Celebrity
Jill Diven: Brad Garrett's First Wife, 1999 to 2007
Jill Diven was Brad Garrett's wife from 1999 to 2007. His Wikipedia entry records that marriage, the divorce, and his later remarriage in 2021.
Illustrative portrait representing Madison Scarpino, Fox News national correspondent and Ole Miss graduate.
Jill Diven is known publicly for one reason. She was married to Brad Garrett, the stand-up comedian and actor best known for playing Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. His Wikipedia entry records their marriage in 1999 and their divorce in 2007. The same entry records his marriage to IsaBeall Quella in 2021, which places Jill Diven first in a list of two. Beyond those dates, Jill Diven has no documented public profile of her own. This article covers what a cited source supports and marks the rest as unverified.
Quick Profile
Detail | Information |
|---|---|
Known for | Being the first wife of Brad Garrett |
Married | 1999 |
Divorced | 2007 |
Length of marriage | Eight years |
Ex-husband | Brad Garrett |
Ex-husband's occupation | Stand-up comedian and actor |
Ex-husband born | April 14, 1960, in Oxnard, California |
Best known role of her husband | Robert Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond |
Marriages recorded for him | Two |
His later marriage | IsaBeall Quella, married 2021 |
Children attributed to him | Two |
Her own documented career | None recorded |
Her own interview record | None |
Every figure above comes from Brad Garrett's Wikipedia entry. Nothing in the table describes a public role belonging to Jill Diven.
Who is Jill Diven?
Jill Diven is an ex-wife of American actor Brad Garrett. Brad Garrett played Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. That role is the reason Jill Diven appears in search results at all. His entry records their marriage in 1999.
It also records their divorce in 2007. That marriage therefore lasted eight years. No separate Wikipedia page exists for Jill Diven. No agency profile, credit or interview record was found for her.
Where biography pages describe her interests or her daily life, those pages cite nothing. The documented position is that Jill Diven was married to Brad Garrett between 1999 and 2007. That is the whole of it, and it is attributable.
Who is Brad Garrett?
Brad Garrett was born Brad H. Gerstenfeld on April 14, 1960. His birthplace is recorded as Oxnard, California. His parents are named as Barbara and Alvin "Al" Gerstenfeld. He is Jewish, and his grandparents were from Russia and Poland.
He has two brothers, recorded as Jeff and Paul. Garrett attended George Ellery Hale Middle School in Los Angeles. He graduated from El Camino Real High School. Both schools sit in the Woodland Hills section of the city.
Garrett also attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He stayed less than two months before leaving to pursue comedy. His occupations are listed as stand-up comedian and actor. His years as active begin in 1980 and continue to the present.
What was Brad Garrett's breakthrough?
It came through a televised talent competition in 1984. Brad Garrett won the comedy category on the show Star Search. He was the first grand champion winner in that comedy category. The prize was one hundred thousand dollars.
That win led directly to his national television debut. He appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He was twenty-three years old when he made that appearance. He is described as one of the youngest comedians to perform there.
Before Star Search, his career was built in Los Angeles comedy clubs. In the early 1980s he performed stand-up at several of them. The named venues include The Improv in Hollywood. They also include The Ice House in Pasadena.
Before comedy, he was known for an album cover. He appeared on the rear cover of Discovery by the Electric Light Orchestra. That record was the band's eighth studio album and came out in 1979.
Who did Brad Garrett open for?
His entry records a long list of opening acts. He opened for Diana Ross and for Liza Minnelli. He also opened for Frank Sinatra and for David Copperfield. Further names include Smokey Robinson and Sammy Davis Jr.
He also opened for the Beach Boys and the Righteous Brothers. The final name recorded is Julio Iglesias. That list is unusual for a stand-up biography of this kind. It also shows how long Brad Garrett has been working.
His listed years as active begin in 1980. The Tonight Show appearance came in 1984, four years later. His television work continued from that point without a long break.
What television work did he do?
His first sustained television role was in animation. From 1985 to 1986 he voiced Hulk Hogan in a cartoon series. That series was titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. His entry notes that the voice resembled Rodney Dangerfield's.
An animated role in the mid 1980s is an unusual early credit. It came before the sitcom role he is best known for. Brad Garrett later played Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. He also wrote for the Brad Garrett Show, which he hosted.
His comedy style is described on the same page. The listed genres are observational and prop comedy. Improvisational, insult comedy and satire are listed as well. The listed subjects cover American politics and American culture.
Marriage and family are on that list too. Human interaction and social awkwardness are also named. Gender differences and current events complete the list.
Why do biography pages describe so much more?
Because they write to a search volume rather than to a record. Jill Diven has a surname that carries measurable search interest. That interest comes almost entirely from her marriage to Brad Garrett. Pages targeting that interest need length to compete.
Length without a source becomes invented detail. Common additions include a full birth date for Jill Diven. Pages also give a height, a hometown and a school. They describe hobbies and describe a described father-daughter dynamic.
They sometimes describe a public appearance she is said to have made. None of that is carried by a citable source. Where those pages contradict each other, the contradiction is visible. That is the clearest sign the content was generated rather than reported.
The rule applied here is simple. A claim is stated only if a source carries it. Everything else is named as unverified rather than repeated.
How many times has Brad Garrett been married?
His entry records two marriages. Jill Diven is the first of them. They married in 1999 and divorced in 2007. His second marriage is to IsaBeall Quella.
That marriage is recorded as beginning in 2021. This matters because it bounds the claim being made here. Jill Diven was not Brad Garrett's only wife, and stating that plainly is more accurate. She was the first, and her marriage to him ran for eight years.
The entry also records two children for Brad Garrett. It does not attach those children to a specific marriage. So this article does not attach them to Jill Diven either.
What does Brad Garrett's own biography record?
His entry is unusually detailed for a stand-up performer. The early life section names his parents and his two brothers. It names the two schools he attended in Los Angeles. It records that he left UCLA after less than two months.
The career section names the clubs he performed at. It names the television competition that made him nationally known. It names the artists he opened for, one by one. That level of detail is what makes Jill Diven's lack of detail visible.
When a subject is well documented, absence elsewhere means something. Here it means no public record was ever created for Jill Diven. It does not mean the marriage did not matter to anyone. It means only that no document of it survives.
Is there any record of Jill Diven's own work?
No credit, no profile and no interview were located. A search for her name returns the pages about her marriage. Those pages carry the same dates his entry carries. None of them adds a sourced fact about her.
A production credit would be the normal trace for someone in film. An agency listing would be the normal trace for someone in television. A byline would be the normal trace for someone who writes. None of those exist for Jill Diven under her own name.
So the answer to whether she worked is not documented either way. It is safer to say no record was found than to say she never worked.
How should the eight years be described?
Simply, and with the dates attached. The marriage is recorded from 1999 to 2007. Brad Garrett was an established working performer throughout that period. His stand-up career was active and his television work continued.
No source describes what Jill Diven did during those years. No source describes where the marriage took place. No source describes a wedding, an announcement or a separation. The record is silent on all of it.
That silence is the reason this article does not narrate the marriage. It can state that it happened and when it ended. It cannot state how it began or what it was like.
Tisha Taylor Murphy and Charlie Battles are other first spouses profiled here. Bryan Spies, Abigail Hawk's husband, is a third.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jill Diven? Jill Diven is known as the first wife of Brad Garrett. He is a stand-up comedian and actor who played Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. His Wikipedia entry records their marriage in 1999 and their divorce in 2007.
When did Jill Diven and Brad Garrett marry? Brad Garrett's Wikipedia entry records 1999 as their marriage year. It records 2007 as the year of their divorce. That gives the marriage a length of eight years.
How long were Jill Diven and Brad Garrett married? Eight years. Brad Garrett's entry records the marriage beginning in 1999. It records the divorce in 2007. That places the end roughly eight years after the start.
Is Jill Diven Brad Garrett's only wife? No. Brad Garrett's entry records two marriages. Jill Diven is the first, from 1999 to 2007. His second marriage is to IsaBeall Quella, recorded as beginning in 2021.
Did Jill Diven appear in television or film? No credit was found for her. Brad Garrett's entry records his own work and lists Jill Diven only as a spouse. No agency profile, production credit or published interview was located for Jill Diven during research.
Do Jill Diven and Brad Garrett have children? That cannot be confirmed. Brad Garrett's entry records two children for him. It does not attach them to a particular marriage, so this article does not claim they are Jill Diven's children.
Conclusion
The documented record for Jill Diven is three facts and one source.
She was married to Brad Garrett between 1999 and 2007.
Brad Garrett is the actor who played Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond.
His entry records those dates, and it records a second marriage in 2021.
Everything else in circulation adds a birth date, a height, a school or an appearance.
None of that carries a source, and none can be checked against a record.
Brad Garrett's own background is well documented, and it is documented here.
His early life in Oxnard, his schools and his UCLA departure are recorded.
His 1984 Star Search win and his Tonight Show appearance are recorded too.
That contrast is the honest shape of this subject.
The man has a biography. The marriage has dates.
Jill Diven has neither a career record nor an interview, and this article does not pretend otherwise.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
The questions readers search for most on this topic.
Who is Jill Diven?
Jill Diven is known as the first wife of Brad Garrett. He is a stand-up comedian and actor who played Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. His Wikipedia entry records their marriage in 1999 and their divorce in 2007.
When did Jill Diven and Brad Garrett marry?
Brad Garrett's Wikipedia entry records 1999 as their marriage year. It records 2007 as the year of their divorce. That gives the marriage a length of eight years.
How long were Jill Diven and Brad Garrett married?
Eight years. Brad Garrett's entry records the marriage beginning in 1999. It records the divorce in 2007. That places the end roughly eight years after the start.
Is Jill Diven Brad Garrett's only wife?
No. Brad Garrett's entry records two marriages. Jill Diven is the first, from 1999 to 2007. His second marriage is to IsaBeall Quella, recorded as beginning in 2021.
Did Jill Diven appear in television or film?
No credit was found for her. Brad Garrett's entry records his own work and lists Jill Diven only as a spouse. No agency profile, production credit or published interview was located for Jill Diven during research.
Do Jill Diven and Brad Garrett have children?
That cannot be confirmed. Brad Garrett's entry records two children for him. It does not attach them to a particular marriage, so this article does not claim they are Jill Diven's children.
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