Rupert Murdoch: media tycoon engaged to Elena Zhukova - marriages and relationships explained

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has become engaged to retired Russian molecular biologist Elena Zhukova.

According to reports, Murdoch, 92, and Zhukova, 67, had been dating for several months before their engagement was confirmed after meeting at a party hosted by Murdoch's ex-wife, entrepreneur Wendi Deng. The couple reportedly began dating shortly after Murdoch called off his previous engagement to former police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith in April 2023.

According to The New York Times, Murdoch an Zhukova have already set a date for June and have sent invitations out. The marriage will be Murdoch's fifth, and his sixth engagement overall.

The businessman was first married to Patricia Booker, a former flight attendant from his home city of Melbourne, Australia, from 1956 until 1967. Shortly after his marriage to Booker was dissolved, Murdoch married Scottish-born Anna Torv in 1967, who had been working at the Sydney Newspaper which he owned when they met.

Torv and Murdoch would be married from 1967 until 1999, with the couple welcoming three children - Elizabeth Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch. Only 17 days after their divorce was finalised, the then 68-year-old Murdoch married Wendi Deng, a 30-year-old Yale graduate and the vice-president of the Murdoch-owned STAR TV.

Murdoch and Deng would go on to have two children together - Grace and Chloe. Their marriage lasted from 1999 until 2013. In 2016, the Australian businessman became engaged to then 59-year-old former model and actress Jerry Hall. The couple married during a ceremony in March 2016, only a week short of his 85th birthday. However, the marriage would only survive until 2022.

Murdoch proposed to Ann Lesley Smith in 2023, after meeting at Deng's event in September 2022. The couple were only engaged for two weeks before it was called off, with Murdoch reportedly becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Smith's outspoken evangelical views.

Murdoch recently stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corps last year. He had launched the hugely popular US news networks Fox News in 1996, with News Corp launching in 2013 and Murdoch remaining the owner of hundreds of media outlets through the organisation.

Zhukova had previously been married to Russian oil tycoon and billionaire Alexander Zhukov. The couple's daughter, Dasha, was married to Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich until 2017.