change that divided his audience and reshaped his career.

During a break in his tour, Dylan married Lownds, who was then pregnant with their first child together, on November 22, 1965. The ceremony was secret and unconventional: it took place under an oak tree on a judge’s lawn in Mineola, Long Island. According to Dylan biographer Howard Sounes, the only other participants were Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, and a maid of honour for Sara.

Their Children and Life in Woodstock

Bob and Sara Dylan had four children together:

• Jesse Dylan, born January 6, 1966, who became a film director
• Anna Lea Dylan, born July 11, 1967
• Samuel Isaac Abram Dylan, born July 30, 1968
• Jakob Luke Dylan, born December 9, 1969, who became a singer-songwriter

Dylan also adopted Maria, Sara’s daughter from her first marriage, so the family in the house numbered five children in total.

The couple eventually moved to Woodstock, in upstate New York, where Dylan sought a quieter life away from touring. That Woodstock period is now part of his legend, but for Sara Dylan it was also family life: raising five children while her husband’s work and public image continued to change around her.

Blood on the Tracks and the Divorce

Many listeners and critics have linked Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks to the disintegration of his marriage to Sara. Their son Jakob has said the lyrics of that album are widely understood in that way, and Dylan himself has spoken about the marriage breaking up during that period, though he has not presented the album as a simple diary of the divorce.

The marriage itself ended in court. Sara Dylan filed for divorce on March 1, 1977, after eleven and a half years of marriage. The divorce was finalised in June 1977. The filing awarded her temporary custody of their five children and exclusive use of the couple’s Malibu house, and restrained Dylan from interfering with her peace and privacy.

Some later accounts put the value of her settlement, including half the royalties from songs written during the marriage, at about $36 million. The full financial terms were not made public in a single court record cited here, so that figure should be read as a reported estimate, not as a confirmed court figure.

Her Life After Dylan

After the divorce, Sara Dylan largely withdrew from public life. Dylan married again in 1986, to backing singer Carolyn Dennis, and divorced again in 1992. Sara Dylan did not build a public career from her time as Dylan’s wife, and she has rarely spoken publicly about the marriage.

That privacy is itself part of her story. Where other figures in Dylan’s circle wrote memoirs or gave interviews, Sara Dylan’s account has mostly been told through other people’s books, through the divorce record, and through the songs listeners associate with her.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Sara Dylan?

She was Bob Dylan’s first wife, born Shirley Marlin Noznisky and previously known as Sara Lownds.

When did Sara and Bob Dylan marry and divorce?

They married on November 22, 1965, and divorced in June 1977.

How many children did Sara and Bob Dylan have?

Four together — Jesse, Anna, Samuel, and Jakob — plus Maria, Sara’s daughter from her first marriage, whom Dylan adopted.

Is Blood on the Tracks about Sara Dylan?

Many critics and listeners, including their son Jakob, have linked the album to the end of their marriage, though Dylan has not presented it as a straightforward account of the divorce.

What happened to Sara Dylan after the divorce?

She largely withdrew from public life and has rarely spoken publicly about the marriage.