Simon Le Bon - Personal Life

Personal Life

In the early 1980s, Simon was engaged to his then longtime girlfriend, model-turned-actress Claire Stansfield. While still with Claire, Le Bon wooed young fashion model Yasmin Parvaneh after seeing her face in a magazine and phoning her modeling agency to track her down, even as magazines speculated on a possible wedding with Stansfield. Simon and Yasmin married on 27 December 1985. After Yasmin suffered two miscarriages, the couple has three daughters: Amber Rose Tamara Le Bon (born August 25, 1989 - a model like her mother), Saffron Sahara (born September 25, 1991) and Tallulah Pine (born September 10, 1994). The family, along with their dogs, a Pug named Luigi, a Chihuahua named Tinka and a Boston Terrier named Cecil, live in Putney, South West London.

While Duran Duran was on hiatus in 1985, Le Bon drew media attention when his maxi yacht, Drum, lost his keel and capsized during the Fastnet race, just off Falmouth, along the southern coast of Cornwall. Before being rescued, Le Bon and other crew members were trapped underwater, inside the hull, for forty minutes. They were all rescued by the Royal Navy, using a Search and Rescue helicopter from 771 Naval Air Squadron based near Helston. The rescue earned the Rescue Diver, POACMN L Slater, a George Medal. Despite the accident, Le Bon and Drum went on to participate in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, coming in third overall in elapsed time. Le Bon and his partners eventually sold Drum; the events surrounding Drum and the races were chronicled in a 1989 movie entitled Drum – The Journey Of A Lifetime and the book One Watch at a Time written by Drum's skipper, Skip Novak. It was Le Bon's participation in the Whitbread that led to the phrase rock star sailor.

Twenty years after his accident, in 2005, Le Bon made public his desire to race again. During a touring hiatus in August 2005, Le Bon again raced 'Drum' in the Fastnet race, borrowing the vessel from her current owner (the Scottish multi car garage owner Sir Arnold Clark) to participate, and raising funds for the RNLI charity. Le Bon had to leave the race unfinished, as light winds were slowing 'Drum' (and 'Drum's' competitors), and would have delayed the boat's arrival at Plymouth, interfering with Le Bon's obligation to perform in Japan.

In 2009 Le Bon (who describes himself as a "concerned agnostic") contributed an essay to the book The Atheist's Guide to Christmas, edited by Ariane Sherine.

Le Bon injured his vocal cords and was unable to finish his 2011 summer tour. He remarked, "I am trying to be philosophical."

In a 2011 interview with New York, Le Bon stated that he currently enjoys the bands Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, and 30 Seconds to Mars—all of which Le Bon cites as having a similar "feathers-and-mascara" image.

Le Bon is a supporter of Manchester United.