Actor Morgan Freeman is divorcing his wife of 24 years, according to a report in the US.

The Oscar-winning star and his wife Myrna Colley-Lee "are involved in a divorce action," Freeman's business partner, attorney Bill Luckett, was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The report came as Morgan, 71, was recovering in hospital from a car crash on Sunday night in Mississippi. He was driving, and his co-passenger Demaris Meyer, 48, was also injured.

The New York Post reported that Meyer was a friend of Colley-Lee, and news of the divorce increased speculation that she was also romantically involved with Freeman.

The actor married Colley-Lee in 1984 after dating her for eight years. He has four children from two previous relationships.

Freeman won the Academy Award in 2004 for his supporting role in Million Dollar Baby and earned a Golden Globe Award for best actor for the 1990 film Driving Miss Daisy.