What happened to Nerine Kidd? William Shatner lost third wife in tragic accident 

Actor William Shatner, who was previously married to actress Nerine Kidd until her tragic death in 1999, has been hospitalized. According to TMZ, the "Star Trek" actor was allegedly hospitalized earlier this week, on Wednesday, following a health scare. Back in 1999, his third wife Nerine Kidd drowned in the couple's swimming pool, and her cause of death was later determined to be "drowning associated with neck trauma."

William Shatner, who is 94 years old, was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday following a medical issue related to his blood sugar. He later released a statement saying "I over indulged. I thank you all for caring but I’m perfectly fine." Despite some news sources claiming he was hospitalized, his agency, on the other hand, have denied the rumors, according to ABC7.

More about actress Nerine Kidd and her tragic passing, as William Shatner is reported to have been allegedly hospitalized

Actress Nerine Kidd was married to William Shatner from 1997 until her tragic death in August 1999. This was Shatner's third marriage. He was previously married to actress Gloria Rand from 1956 to 1969, and later married Marcy Lafferty in 1973, with whom he remained until their divorce in 1996.

He met his third wife, Nerine Kidd, with whom he had a twenty-eight-year age difference, in 1994 on the set of the TV show, "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues." The couple later started dating and tied the knot in November 1997. According to her IMDB profile, Nerine Kidd had appeared in movies such as "Artificial Paradise," and "A Twist in The Tale," among others.

On August 9, 1999, Nerine Kidd was found facedown in the swimming pool of the couple's home in Los Angeles. According to reports, the Emmy nominated actor was not at home when the incident took place. Emergency services were later called, after which she was declared dead. An investigation was soon launched to understand the exact cause of her passing, and it was later determined to be "accidental."

According to People Magazine, at the time of her death Nerine Kidd's blood alcohol level was at 0.28 percent, which was three times more than the state-approved limit. She also had traces of Valium in her system. Moreover, the autopsy report suggested that Nerine, who was known to have struggled with alcoholism, must have fallen face down into the pool while intoxicated, leading to injuries and a broken neck.

After Nerine Kidd's untimely death at the age of forty, William Shatner later opened up about the incident in his autobiography, "Live Long And What I have Learned Along The Way." An excerpt obtained by Radar Online, read:

"My grief was overwhelming. This was the type of pain that makes you think either I’m simply going to die or I’m going to kill myself. I found her in our pool and lifted her out of the water. The emergency responders rushed to the house, but there was nothing that could be done. I saw her body lying there in the moonlight.”

In an interview with National Enquirer soon after the incident, William Shatner also revealed about how he had tried to help Nerine Kidd deal with her alcoholism by hiding the bottles of alcohol around their house.

In a 2008 interview with The Sunday Morning Herald, William Shatner, who had previously dedicated a song from his 2004 album to Nerine, further highlighted her struggles. He said:

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"Leonard Nimoy telephoned me just before I married Nerine. He said just one sentence, ‘Bill, you do know that Nerine is an alcoholic.’ I’m not sure what Leonard expected me to say. ‘I know she is,’ I told him. ‘But I love her.’ Leonard didn’t speak for a minute and then he said, sadly, ‘Well, Bill, then you are in for a rough ride’.”

After her death, the "Boston Legal" actor later established the Nerine Shatner Foundation to help other women facing similar struggles as the actress recover. According to The New York Post, the couple were in the process of separating at the time of the incident. He later married Elizabeth Anderson Martin in 2001, and the couple were together for twenty years until their divorce in 2020.

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