Marlene Ramallo Chalmers was the fourth and last wife of Canadian-American businessman Jack Kent Cooke. Before marrying the businessman, she hit the headlines after she pleaded guilty to a drug case. Marlene met Jack Kent in the late 1980s, and they started dating before marrying in May 1990. When they married, Marlene Ramallo Chalmers was 37, and her husband Cooke was 40 years her senior.
Marlene and Jack Cooke divorced in 1993; Jack divorced her after she made headlines for drunk driving. They remarried two years later and were together until Jack died in 1997. Marlene’s husband died from congestive heart failure at George Washington University Hospital. He was 84 at the time of his death, and most of his wealth went to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Life Before Meeting Jack Kent Cooke
Marlene Ramallo Chalmers was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She moved to the United States in 1975 and lived with her mother. Marlene then met Angel Miguens, who was involved in criminal activities, and that is how she started working with drug dealers. Besides her involvement in drug trafficking, Marlene worked as an instructor at Spa Lady in Alexandria, Virginia.
Regarding her love life, Marlene first married David Chalmers, an oil executive; their marriage was not great as they often quarreled due to David’s infidelity. David and Marlene Chalmers had two children but separated due to his infidelity.
Law Encounters
In the 1980s, Marlene Ramallo Chalmers helped drug dealers smuggle drugs from Bolivia to the United States. In 1986, she was arrested in connection with a drug-trafficking case; she decided to cooperate with law enforcers and gave information on major drug distributors. She pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to six months in prison; however, she served close to four months.
In 1988, Suzanne Martin Cooke, Jack Kent’s third wife, filed a lawsuit against Marlene Ramallo Chalmers after she failed to repay the five thousand dollars she had borrowed from her to cover her cosmetic surgery. She was also arrested after writing fake checks to a cosmetic shop in the same year. The charges were dismissed.
Marlene Ramallo Chalmers was also arrested in 1990 for drunk driving, which was the reason for her divorce from her husband, Jack Kent Cooke.
Marlene was Left Out of Her Husband’s Will
Marlene Ramallo Chalmers was left out of her husband’s will in 1997. She filed a lawsuit against the Jack Kent Cooke Estate, and she received 20 million dollars in 1998. Marlene Chalmers was not the only one who was left out of the will, Suzanne was left out of it, but she didn’t file a lawsuit.
Where is Marlene Ramallo Chalmers Now?
After her husband’s death, Marlene Chalmers lived a private life, and little is known about her. It is unclear if she is remarried or if she is probably spending time with her kids and grandchildren. She only made it to the headlines in late 1997 when she filed a lawsuit against her late husband’s estate; otherwise, she is leading a private life.