Personal Life
White gives few interviews and reveals few details of his private life. He states that he does not consider it relevant to his art, saying "It's the same thing as asking Michelangelo, 'What kind of shoes do you wear?'...In the end, it doesn't really matter ... the only thing that's going to be left is our records and photos."
A topic of intrigue has been the actual relationship between Jack and Meg White. In early interviews, the pair presented themselves as siblings, two of ten. The Flaming Lips touch on this in their song "Thank You Jack White (for the Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" released on their 2003 EP Fight Test. However, the Detroit Free Press produced copies of both a marriage license and divorce certificate, confirming Jack and Meg's history as a married couple. Neither addresses the truth officially and over time, they have become less verbal about the origins of their relationship. Jack White has said, though, that siblings are "mated for life", thus such relationships distract less from the music. Jack mentions them being brother and sister in the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights. In the early 1990s, Meg White worked as a bartender at Memphis Smoke, a bar in downtown Royal Oak (a Detroit suburb), where she first met Jack, then still known under his original surname 'Gillis'. They were married on September 21, 1996 and were divorced on March 24, 2000. Jack took her last name.
White is often referred to as eccentric. For instance, he has an obsession with the number three. On November 7, 2005, it was widely reported that White had changed his name to "Three Quid" (quid is British slang for pound sterling). However, most reports indicated that this would only last until the end of the tour.
On December 13, 2003, White was involved in an altercation with Jason Stollsteimer, lead singer of The Von Bondies, at the Magic Stick, a Detroit club. White was charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault and battery, and was fined $750 (including court costs), and was sentenced to take anger management classes.
In 2003, White made his acting debut in Mutant Swinger from Mars, and had a brief but highly publicized romantic relationship with actress Renée Zellweger, whom he met during the filming of Cold Mountain. That summer, the couple were in a car accident in which White broke his left index finger and was forced to reschedule much of the summer tour. He posted the footage of his finger surgery on the web for fans. White and Zellweger's breakup became public in December 2004.
White met British model Karen Elson (twin sister of Kate Elson) when she appeared in The White Stripes music video for "Blue Orchid". The video's director, Floria Sigismondi, noted "you sensed an energy between them". They married on June 1, 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The wedding took place in a canoe on the Amazon River and was officiated by a shaman. A Roman Catholic priest later convalidated their marriage. Manager Ian Montone was the best man and Meg White was the maid of honor. Official wedding announcements stated that "it was the first marriage" for both. On May 2, 2006, the couple had a daughter, Scarlett Teresa White. Their second child, Henry Lee White, was born on August 7, 2007. The White family resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville, where Elson managed a vintage clothing store called Venus & Mars. The couple announced their divorce in June 2011, throwing a divorce party to celebrate their sixth anniversary and the "making and breaking of the sacred union of marriage," according to the invitation sent to guests. In a press statement, the couple vowed to remain "dear and trusted friends and co-parents." It is rumored that Karen Elson is "Mildred" of the Third Man Records produced album, "Mildred and The Mice".
In 2006, it was revealed in the Sunday Times Rich List that White and his British wife Elson had a joint fortune of at least £20 million (US$37 million). This ranked them at seventh place in the list of entertainers under age 30 who were born or live in the United Kingdom, ahead of the likes of Orlando Bloom and Kate Winslet.a
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