Famous Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman is reportedly divorcing his wife. The news was confirmed by Mr Freeman’s business partner and lawyer, Bill Luckett, who told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal newspaper that the divorce action between the well-known actor and his wife, Myrna Colley-Lee, is pending as the actor heals from his recent car accident.

News of Mr Freeman’s divorce came just four days after the actor broke his arm and elbow in a serious car accident. After the serious crash in which the vehicle flipped, Mr Freeman, one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, checked into a in a Memphis, Tenn., hospital where he underwent surgery and is now under recovery treatment.

The surgery took four hours. During that time the surgeons reconnected the patient’s nerves and repaired damage to his left arm and hand.

The only piece of information Luckett gave about the divorce was that the 71-year-old actor and his soon-to-be ex-wife have separated for the better part of the past year.

"For legal and practical purposes, [Freeman and Colley-Lee] have been separated since December of 2007," Mr Freeman’s attorney told Access Hollywood yesterday.

The actor’s attorney dismissed rumors that his client nerve in his arm was severed, USA Today reported.

"Nothing was severed. A nerve can be bruised or stretched. It was injured but not severed," he told the paper.

Meanwhile, the doctors upgraded Mr Freeman’s condition to “fair.” The hospital officials would not comment on the actors awaiting release. He will, however, have to wear a neck brace for six to eight months and won’t be able to play golf for a while, Luckett said.

The car crash took place on a rural Mississippi highway, not far from where Freeman and his wife own a house. The actor was at the wheel and the other passenger was Demaris Meyer, a “mutual friend” of Freeman, as Luckett put it. The care was registered on Meyer’s name.

Morgan Freeman married costume designer Myrna Colley-Lee in 1984. The Academy Award winner was previously married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from 1967 to 1979.

However, no divorce papers were filed in Tallahatchie County, the Tallahatchie County Chancery Clerk Anita Mullen Greenwood said according to The Associated Press.