Josephine Burge is best known as the second wife of British actor Oliver Reed, whose memorable performances in Oliver!, The Devils, and Gladiator made him one of the most recognizable figures in British cinema. She married Reed on September 7, 1985, and remained his wife until his death in 1999.
Unlike her famous husband, Josephine did not establish a public career in entertainment. After Reed’s death, she remarried in Ireland in 2001 and continued living away from celebrity attention. Her story connects the personal life of a controversial film star with a quieter chapter that unfolded in County Cork.
Josephine Burge Biography: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Josephine Burge |
| Also known as | Josephine Reed |
| Birth year | Approximately 1963–1964 |
| Age in 2026 | Approximately 62–63 |
| Known for | Second wife of actor Oliver Reed |
| First husband | Oliver Reed (1985–1999) |
| Second husband | Walter Ryan-Purcell (married 2001) |
| First wedding location | Epsom, Surrey, England |
| Second wedding location | Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland |
| Last reliably documented region of residence | West Cork, Ireland |
Who Is Josephine Burge?
Josephine Burge became a recognizable name through her relationship with Oliver Reed, an actor celebrated for intense screen performances and frequently discussed for his unpredictable behavior away from film sets.
Her public biography differs considerably from Reed’s. While his professional achievements, television interviews, and personal controversies were regularly covered by newspapers, relatively few contemporary accounts focused on Josephine independently.
The most substantial records concerning her come from coverage of the couple’s 1985 wedding, Reed’s death in 1999, and her subsequent marriage in 2001.
These events establish an identifiable biographical timeline without relying on assumptions about her education, occupation, family background, or personal finances.
Josephine Burge’s Early Life and Background
Josephine’s childhood and upbringing have not been extensively documented in major contemporary publications.
Her approximate birth period can be established from historical reporting. A Reuters story published by the Los Angeles Times in September 1985 identified her as 21 years old. The Irish Examiner subsequently described her as 37 in 2001.
These reports place her birth around 1963 or 1964, although they do not establish an exact birthday.
Some biographical websites provide specific childhood addresses, educational histories, and family details. Such descriptions should not be treated as established without supporting records or credible firsthand accounts.
The clearest documented starting point for her public story is her relationship with Oliver Reed in 1980.
How Did Josephine Burge Meet Oliver Reed?
Josephine Burge and Oliver Reed began their relationship around 1980, approximately five years before their marriage.
At the time, Josephine was 16, while Reed was in his early 40s. The significant age difference attracted press attention and became a notable feature of contemporary coverage.
Reed was already established in the film industry. He had appeared in major productions including Oliver! (1968), Women in Love (1969), and The Three Musketeers (1973).
His professional reputation was accompanied by a highly publicized drinking habit and confrontational public appearances.
The couple’s relationship developed against that backdrop. By September 1985, they had decided to marry, turning a relationship previously discussed in the British press into a formal marriage.
Josephine Burge and Oliver Reed’s Wedding in 1985
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Josephine Burge married Oliver Reed on September 7, 1985, at a register office in Epsom, Surrey, England.
The wedding is particularly well documented. Reuters covered the ceremony shortly afterward, while photographs preserved by Getty Images confirm the couple’s identities, wedding location, and date.
The civil ceremony lasted approximately 10 minutes, according to the Reuters account published in the Los Angeles Times.
Josephine was 21 when they married, and Reed was more than two decades older.
For Reed, this was his second marriage. He had previously been married to Kate Byrne, with whom he had a son, Mark. He also had a daughter, Sarah, from his relationship with dancer Jacquie Daryl.
Josephine and Reed remained married for almost 14 years, until his death on May 2, 1999.
Married Life in Ireland
One of the most important developments in the couple’s later years was their move to County Cork, Ireland.
They established a home in Churchtown, a village in the northern part of the county.
The precise timing of their relocation varies among retrospective accounts, but contemporary Irish reporting confirms that they were living there during the 1990s.
Churchtown became closely associated with Reed’s final years. Despite his international acting career, he developed strong connections with the village and its residents.
His local social life continued to attract attention, particularly his visits to pubs and interactions with neighbors.
Josephine, meanwhile, was usually mentioned in connection with their shared home and family life rather than independent public activities.
Their years in Ireland became the final chapter of Reed’s personal life and one of the clearest geographical connections in Josephine’s biography.
Oliver Reed’s Death and Its Impact on Josephine Burge
Oliver Reed died on May 2, 1999, at age 61, while working on Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiator in Malta.
His death occurred during a break from filming and was attributed to a heart attack.
Reed had been playing Antonius Proximo, a former gladiator who becomes a trainer and trader of gladiators. Because his scenes were incomplete when he died, the production used existing footage, doubles, and visual effects to finish his performance.
The film was released in 2000, giving Reed one of his most widely recognized final screen appearances.
Following his death, arrangements were made to return his body to Ireland.
His funeral took place in County Cork in May 1999. The Irish Times reported that Josephine was among the family members attending the service, which drew friends and admirers of the actor.
Reed was buried in Churchtown, near the community where he had spent his final years.
For Josephine, his death ended a marriage that had begun in the mid-1980s and remained part of the actor’s life through his final production.
Did Josephine Burge Remarry After Oliver Reed’s Death?
Yes. Josephine Burge married Walter Ryan-Purcell on July 21, 2001, approximately two years after Oliver Reed’s death.
Ryan-Purcell was associated with a longstanding County Cork family estate and worked as a recycling factory manager at the time.
Their relationship was documented by the Irish Examiner in May 2001, when Ryan-Purcell discussed their forthcoming marriage.
He explained that they had met approximately 10 months after Reed’s death and that he had proposed during a visit to Glandore, a coastal village in West Cork.
The wedding was arranged to take place at his family’s ancestral property in Churchtown.
A subsequent Irish Examiner report published on the wedding date provided further details about the planned ceremony. The local priest, Father Patrick Joseph Twohig, described Josephine as a reserved person who wanted a relatively simple religious service.
Her remarriage is an important distinction in accounts of her life. Although she is frequently identified as Oliver Reed’s widow, she subsequently entered another marriage and established a new chapter in Ireland.
The 2001 wedding is supported by contemporary journalism rather than retrospective celebrity speculation.
Did Josephine Burge Have Children?
Oliver Reed had two children from relationships before his marriage to Josephine.
His son, Mark Reed, was born during his earlier marriage to Kate Byrne. His daughter, Sarah, was born from his relationship with Jacquie Daryl.
Contemporary biographies do not establish that Josephine and Oliver had biological children together.
Some later biographical accounts state that Josephine had two sons following her marriage to Walter Ryan-Purcell. However, the details of her later family life are not sufficiently established by the strongest contemporary sources examined for this article to provide a definitive family history.
Distinguishing Reed’s children from Josephine’s later family circumstances is important because online biographies sometimes combine those relationships inaccurately.
Where Is Josephine Burge Now?
Josephine Burge’s later life has remained largely outside entertainment journalism.
One useful account appeared in the Irish Independent in 2013, when Oliver Reed’s son Mark discussed his father and the family’s connection to Ireland.
Mark said that Josephine had remarried following his father’s death and was living in West Cork.
That statement provides a direct family connection to her later circumstances, rather than an unsupported claim about her whereabouts.
However, it does not establish her exact residence or current activities in 2026.
Recent online articles sometimes identify particular villages as her present home. Those claims should be distinguished from the geographically broader information supplied by Mark Reed.
Her personal circumstances today cannot be described in detail without more recent reliable documentation.
What Is Josephine Burge’s Net Worth?
There is no dependable public figure establishing Josephine Burge’s personal net worth.
Although she was married to a successful actor and later remarried into a family connected with property in Ireland, neither circumstance provides a reliable calculation of her individual wealth.
Financial estimates circulating on celebrity biography websites may combine assumptions about Reed’s earnings, inheritance, property ownership, and her second marriage.
Without dependable estate documentation or financial disclosures, attaching a particular dollar amount to her name would be misleading.
Her public biography is therefore best understood through documented family events and historical reporting, not speculative wealth estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Josephine Burge
1. Who is Josephine Burge?
Josephine Burge is best known as the second wife of British actor Oliver Reed. They married in September 1985 and remained together until Reed’s death in May 1999. She later married Walter Ryan-Purcell in Ireland.
2. How old is Josephine Burge in 2026?
Josephine Burge is approximately 62 or 63 years old in October 2026. Contemporary news reports described her as 21 in September 1985 and 37 in 2001. Her exact birth date has not been established from those sources.
3. Did Josephine Burge and Oliver Reed have children together?
There is no established contemporary record of the couple having biological children together. Oliver Reed had two children, Mark and Sarah, from earlier relationships.
4. Who did Josephine Burge marry after Oliver Reed?
She married Walter Ryan-Purcell on July 21, 2001, in Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. Their wedding was covered by the Irish Examiner.
5. Where does Josephine Burge live today?
Oliver Reed’s son Mark stated in a 2013 interview that Josephine lived in West Cork, Ireland. Her precise residence and day-to-day circumstances in 2026 have not been independently established.
6. What is Josephine Burge’s net worth?
Her net worth has not been reliably documented. Online estimates should not be treated as factual without credible financial records supporting them.
Conclusion
Josephine Burge’s biography is closely connected to Oliver Reed, but her life did not end with his death. Their 1985 marriage, years in County Cork, and his death in 1999 form the best-documented part of her story. Her marriage to Walter Ryan-Purcell in 2001 marked a significant new chapter.
While Reed’s career remains part of international film history, Josephine’s later life is known mainly through a smaller number of contemporary accounts and family references. Those records provide a clearer and more accurate portrait than the speculation often attached to celebrity biographies.
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