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==Personal life== Black was married four times and called off two engagements. Three of her marriages ended in divorce, while the fourth lasted nearly 30 years and ended only at death. She became pregnant the first time she had sex, with her boyfriend Charles Black.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=161}} He was 18; she was 15.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=161}} They were driven to Alabama where they could marry with parental consent, then moved to [[Muncie, Indiana]], where Charles attended college.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=162}} Black had a [[miscarriage]], to her relief, but when she returned home, her father barred her from returning, so she drove back to Muncie.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=162}} The marriage was short-lived, although she retained Charles' surname, under which she would come to be credited throughout her career.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/karen-black-dead-at-74-1200576003/|last=Saperstein|first=Pat|title=Karen Black Dies at 74|date=August 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231213455/https://variety.com/2013/film/news/karen-black-dead-at-74-1200576003/|archive-date=December 31, 2013}}</ref> While a student at Northwestern University, Black began dating classmate Robert Benedetti.<ref name=la/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://karenblackactress.blogspot.com/2013/10/karen-and-nina.html|title=Karen and Nina|last=Eckelberry|first=Stephen|date=October 7, 2013|website=Karen Black: Diary of an Actress}}</ref> She got pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter on March 4, 1959.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=57}} She did not tell her parents about the pregnancy, and put her daughter up for [[adoption]] at birth;{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=162}} she reconnected with her in 2012.{{sfn|Bay|2022|pages=78β79}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.findingkarenblack.com/|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20201108185030/https://www.findingkarenblack.com/|url-status=dead|title=Karen Black |website=Findingkarenblack.com|archive-date=November 8, 2020|access-date=July 17, 2021}}</ref> [[File:Robert Burton and Karen Black.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|left|With Skip Burton, 1973]] Boyfriends during the 1960s included writer [[Henry Jaglom]] and actors [[Peter Kastner]] and [[Paul Sorvino]].<ref name="Guthmann"/><ref name="Marci">{{cite news|title=A kooky movie star flees status symbols for cluttered studio|date=October 7, 1972|first=Marci|last=McDonald|work=Toronto Star|page=4}}</ref> From 1971 to 1972, Black was engaged to music manager Peter Rachtman.<ref name="Marci"/> Rachtman's daughter [[Karyn Rachtman|Karyn]] would remain a lifelong friend, delivering a eulogy at Black's memorial service.<ref name="vimeo">[https://vimeo.com/75189301 Karen Black Memorial September 17th, 2013]. ''Vimeo''.</ref> On April 17, 1973, Black married actor Robert "Skip" Burton.{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=87}} They appeared together in the first segment of ''[[Trilogy of Terror]]'' (1975), but had separated by the time it premiered.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/09/karen-black |title=Karen Black obituary |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[Manchester]] |last=Gilbey |first=Ryan |date=August 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130811103253/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/09/karen-black |archive-date=August 11, 2013 |access-date=December 12, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tcm">{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=16780 |title=Overview for Karen Black |work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215120230/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/16780%7C91906/Karen-Black/|archive-date=December 15, 2016}}</ref> In January 1975, Black met screenwriter [[L. M. Kit Carson]] in Beverly Hills during an interview for ''[[Oui (magazine)|Oui]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065458,00.html|title=Wedding Bells in the Canyon: Karen Black Packs Up Her Joys in a Young Kit Carson|date=July 21, 1975|first=Barbara|last=Wilkins|work=People|archive-date=November 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123202758/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065458,00.html}}</ref> They married on July 4 of that year when she was pregnant with their son [[Hunter Carson|Hunter]].<ref name=guardian/> Black and Carson separated in 1980 and divorced in 1983.<ref name="guardian"/><ref name="tcm"/> In 1989, when Hunter was 13, he decided to live with his father and stepmother in Dallas; he did not see Black for a decade.<ref name="Guthmann" />{{sfn|Bay|2022|pages=99, 116}} In 1981, Black announced her engagement to [[Michael Raeburn]], who wrote the screenplay for her low-budget star vehicle ''[[Killing Heat]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marriage song|date=January 30, 1981|work=Evening Standard|page=6}}</ref> The two did not marry. Black's next significant relationship was with [[Paul Williams (director)|Paul Williams]], who directed her in 1982's ''Miss Right''.<ref name="Sharbutt"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Karen's Kind of Loving; The star who keeps her men busy!|date=October 7, 1984|first=Trudi|last=Pacter|work=Sunday Mirror|page=17}}</ref> [[File:Stephen Eckelberry and Karen Black with daughter Celine.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|With Stephen Eckelberry, circa 2005]] In August 1983, Black met her fourth husband, film editor Stephen Eckelberry, at a Scientology retreat in [[Clearwater, Florida]].<ref name="Guthmann"/> The couple married on September 27, 1987, and adopted a daughter, who acted with her parents in the film ''Movies Money Murder''.{{sfn|Bay|2022|p=59}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Karen Black's funny on screen and off|date=August 25, 1988|first=Rita|last=Zekas|work=Toronto Star|page=C1}}</ref> Black and Eckelberry remained married until her death in 2013. Fellow Scientologist actress [[Lee Purcell]] was Black's best friend for 43 years.<ref name="vimeo"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Tribute to Karen Black|date=August 11, 2013|first=Lee|last=Purcell|work=JerryMathers.com|url=https://www.jerrymathers.com/tribute-to-karen-black}}</ref> Other close friends included [[Harriet Schock]] and [[Angela Garcia Combs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Karen Black: Perfectly Misunderstood|date=August 13, 2013|first=Angela|last=Garcia Combs|work=The Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/karen-black-perfectly-mis_b_3750555}}</ref>
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