Billie Jean Horton (née Jones; born June 6, 1933) is an American former country-music singer-songwriter and music promoter.
She had high profile marriages, briefly, until his death, to country musician and singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952 until 1953 and subsequently to singer Johnny Horton from 1953 until 1960.
[2][6] In 1971, a judge ruled that despite her divorce from Eshleman not being finalized before her wedding with Williams, she entered the marriage in good faith and thus their union was entitled to a presumption of validity.
[7] Horton engaged in numerous court cases defending her status as Hank William's widow and establishing claims to copyrights and estates.
In the early 1970s, she sued MGM to stop distribution of the film Your Cheatin' Heart, a cinematic version of Williams’ story starring George Hamilton, which she believed portrayed her in a negative light.