Kirk Douglas’ Widow Anne Buydens Turns 101 As Family Wishes Her Happy Birthday With Socially Distanced Procession

Apr 24, 2020 by apost team

Kirk Douglas’ widow, Anne Buydens, turned 101 years old this Thursday. But due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to slow the spread of the virus, Buydens’ family celebrated her birthday from a distance as the 101-year-old remained isolated and wore a mask.

According to The Sun, Buyden’s grandson, 41-year-old Cameron Douglas, posted a series of stories on Instagram documenting the birthday celebration. In one of his earlier stories, The Sun reports that he told his followers: “Here we are, coming to Anne’s 101st birthday[...]First birthday without Pappy. Now we’re going to stay with it as we go through this amazing procession."

Cameron further explained that family members and friends who wanted to wish Anne a happy birthday had to wait in line to take gifts to her, according to The Sun. "Now, we’ve been in line for about 20 or 30 minutes[...]I’d wait 20 or 30 hours to say happy birthday to Anne and here we go,” Cameron told his Instagram followers.

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After his wait, Cameron walked up to his grandma — seated in a wheelchair under a tree and wearing a protective mask and birthday sash — to give her a bouquet of flowers. Despite the circumstances, the occasion was festive with plenty of pink party balloons as decoration. According to The Sun, Carys Douglas also took to social media to celebrate Anne’s 101st birthday, writing: "Happy 101st birthday to my wonderful Oma!! Your beauty, intellect and grace is my inspiration."

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is married to Michael Douglas, also wished her stepmother-in-law a happy birthday on social media along with a photo of the two together, according to The Sun. "Happy Birthday to my extraordinary stepmother in Law. Our Queen, our Oma,” Catherine wrote on Instagram. “You personify everything that is good in a woman. I admire you and love you so very much. 101 years young today. Anne Douglas thank you for everything that you have done for people in our world."

Anne’s husband passed away on February 5 this year at the age 103, making this her first birthday without Kirk, according to The Sun.

Town and Country reports that the couple had been married for six decades before Kirk’s death. When the two met for the first time on the set of Act of Love, Anne was working as a film publicist in Paris, and Kirk was already a well-established actor and heart-throb. While Anne rejected Kirk’s initial request to take her out — Kirk wanted to take Anne to an expensive restaurant in Paris, but she declined — eventually the two married in 1954 and had two children together.

When Michael, Kirk’s son, announced his father’s death back in February the statement read: "To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years[...]But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband."

Happy birthday, Anne. Have you had to celebrate a family member's birthday during the global pandemic? What do you think of Anne's socially-distanced birthday celebration? Let us know and be sure to pass this story on to friends and family members.