Sonny Barger’s Wife Zorana Katzakian: Marriages, Family, and His Final Years Explained
If you’re searching for Sonny Barger’s wife, you’re usually trying to confirm one thing: who was he married to at the end of his life, and what’s the real timeline behind the names that pop up online. Sonny Barger’s final wife was Zorana Katzakian (often referred to as Zorana Barger after marriage). They married in 2005 and remained together until his death in 2022. His life before that included three earlier marriages—one ending in tragedy and two ending in divorce—long before he became the most recognizable face associated with the Hells Angels.
Who Was Sonny Barger?
Ralph Hubert “Sonny” Barger was one of the most famous figures in American biker history, best known as a founding member of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and a longtime public symbol of outlaw biker culture. Over decades, he became a larger-than-life character in the public imagination—part club leader, part author, part speaker, and part lightning rod for controversy.
Because his name carries so much cultural weight, people often forget something simple: he also had a private life with real relationships, real consequences, and real long stretches that never played out like a movie. When you look up his wife, you’re looking for that human layer behind the myth.
Sonny Barger’s Wife: Zorana Katzakian
Sonny Barger’s wife at the time of his death was Zorana Katzakian. After they married, she was commonly known as Zorana Barger. This is the marriage most people mean when they ask “who is Sonny Barger’s wife,” because it was his final marriage and the one that lasted through his later years.
Zorana is often described in public profiles as someone who shared his love of motorcycles and the lifestyle that came with it, but she was not presented as a constant public celebrity figure. Their relationship wasn’t built around red carpets or mainstream fame. It was a partnership that existed alongside his health challenges, his later-life relocation, and the realities of aging with a very intense public history behind him.
When Did Sonny Barger Marry Zorana?
Sonny Barger married Zorana on June 25, 2005. They remained married until he died on June 29, 2022. That time span matters because it covers his later-life chapter, including the period when he had already survived major health battles and was living more outside the day-to-day center of California’s public spotlight.
When you see the same date repeated across biographies, that’s usually a sign it’s one of the more reliable anchor points in his personal timeline. In this case, it helps you separate the confirmed facts from the internet’s tendency to blur his marriages together.
Was Zorana Sonny Barger’s Only Wife?
No. Zorana was his fourth wife. Sonny Barger was married four times:
1) Elsie Mae George (his first wife, who died in 1967)
2) Sharon Gruhlke (married in 1973; later divorced)
3) Beth Noel Black (later divorced)
4) Zorana Katzakian (married 2005; remained married until his death)
If you’ve ever felt confused reading different names, that’s because many short bio pages list “wife” without explaining that there were multiple marriages. Once you know there were four, the puzzle becomes much easier to read.
His First Marriage: Elsie Mae George
Sonny Barger’s first wife was Elsie Mae George. This part of his story is often described in stark terms because it ended tragically. Elsie died in 1967, and biographies commonly state her death followed complications after an illegal abortion.
This marriage is sometimes treated like a footnote online, but it’s not a small detail. It’s one of those early-life events that can shape a person’s worldview, relationships, and emotional wiring—especially in a time period when women’s health care options were far more limited and far more dangerous than many people realize today.
His Second Marriage: Sharon Gruhlke
After his first marriage ended in tragedy, Sonny later began a relationship with Sharon Gruhlke. They married in 1973, and the marriage later ended in divorce.
This relationship is often discussed in the context of his legal troubles and the turbulent years when he was deeply embedded in the most intense public and law-enforcement attention surrounding the club. When people try to map his life like a timeline, the Sharon marriage tends to sit in that earlier “high heat” era—when his name was frequently associated with controversy and his personal life was under pressure from the consequences of how he lived.
His Third Marriage: Beth Noel Black
Sonny Barger’s third wife was Beth Noel Black (often referred to as Beth Noel Barger during the marriage). Biographical sources commonly state that the marriage ended in divorce.
This part of his personal history is also where many biographies mention serious domestic incidents and legal consequences. It’s an ugly chapter, and it’s also part of the reason many people choose to focus on the facts of “who he married” rather than trying to romanticize his relationships. When your life is intensely public and intensely controversial, relationships can become both deeply personal and painfully exposed at the same time.
If you’re writing about Sonny Barger’s wife today, it’s best to keep this section factual and restrained: the third marriage ended, and the fourth marriage is the one that lasted through his final years.
Did Sonny Barger Have Children?
One of the most surprising facts for many people is that Sonny Barger is widely reported to have had no biological children. He did, however, have a stepdaughter during one of his marriages, and some biographies mention family relationships through marriage rather than through biological parenthood.
This detail is important because casual internet summaries sometimes imply he had children simply because he was such a prominent figure. Prominent doesn’t automatically mean “large family,” and in his case, the most consistent public record points to no biological children.
Where Sonny and Zorana Lived in His Later Years
In later life, Sonny Barger lived in Arizona for health-related reasons, according to many biographical summaries. That move shaped his final years in a practical way: it changed the environment around him, the daily routines, and how public his life felt compared to earlier decades.
For a figure like Barger, location matters. California is central to his public legend, but Arizona is where much of the later chapter played out—health battles, a slower pace, and a marriage that lasted through the realities of aging.
Sonny Barger’s Health and the Final Chapter
Sonny Barger survived significant health issues over the years, including throat cancer that dramatically affected his voice and public appearance. Later, he also faced additional serious illness. He died in June 2022, with public reporting commonly attributing the cause to cancer after what was described as a relatively short final decline.
This context matters because it frames what his final marriage likely looked like day-to-day. When someone has major health problems, the marriage becomes less about public identity and more about care, routine, medical appointments, and emotional stamina. It’s the unglamorous kind of partnership that doesn’t trend online, but it’s the kind that defines real life.
Quick Facts
- Final wife: Zorana Katzakian (Zorana Barger)
- Married: June 25, 2005
- Marriage lasted until: June 29, 2022 (his death)
- Number of marriages: Four
- Biological children: None publicly documented
Featured Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/17/sonny-barger-obituary
