Who Was Alan Rickman's Wife At The Time Of His Death?

Beloved actor Alan Rickman was best known for his role as "Severus Snape" in the 'Harry Potter' films from 2001 to 2011, as well as for his portrayal of "Grigori Rasputin" in HBO's 1996 hit TV film 'Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'.

Sadly, the London native died on January 14, 2016, following a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis, which he had shared to his closest friends, relatives only.

Rickman, who was 69 at the time of his death, was cremated in February that year in the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green.

At the time, he was married to Rima Horton. His ashes were given to her.

But who was the woman that was by Alan Rickman's side when he passed? 

Rima Elizabeth Horton was born on January 31, 1947, in London, England. She is a former Labour Party politician, who from 1986 to 2006 served as member of the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council.

Rima is also a retired English academic, who worked as an economics lecturer at Kingston upon Thames, London's Kingston University. 

How did Alan Rickman and Rima Horton meet? Let's travel back in time.

The actor and the academic met in 1965, when he was 19 and she was 18. They started dating in the 1970's, keeping their relationship pretty much under the radar.

Time went by and it was in the year 2015 when the 'Harry Potter' cast member revealed that they had tied the knot in New York City, in a 2012 private wedding ceremony! The pair never had children.

In a 1991 interview with 'USA Today', Alan Rickman gushed about his then-girlfriend, explaining why they were not married at the time.

He said: "I think every relationship should be allowed to have its own rules." Secret to staying together? She's tolerant. She's incredibly tolerant. Unbelievably tolerant. Possibly a candidate for sainthood."

It is now known that the pair lived together from 1977 until Alan Rickman's 2016 death.

The 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' actor kept a diary, where he documented part of his personal life and professional career, between 1994 and 2015.

Following his death, Rima published some of her late husband's most significant entries, obatined by 'The Guardian', with her writing a couple paragraphs as well, mostly on Rickman's battle with cancer.

One of them read: "Alan’s last diary entry was on 12 December, but he had been getting weaker and writing less for some time. All through the autumn he was eating less and often feeling sick. But we continued to do most of the things that had always been part of our life. We saw films and plays, met friends, went out to dinner or entertained at home. Alan also spent a lot of time watching TV – his two favourite programmes at that time were 'Don’t Tell the Bride' and 'Say Yes to the Dress'. Our trip to New York in November was very important. To stay in our flat again and see so many of the friends who had meant so much to us over the years. Alan loved New York."

Over the past years, Rima Horton, who turned 77 in 2024, has spoken with a number of outlets about the life and times of her late husband.

For instance, in a 2022 interview with 'BBC', along with Alan's longtime friend and 'Love Actually', 'Harry Potter' co-star Emma Thompson, Rima revealed that her and Alan's Zodiac signs contributed to the success of their marriage.

After being asked whether she used to calm the actor during challenging moments, she said: "I think I did have that role in his life of keeping him, I suppose stabilized, because Alan was a classic Piscis, swimming in two directions at once, and so I think becuase I'm an Aquarian I was quite a good balance to that."