Melinda Ledbetter Biography

Melinda Kae Ledbetter (born October 3, 1946), also known as Melinda Wilson, is an American talent manager who is the wife of singer-songwriter Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. She was formerly a model and car saleswoman. Shortly after meeting Wilson in 1986, she contributed to the court-ordered separation between him and his therapist Eugene Landy. These events were later dramatized in Bill Pohlad's 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, in which Ledbetter is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks.

Personal life and career

While working at a car dealership in 1986, Ledbetter met Brian Wilson while he was a patient under Eugene Landy's 24-hour therapy. Six months after meeting Wilson, she had reported Landy to the state's attorney general for ethical violations, but they informed her that nothing could be done without the cooperation of Wilson's family. Three years into their relationship, Landy ordered Wilson to sever ties with Ledbetter. After Landy was struck with a 1991 court order which barred him from contacting Wilson, Wilson and Ledbetter reconnected and were married on February 6, 1995. Ledbetter went on to become Wilson's manager in 1999, a job which she says is "basically negotiating, and that's what I did every single day when I sold cars."

In 1999, a suit was filed against producer Joe Thomas, seeking damages and a declaration which freed Wilson to work on his next album without involvement from Thomas. Thomas reciprocated with a suit citing that Ledbetter "schemed against and manipulated" him and Brian. The case was settled out of court.

According to Beach Boy Mike Love, the group's 50th anniversary reunion tour involving all original surviving members was ended prematurely partly due to interference from Ledbetter.

The 2014 biopic Love & Mercy featured Elizabeth Banks as Ledbetter, depicting her initial involvement with Wilson and Landy. The real Ledbetter said after watching the film: "I remembered that what Landy did to Brian was even worse. You don"?t get a sense of it in the movie, but it happened on a daily basis, for years.

In 2015, Wilson credited Ledbetter for assisting with some of the production of his album No Pier Pressure.