Who Is Frankie Avalon's Wife? All About Kathryn Diebel

Frankie Avalon and his wife of 60 years Kathryn Diebel share eight kids

Frankie Avalon has been married to his wife Kathryn Diebel since 1963.

When they tied the knot, Avalon was an up-and-coming singer with a few hit singles under his belt including “Venus” and “Why.” Meanwhile, Diebel had just been crowned a finalist in the annual Miss Rheingold Contest, a pageant similar to Miss America at the time.

Soon after their nuptials, Avalon’s movie career took off when he was cast in Beach Party alongside Annette Funicello. In the early ‘60s, the acting duo starred in a number of Beach Party spinoffs. However, Avalon is perhaps best known for portraying the role of Teen Angel in the 1978 musical Grease, famously serenading Frenchy with "Beauty School Dropout."

While Avalon was busy furthering his acting and singing career, he and Diebel were also busy expanding their family. Over the course of 10 years, the couple welcomed eight children together: four boys and four girls. Today, they’re also the proud grandparents of eight grandkids.

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“Raising eight children, my wife did a sensational job,” Avalon said of Diebel during an appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1997. The singer noted that Diebel had her hands full at home, especially when he was away on set or in the studio. “We didn’t have any help in the house or anything like that, so she did all the bathing and stuff by herself,” he added.

With all their kids grown and out of the house, the pair live a relatively quiet life. On Sundays, Avalon and Diebel cook up a big Italian spread for their family every weekend as a way to keep in touch and connect to their Italian roots.

So who is Frankie Avalon’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Kathryn Diebel and her relationship with the “Ginger Bread” singer.

They got married in 1963

Avalon married Diebel in an intimate wedding ceremony on Jan. 19, 1963. For her wedding dress, the bride donned a modest white gown with a fit and flare silhouette that she accented with a lace-sleeved overlay. Her finishing touches were a pillbox hat with a white tulle veil and white gloves.

Avalon, for his part, wore a black tuxedo with a silver tie. He and his groomsmen were photographed wearing ivory boutonnieres.

She is a mom of eight

Avalon and Diebel welcomed eight kids together: sons Frank Jr., Tony, Joseph and Nicolas, and daughters Dina, Laura, Kathryn and Carla. Since the birth of their children, Avalon and Diebel have worked hard to keep their family life out of the spotlight. Of their kids, Frank Jr. is the only one to follow in his father’s footsteps. His breakout role was in the original Karate Kid (1984) playing a character named Chucky. The rest of the Avalon children live private lives.

Frankie says the secret to their decades-long marriage is “love”

Ahead of their 53rd wedding anniversary in 2016, Avalon revealed the secret to his and Diebel’s “wonderful” marriage.

“You know, there’s this one word that really sums it up. It’s called love, and if you have that basic love then things that happen in a marriage — good, bad or indifferent — [it's fine] as long as you have that love,” the musician told Fox News. Avalon added that respect also goes a long way in a relationship, too.

“We’ve got a wonderful relationship,” Avalon said.

Their favorite pastime is Sunday night family dinners

For Avalon, it doesn’t get much better than making homemade pasta and meatballs for his family. In an interview with AZCentral, Avalon joked that his kids have a standing dinner reservation at his home on Sunday nights, but he and Diebel wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We are a very close family. I have eight children and 10 grandchildren, and they all live within 10 miles,” he said. “Most people who have children have one who’s in Idaho, one who’s in New York. We are very fortunate.”

While Sunday dinners originally began as a way to get the family regularly together, reinventing old family recipes eventually snowballed into Avalon writing his own cookbook.

“I want to keep that tradition going when I am out of this world,” Avalon told VC Star of their family-style Italian dinners. On the topic of his cookbook, Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook: From Mom’s Kitchen to Mine and Yours, he added: “Now my kids and grandkids have got this piece of material they can refer to.”

She and Frankie still attend red carpets together

Much like her husband, Diebel loves a musical. In November 2005, the pair made a red carpet appearance at the opening night of Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theater in New York City. When the musical made its way to Los Angeles in 2007, the couple were again amongst the crowd on opening night.

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Theater plays aside, Diebel has also accompanied Avalon to a number of red carpet events including the 22nd Annual Race to Erase MS in 2007.

She joined Frankie at the White House

In June 1988, Diebel and Avalon were invited to an event at the White House celebrating the Ford's Theater Restoration, where they got to meet then-President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. Photographs show the couple shaking hands with the Reagans in a grand ballroom. For the special occasion, Diebel wore a high-necked lace dress and low heels.

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