The long, long wait is finally over for 24 star Kiefer Sutherland. The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor is officially single, four years after he filed for divorce -- and about nine years after he first separated from ex-model Elizabeth Kelly Winn.

Celebrity-gossip website TMZ.com has reported (with court documents) that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted the couple their divorce decree on May 16.

Sutherland and Winn, 46, had no children together, although she has two from a previous relationship. They married in June 1996 and separated in 1999; Sutherland cited irreconcilable differences when he filled out the divorce papers on May 12, 2004.

More information on the divorce process: Top Ten Tips How to Get a Divorce Things To Know When Contemplating Divorce Crafting a Separation Agreement Cover Your Liabilities

This was Sutherland's second marriage; his first was to actor Camelia Kath -- the widow of Terry Kath, a member of the pop group Chicago -- from 1987 to 1990. He has a 20-year-old daughter from his marriage to Kath. Sutherland was once engaged to Julia Roberts as well.

In the meantime, Sutherland has had other legal problems to contend with. He recently served nearly seven weeks in prison on a DUI charge to which he pleaded no contest; the sentence included 18 days for violation of probation from his first drunk-driving arrest back in 2004.

Kiefer Sutherland, 41, is the son of veteran Canadian actor Donald Sutherland. He has appeared in more than 70 movies, including Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, Young Guns and A Few Good Men. Since 2001, he has starred in the hit TV thriller series 24, the seventh season of which will begin on the Fox Network next January after a two-hour prologue special in November.

If you're going through the divorce process, hopefully it's going a little faster for you than it did for Sutherland. Click here for an article on the basics of divorce law and how to make it a little quicker and easier.