How many times was Heinlein married?

Three.

His first marriage was a brief one. Her name is Elinor Lea Curry. They were married on June 21, 1929 and they divorced during October 1930. Robert was in the Navy during their brief marriage. There is evidence of friction between the two almost from the beginning of their marriage. She had her own plans which were different from Robert’s.

The second marriage was to Leslyn MacDonald in 1932. They divorced in 1947. Despite her later problems with alcoholism, and the failure of their marriage, Leslyn was clearly an extraordinary woman, intelligent and talented. Her influence on Heinlein’s early works cannot be ignored. Robert tried to help her with no success. Her father was an alcoholic and had severe problems. When Robert recognized that she, too, was having problems he took her to a psychiatrist. It didn’t help.

Leslyn was born 29 Aug 1904 in Massachusetts and died 13 April 1981 in California. She remarried to a man named Mocabee. She had no children.

Heinlein’s third marriage was to Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld, called “Ginny”. They married in October 21, 1948 and shared what was considered by those who knew them to be an ideal marriage. Ginny Heinlein was born 22 April 1916 in New York and died 18 January 2003 in Florida. Ginny was, without doubt, the basis of many, if not most, of Heinlein’s strong, capable female characters, in particular Hazel Stone. Ginny was brilliant and perfect for Robert. A highly educated person she was the source of many ideas for his stories. She read them all before they were sent to his agent. She recommended changes and it is said that she had the story idea for Stranger in a Strange Land.