Much younger Aussie wife of dead Priscilla Queen of the Desert star is seen for the first time in almost two decades in a tiny beachside hamlet far from Hollywood

Priscilla Queen of the Desert star Terence Stamp’s much younger ex-wife is grieving his death in a small Australian town where she now works in a local pharmacy.

Elizabeth O’Rourke met the Superman actor in 1998, when she was just 23 and working as a pharmacy trainee in Bondi Beach. At 58, he was 35 years her senior.

He convinced her to marry him in 2003 despite the age gap, but by 2008, they divorced citing his ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

After a brief stint living in London‘s Maida Vale, Elizabeth returned to Australia, and now lives in a secluded coastal hamlet near Ballina on the NSW north coast. 

The community overlooks the Pacific Ocean, 30 minutes away from Byron Bay – home to Hollywood stars like the Hemsworths and Matt Damon, and previously frequented by Zac Efron and the late Olivia Newton-John.

Despite their marriage ending almost two decades ago, younger sister Philippa told the Daily Mail Elizabeth was ‘upset’ by news of Stamp’s death on August 17, aged 87.

Singapore-born Elizabeth, who turned 51 four days before Stamp’s death, has retained the striking Eurasian features which first attracted the Superman star.

After her brush with fame in the 2000s, where she was often seen on Stamp’s arm at red-carpet events in Europe, she avoided the limelight and has not been pictured by media since 2008.

Terence Stamp’s ex-wife Elizabeth O’Rourke is seen for the first time since 2008 near Ballina

Terence and Elizabeth at the premiere of The Haunted Mansion in LA, 2003

Elizabeth is now 51 and runs a local pharmacy in the New South Wales beach town

After her divorce was settled, O’Rourke returned to Australia where her wealthy family, including her father John and mother Elizabeth, still reside. She now runs a pharmacy in West Ballina

Her elderly parents and brother, also John, own and run a Greg Norman-designed golf course in Tamworth in country NSW, as well as a Queensland property empire.

But Elizabeth lives in a modest four-bedroom, two-storey home with her sister and two young children in the beachside hamlet on the outskirts of Ballina.

According to property records, the O’Rourke sisters moved into the $1.3million home last year, after Elizabeth sold a five-acre farming property in nearby Kinvara.

The home was linked to two businesses under her name – Lennox Head Organics and Organic Kitchen Garden.

Those businesses no longer appear to be operating, and the farm was offloaded in 2024 for $1,575,000.

Elizabeth declined to comment on Stamp’s death when approached by the Daily Mail and simply responded: ‘No thank you.’

She has maintained a dignified silence ever since the marriage split and subsequent divorce.

Terence Stamp (centre as transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger in Priscilla Queen of the Desert) died on August 17

But Stamp did speak to the Daily Mail about the break-up in a 2013 interview and expressed his regret at losing touch with his former wife.

‘One of the things I’ve learned in life is that it’s very easy to make a lover from a friend but it’s very hard to make a friend from a lover,’ he said.

‘We had an incredible amount of fun. 

‘She went back to Australia and that’s why I don’t see her, but if I do go there, I’m sure I will. There’s a lot that can happen with the passing of time.’

He admitted he was upset about their break-up.

‘Yeah, I was, absolutely,’ he said. 

‘I always said I’ll try anything once other than incest or Morris dancing. 

‘Seriously though, I’d never been married and I thought I would try it, but I couldn’t make a go of it.’

Elizabeth (above) was upset at the news of Terence’s death, her sister said

According to property records, Elizabeth sold this Kinvara home last year

When asked if he was still friends with Elizabeth, he admitted: ‘Not really.’ 

In Australia, Terence became a beloved figure after starring as drag queen Bernadette Bassenger in 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which was shot in Sydney and in the Outback.

He appeared to reciprocate Australia’s affection following his meeting with Elizabeth in Bondi in 1998.

He was staying at Ravesi’s Hotel and popped in to buy a bottle of water at her workplace, the nearby Day and Night Pharmacy.

Their wedding six years later – his only marriage, at the age of 64 – was held in room 31 at London’s Westminster registry office.

She wore a simple dress, only two witnesses attended, and there was no wedding reception.

The union was a surprise to his friends after his lifetime fear of commitment and a renowned reputation as a Hollywood playboy in the swinging sixties.

He was known to woo models, including Celia Hampton and Jean Shrimpton, and even had a rumoured dalliance with Princess Diana in the 1980s.

Elizabeth’s family was reportedly concerned about their 35-year age difference (the couple pictured together in London, 2003)

A report at the time of their divorce quoted friends saying it was Terence who had wanted marriage and children with Elizabeth. 

But his young bride and her parents were said to be concerned about their age difference.

Elizabeth’s former Bondi pharmacy boss Peter Fuzes said 20 years ago: ‘She told me he wanted to marry and have children soon after their relationship began.

‘But she kept putting him off because she wasn’t ready and her parents were worried too.’

Stamp’s cause of death has not been released. 

A family statement announcing his death added: ‘He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come.’