Editing Nat King Cole (section)

===Marriages and children===
[[File:Nat and Maria Cole 1951.jpg|thumb|Cole and his second wife, Maria, 1951]]
Cole met his first wife, Nadine Robinson, while they were on tour for the all-black Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along''. Cole was 18 when they married and she was the reason why he moved to Los Angeles and formed the Nat King Cole trio.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nat-king-cole-mn0000317093/biography |title=Nat King Cole&nbsp;— Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=May 16, 2015 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331114204/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nat-king-cole-mn0000317093/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948.<ref name="Gale">{{cite web|url=http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/cole_n.htm|title=Gale:Free Resources:Black History:Biographies: Nat King Cole|publisher=Gale|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-date=January 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126044640/http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/cole_n.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), six days after his divorce became final, Cole married singer [[Maria Cole|Maria Hawkins]]. The Coles were married in [[Harlem]]'s [[Abyssinian Baptist Church]] by [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]] They had five children: [[Natalie Cole|Natalie]] (1950–2015), who had a successful career as a singer before dying of congestive heart failure at age 65; an adopted daughter, [[Carole Cole|Carole]] (1944–2009, the daughter of Maria's sister), who died of [[lung cancer]] at the age of 64; an adopted son, Nat Kelly Cole (1959–1995), who died of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] at the age of 36;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=823550&apid=116271 |title=TCM |publisher=TCM |access-date=March 4, 2010}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and twin daughters, Casey and Timolin, born September 26, 1961. Maria supported Cole during his final illness and stayed with him until his death. In an interview, she emphasized his musical legacy and the class he exhibited despite his imperfections.<ref name="Gale"/>

[[File:natcuba.jpg|thumb|A bust of Nat King Cole in the [[Hotel Nacional de Cuba]]]]