Eddie Mekka’s Wife: Who He Was, Who His Spouse Was, and How Their Relationship Grew

Eddie Mekka is best known for playing Carmine “The Big Ragoo” Ragusa on Laverne & Shirley, but many fans are just as curious about the quieter parts of his life—especially who he married and what his relationships looked like away from TV. Here’s a clear, respectful look at who Eddie Mekka was, who his spouse was, and how his relationship story developed over time.

Who Is Eddie Mekka?

Eddie Mekka (1952–2021) was an American actor and performer who became widely recognized for his role as Carmine Ragusa on Laverne & Shirley. His character’s big personality, musical flair, and on-and-off romance with Shirley made him a memorable part of the show’s legacy.

Although that sitcom role is what most people remember first, Mekka’s career extended beyond one character. He worked in television, film, and stage performance, and he was often described as having strong musical-theater ability—something that shaped both the roles he took and the way audiences experienced him. Over the years, he kept working steadily, even as his personal life remained largely private.

Mekka died in November 2021 at age 69, and tributes at the time highlighted both his impact as a performer and the family he left behind.

Who Is Eddie Mekka’s Spouse?

Eddie Mekka was married twice.

His first marriage was to actress DeLee Lively. They were married from 1983 to 1992.

He later married Yvonne Marie Grace in 1994. They remained married until his death in 2021.

Eddie Mekka and Yvonne Marie Grace had one daughter together, named Mia.

How Their Relationship Developed

Eddie Mekka’s relationship story is easiest to understand in two chapters: an earlier marriage during a very public phase of his career, and a later marriage that became his long-term, more private family life.

First marriage: a relationship during his most visible years. Mekka married DeLee Lively in 1983, a period when his name recognition from television was high and his work life likely came with the demands that often follow a hit show—busy schedules, travel, and industry pressure. Their marriage lasted about nine years and ended in 1992.

Second marriage: a longer, quieter partnership. In 1994, Mekka married Yvonne Marie Grace. Compared with his earlier marriage, this relationship stayed largely out of entertainment headlines. That’s not unusual when a spouse is not in the public eye and the couple chooses not to turn personal life into a public narrative.

While detailed “how they met” stories aren’t widely documented in reliable public sources, the timeline itself tells you something meaningful: their marriage lasted for decades. From the outside, it reads as a steady partnership built away from the constant churn of publicity.

Family life as the center of the later years. The couple had a daughter, Mia, and reports at the time of Mekka’s death consistently emphasized that he was survived by his wife and daughter. That framing matters because it suggests what the public could see most clearly: that his later life wasn’t defined only by his most famous TV role, but also by the family he built and protected from the spotlight.

In short, Eddie Mekka’s first marriage to DeLee Lively took place during a highly visible stage of his career, while his second marriage to Yvonne Marie Grace became the longer chapter—one marked by privacy, longevity, and raising their daughter together.

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