Esta Krakower: What happened to Bugsy Siegel’s ex-wife?

By | August 13, 2023
Esta Krakower: What happened to Bugsy Siegel's ex-wife?

Esta Krakower was once a celebrity wife. Esta was the wife of American mobster Bugsy Siegel. Esta’s husband, whose real name is Benjamin Siegel, is widely remembered for his contribution to the development of the Las Vegas Strip. According to Wikipedia, Las Vegas Strip is a location in Clark County, Nevada, with many hotels and casinos.

Unlike most celebrities who marry and divorce many times, Bugsy Siegel was only married once, though he had other known partners. Esta Krakower is the only woman Bugsy was ever officially married to.

Who was Esta Krakower?

Esta Krakower was born in New York, United States of America, on February 11, 1911. She was born with the birth name Esther Krakower but later became Esther ”Esta” Krakower Siegel when she got married to Benjamin Siegel.

She was the daughter of Philip Krakauer and Minnie Marzok Krakauer, both natives of Kings County, Brooklyn. Esta was one of the three children of her parents. Her siblings were Morris Krakauer and Isidor Irvin Krakauer. Morris was Esta’s elder brother and was born in 1902. He died in 1959. Isidor was also older than Esta, and he was born in 1905.

Though Esta Krakower was famous for being the wife of a notorious mob boss, little is known about her personal life. Information like her educational background, career, and others is yet to be disclosed by anyone close to her family. Her husband, Bugsy, is known to have left school to join a gang in Manhattan at an early age.

Esta Krakower had two daughters with Bugsy Siegel

According to Wikipedia, Esta Krakower and her former husband, Bugsy Siegel, were childhood sweethearts who later got married. They tied the knot on January 28, 1929. The wedding ceremony occurred in an undisclosed location, attended by a few invited family and friends.

Esta remained married to Bugsy until 1946. Esta filed for a divorce from the seventeen years old marriage due to infidelity on the part of Bugsy. As a mob boss and renowned personality, Bugsy Siegel attracted a lot of women, and he had a lot of affairs with most of these women. He was known to be a chronic womanizer.

The former couple, Esta and her husband, Bugsy, had two daughters from their union. The daughters are Millicent Siegel and Barbara Siegel. Millicent Siegel died in 2017 and was buried in an old hut belonging to her father in Las Vegas. There needs to be more information on the daughters online. A Facebook post revealed that they accompanied their mother, Esta, to their father’s funeral. They moved to New York after the funeral.

After Esta Krakower divorced Bugsy Siegel, she left the limelight. She went to live in New York with her two daughters, but something needed to be heard about whether she remained single or remarried.

Her husband, Bugsy, was romantically involved with a British actress, Wendy Barrie, for a year. Bugsy also dated organized crime figure Virginia Hill.

Esta Krakower’s ex-husband, Bugsy Siegel, was murdered by an unknown assailant

Bugsy Siegel was born on February 28, 1906, in New York City, United States of America. He was born into a Jewish family which emigrated from Austria-Hungary to the United States. His parents, Jennie Siegel and Max Siegel worked jobs that paid meager wages.

Per his Wikipedia profile, he dropped out of school to join a gang in Manhattan. He started his mob journey through small thefts on the streets. He rose to fame in the mob business when he met Moe Sedway. Moe was a businessman and a mobster who helped Bugsy grow.

Throughout his lifetime, Bugsy committed a lot of vices, including robbery, rape, and murder. He was arrested several times but was released due to lack of evidence. On June 20, 1947, Bugsy was shot from a distance by an unknown gunman. The incident took place in the home of his associate Allen Smiley in Beverley Hills.

No one was charged with his murder. His funeral took place in Las Vegas. The whole occasion lasted for five minutes. His former wife, Esta Krakower, and two daughters attended the funeral. Bugsy was 41 years old at the time of his death.

What happened to Esta Krakower?

After her divorce from the mobster, Bugsy, Esta went to live in New York with her daughters. She did not enjoy the media attention she enjoyed while married to Bugsy.

On January 1982, Esta passed away into eternity. She died of natural causes at age 70. She was succeeded in death by her two daughters and grandchildren.