During 1993, a number of people marked milestones.
Several high-profile couples got married:
On Dec. 20, starlet Marla Maples, 30, finally got developer Donald Trump, 47, to the alter in Manhattan. Their daughter, Tiffany, had been born Oct. 13.
Shannen Doherty, the bad girl from the Fox Network's "Beverly Hills 90210" series, was thrown off the show. Just weeks before, on Sept. 24, Doherty, 22, had married Ashley Hamilton, 19, the son of actor George Hamilton. They had been dating for two weeks. People magazine described the event as a "spur-of-the-moment, no-parents-invited, B.Y.O.B. wedding."
In a far more sedate and traditional ceremony, Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito married a commoner, Masako Owada, 29, on the grounds of the imperial palace in Tokyo. An estimated 800 million people watched on television. Owada, a Harvard and Oxford trained diplomat, was expected to bring changes to the staid court life of the imperial palace.
Some famous couples also split apart during 1993.
Burt Reynolds, 57, announced that he was getting a divorce from Loni Anderson, 47, after five years of marriage. He said she was a money-grubbing gold digger. She said he cheated. He said she did it first.
On June 28, Buckingham Palace announced that an agreement for a legal separation had been reached between Andrew, Duke of York, and his duchess, the former Sara Ferguson. Under the agreement, their two children, Princess Eugenie, 3, and Princess Beatrice, 4, will live with their mother.
In more news about the royals, Princess Diana, who separated last year from Prince Charles, announced Dec. 3 that she was curtailing her public appearances in an attempt to have a private life.
Actor Ted Danson, 45, divorced his wife of 16 years in 1993 and took up with actress Whoopi Goldberg. They stirred controversy in October when he appeared in black face at a roast for her at the Friars Club. She said she was not offended and had even written some of the jokes, but the relationship apparently suffered. A short time later, they announced they were no longer an item.
On Oct. 7, Toni Morrison, the author of "Beloved", was awarded the Nobel prize in literature. She was the eighth woman and the first black woman to win the coveted award.
In her acceptance speech, Morrison talked about the power of words. Observers said it was a prose poem and the most eloquent and moving acceptance speech since one by William Faulkner in 1950.
And in another milestone, Alistair Cooke stepped down as host of the PBS program "Masterpiece Theater". New York Times columnist Russell Baker took his place.
