Ned Rocknroll (given name Edward Abel Smith) is an English national best known as the third husband of 2012 Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet. As the Head of Marketing Promotion and Astronaut Experience for his uncle’s spaceflight company Virgin Galactic, which is constructing commercial spaceships to transport people into space, he is the nephew of the famed industrialist Sir Richard Branson. According to his first wife, he came up with his title at Virgin Galactic. After marrying Winslet, he reportedly decided to stay at home to care for his children and refurbish their over $4.0-million home. Winslet frequently references him in her interviews for his “very supportive” role in her personal and professional life.
Youth and Early Life
Edward Abel Smith was born in 1978 to Lindy Branson and Robert Abel Smith as Ned Rocknroll. His parents divorced when he was a little child. His mother and stepfather, Robin Brockway, reared him and his four brothers in Parsons Green, South-West London, in an “artistic, chaotic environment.”
After reaching adulthood, he began working in the marketing department of the business owned by his maternal uncle.
The Star’s Meteoric Rise to Fame
Late in September 2011, when he was spotted with Kate Winslet, Ned Rocknroll immediately became the focus of media attention. They were photographed at the memorial service for Richard Branson’s father Ted, which was held at the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London.
The following month, they were observed holding hands at San Francisco International Airport. His divorce from his first wife, the socialite Eliza Pearson, the eldest daughter of a wealthy British Viscount Cowdray, was concluded about the same time.
She apparently wanted him back after learning he was seeing Winslet, even though she had left him after 20 months of marriage. There was particular attention to his unique surname and how he acquired it.
Ned Rocknroll is a person who enjoys having fun, as evidenced by his appearance and surname. According to his first wife, he believed that people frequently took themselves too seriously and often considered altering his dull birth name to something more amusing.
He pondered not having a surname at all, but that was not a legal option. In 2008, he changed his surname to “Rocknroll” via deed poll. His uncommon surname and high-profile partnerships have kept him in the spotlight over the years.
Disputes and Scandals
Midway through 2016, an American media site revealed online unflattering photos of Ned Rocknroll shot at a friend’s costume party a few years prior. This sparked a dispute with Ned Rocknroll. The photographs were initially published by his buddy on his Facebook page.
Still, they were quickly removed, and in January 2013 a judge granted his plea to prohibit the publishing of the images. The controversy arose, however, because the American magazine was not subject to the same laws.
Ned Rocknroll’s Marriages
In September 2009, Ned Rocknroll wed socialite Eliza Pearson in an open-air pagan-style ceremony officiated by a druid on her family’s 17,000-acre Cowdray Park estate in West Sussex. They divorced in June 2011 after separating in April 2011.
Contrary to popular belief, he was not dating his second wife, actress Kate Winslet, at the time. This was later confirmed by Pearson, who stated that “the breakup was amicable” and that they remained “the best of friends.”
Reportedly, he had already met Winslet, although they were both in relationships at the time. While on vacation at Necker Island, a luxury resort owned by his uncle Richard Branson, they reconnected. While Winslet was there with her on-again, off-again lover, Burberry Model Louis Dowler, Rocknroll traveled there to mend his shattered heart following their breakup.
The Great House on the island caught fire on August 22, 2011, when it was struck by lightning produced by Hurricane Irene. Winslet reportedly pulled Richard Branson’s mother, who was 90 years old, to safety as the building completely burned down.
Eventually, they became acquainted and fell instantly in love. The couple had been secretly engaged for months and apparently did not inform her parents of their December 2012 wedding in New York. Winslet was escorted down the aisle during her wedding by her longtime friend and Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.
In addition to Winslet’s two stepchildren from previous marriages, the couple has a son named Bear Blaze Winslet, who was born the following year. They reside with their children on Winslet’s waterfront property in West Wittering.
Estimated Net Worth
Ned RocknRoll is a British entrepreneur with a net worth of $25 million. Ned RocknRoll was born Ned Abel Smith and is the nephew of Virgin Galactic’s CEO, Richard Branson. In 2008, Ned RocknRoll legally changed his name.