Hollywood is known for its quickie marriages and messy divorces, but some celebs have bucked the trend. In celebration of Kevin Bacon's 60th birthday on July 8, 2018, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at some of the longest celebrity marriages, starting with Kevin's union. The "Footloose" star met future wife Kyra Sedgwick on the set of the PBS drama "Lemon Sky" in the late '80s. The couple married on Sept. 4, 1988, welcomed two kids and are still happily wed today. "When he walks into a room, I'm still — I mean, my heart gets a little fluttery and I think, 'Oh! He's so cute. He's so hot.' That's literally the first thing I think," Kyra told Redbook. "You can ask people on the set — it's palpable. He's still a mystery to me. And getting older together is scary and exciting." So cute! Keep reading to see which other celeb couples have gone the distance…
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Denzel Washington and Pauletta Pearson met in 1977 but didn't tie the knot until 1983 after the actor proposed numerous times. "I don't know if it's show business that has a monopoly on divorce, it's just that you hear about it," Denzel explained in a Reddit AMA. "I just think that you have to work at it. Not give up on each other. It's a commitment. It's not all the honeymoon, it doesn't last forever, so you work at it. And hopefully you're good friends first, that might help!" The couple share four children including "Ballers" actor John David Washington.
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Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are a match made in Hollywood heaven. The two married in 1988, years after they met on the set of "Bosom Buddies" and co-starred in "Volunteers." "I didn't know what being in love was until I met Tom," Rita, who has two sons with Tom, told Vanity Fair. The Oscar winner has also shared some loving words of his own. "It was a complete and utter kind of acceptance of me on her part," he said. "It was a love that was unconditional." Swoon!
Samuel L. Jackson has definitely avoided the Hollywood divorce curse. The "Avengers: Infinity War" actor married actress-producer LaTanya Richardson in 1980. The couple, who both lent their voices to the hit sequel "Incredibles 2," share an adult daughter, Zoe.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall met as students on the campus of Northwestern University in the 1980s and the rest, as they say, is history. The college sweethearts married in 1987 and welcomed two sons, Henry and Charles. How have they managed to stay wed for more than three decades? "Well, you find the right guy, which I did, and I don't know, I don't really have the magic bullet answer to that, except that I like my husband and I love him and that seems to work as a good combination," Julia told The Hollywood Reporter.
Notoriously private couple Pam Dawber and Mark Harmon have been married for more than 30 years. The "Mork & Mindy" actress and the "NCIS" actor wed on March 21, 1987, and went on to have two sons, Sean and Ty.
Jamie Lee Curtis knew the moment she laid eyes on actor-director Christopher Guest that he'd be her husband. The actress saw a picture of Chris in Rolling Stone in which he was promoting "This is Spinal Tap" in 1984 and told her friend Debra Hill, the producer and co-writer of "Halloween," "I'm going to marry that man." Jamie called his agent, she revealed in a 2004 essay for O magazine, never heard back, then later saw the British star at a restaurant. They waved at one another, Chris called her the next day and they got married barely six months later in December 1984. More than three decades have since passed, and the couple — who have two kids, Annie and Thomas — are still happy and in love.
Stylist Rachel Zoe met her husband, Rodger Berman, in 1991 when she was just 19 and he was 22. Rachel was a hostess and Rodger was a waiter at a Washington D.C. restaurant. "I vividly remember the first time I saw her, wearing a tight black minidress, high-heeled pumps, stick-straight hair, and big red lips covered in M.A.C. Chili lipstick (her trademark)," he once wrote. "She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen." The couple married seven years later and are now parents to two sons.
Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan fell for one another while playing love interests on "Family Ties" in the '80s. The couple made it official in 1988 and welcomed four children — son Sam, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler and daughter Esmé. "[I] won the lottery in the wife department," the "Back to the Future" actor has said. Awww!
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance met before either one of them was a well-known Hollywood star. The "Black Panther" actress and the "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" actor first crossed paths as students at the Yale School of Drama in 1980. Fast-forward to 1997, when the couple married. They are still together more than 20 years later. Angela and Courtney are parents to twins Slater and Bronwyn.
When you know, you know. It only took six months of dating for actress Meryl Streep and artist Don Gummer to know that they'd found "the one." The couple wed in 1978 and are still happily married more than 40 years later! Meryl and Don are parents to four children — musician Henry Gummer, actresses Mamie Gummer and Grace Gummer, and model Louisa Gummer. "First I'm going to thank Don, because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music," the actress said while accepting her Oscar in 2012. "And I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me."
Rock-star couple Keith Richards and Patti Hansen met when the Rolling Stones guitarist sent the model a drink at Studio 54. They hit it off and married on Dec. 18, 1983 (Keith's 40th birthday) with Mick Jagger serving as best man. Today, the two — who have two daughters, Theodora and Alexandra — are still very much in love.
Low-key couple Bryan Cranston and Robin Dearden have kept their love going for nearly three decades. The pair married in 1989 after meeting five years earlier on the set of "Airwolf." The "Breaking Bad" actor and "Fantasy Hospital" actress are parents to one daughter, actress Taylor Dearden.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness met on set of the Australian show "Correlli" in 1995. One year later, they were married — and have been two peas in a pod ever since. "I believe in life we need to see and truly be seen by the most important people in our lives," Hugh wrote on Twitter on their anniversary in 2018. "Deb, from day one, we had that. 22 years later … it only gets deeper. You and the kids are the greatest gift I will ever receive. I love you a gazillion times around the world."
By all standards, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman had fairy-tale marriage. The two reconnected on the set of "The Long, Hot Summer" in 1957, about six years after they met. The couple soon tied the knot, marrying in 1958. The "Color of Money" actor and the "Three Faces of Eva" actress welcomed three daughters together and remained married for 50 years, until Paul's death in 2008. When once asked about his reputation for fidelity, Paul famously said, "Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?"
Randy Gerber and Cindy Crawford have a love that has lasted more than two decades. The businessman and the supermodel married in May 1998 and welcomed two children, up-and-coming models Presley Gerber and Kaia Gerber. "I couldn't have chosen a better man to do this thing called life with. I love you!" Cindy wrote on Instagram on their 20th wedding anniversary in 2018.
The Smiths have discovered the secret to a long-lasting celebrity marriage. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith met when Jada auditioned to play Will's girlfriend on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Jada ultimately didn't get the part, but she did get the man! The couple married in 1997 and welcomed two children, son Jaden Smith and daughter Willow Smith. "If there is a secret I would say [it] is that we never went into working [on] our relationship. We only ever worked on ourselves individually, and then presented ourselves to one another better than we were previously," Will told "Entertainment Tonight" in 2015.
From high-school sweethearts to hip-hop royalty! Shante Broadus and Snoop Dogg met as teens in Long Beach, California, and shared an instant connection. The rapper accompanied Shante to prom and the rest is history. The two married in 1997, briefly separated in 2004, reconciled and renewed their vows in 2008. "She's always right," Snoop gushed about his wife in a 2013 interview. "Because you gotta understand the turmoil and stuff that I put her through, in my journey on becoming successful, because I had no understanding of how I was doing her, how I was hurting her, and how I was betraying myself, until I became a man and realized that I had to love this woman who loved me and had my kids, and put my life in perspective and let my music and my business be secondary." The couple share three children together: sons Cordé and Cordell and daughter Cori.
The love between Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy is still red-hot more than 20 years after they tied the knot. The "Shameless" actor and the "American Crime" actress dated on-and-off for 15 years before making it official in 1997. The couple, who are well-known for their adorable PDA on the red carpet, share daughters Sophia and Georgia. "I don't look at it as an achievement — I look at it as a lifesaver," Bill told Us Weekly of his marriage in 2018. "I'm the luckiest guy. I won the lottery. I love being married to Felicity. I love being married, I really like it. Although I have screwed it up before. I just got lucky. There's no secret — I got lucky."
After a rollercoaster relationship with Robert Downey Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker was looking for the real thing. She found it when she was introduced to Matthew Broderick in the early '90s. The Broadway actors hit it off and married in May 1997 (SJP famously rocked a black wedding dress to the ceremony). Today, they are parents to son James and twins Loretta and Tabitha. "You and your partner are going to change. It seems so silly, but I think you're very lucky if you like the person," the actress told People in 2018. "I still just really like him. I'm sure I annoy him and he annoys me, but I literally learn about him every day. I'm like, 'You're doing what? You're reading what?'"
Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens might just hold the record for the longest celebrity marriage. The 101-year-old actor and 99-year-old producer married more than 64 years ago in May 1954 after meeting in Paris on the set of "Lust for Life." "The fact that I didn't impress her certainly impressed me, and I was determined to win her over. Anyone who knows my story knows the rest. She did join the production, and we courted in France and Italy. After I returned to the States, I invited her to come for a visit," Kirk wrote in the Los Angeles Times in 2014. Through the years they've maintained a happy household, welcoming two sons, Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas (Kirk's famed actor son, Michael Douglas, is from his first marriage). "After 60 years of marriage, you go through a lot of obstacles," Anne told Closer in 2015, "and all of them were beautiful".
Steve Carell and Nancy Walls met when she took Steve's Second City comedy troupe improv class in Chicago in the '90s. By 1995, the lovebirds were married and today they are parents to two children. "I knew early on that she was the right one. I'll never forget standing at the altar and I saw her coming down the aisle — immediately a sense of calm came over me," Steve told The Guardian in 2013. "There was an ethereal sense of how right it all was and more than anything, it was very empowering knowing that person was going to be my partner and have my back. It just made me feel strong, and I'll never forget it… People say, What's the secret to a marriage? There's no secret — I think you get lucky."
Johnny Cash and second wife June Carter were inseparable from the moment they married in 1968, about 13 years after they met, and remained wed until June's death in May 2003 — just four months before Johnny died.
Lisa Kudrow reportedly knew her husband, French advertising executive Michel Stern, for six years before they tied the knot in 1995. The private couple welcomed a son, Julian, in 1998 and are still married more than 23 years later.
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne have had more than their fair share of ups and downs but are still together despite it all. The pair, who married in 1982 and had three children together, have weathered alcoholism, addiction, a cancer battle, affairs and a separation but have somehow managed to come out on the other side. "Thirty-five years with someone is a hell of a long time. And I think I fell out of love with my husband and then fell back again," Sharon said on her show "The Talk" in 2017 while speaking about their reconciliation following his infidelity with six different women.
Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis met while co-starring in the Broadway show "Jeb" (pictured here) in 1946. After two years of dating, the couple married in 1948 and welcomed three children, Guy, Nora and Hasna. The actress and actor had their share of intense experiences during their long union — they briefly had a open marriage — but remained happily together until Ossie's death in 2005. Ruby died nine years later and her ashes are held in the same urn as her husband's with the inscription, "In this thing together."
Sting and Trudie Styler hit it off in 1982 but didn't tie the knot until 10 years later. The couple welcomed four children and are still head over heels more than 25 years later. "We love each other — which is a given! — but we also like each other," Sting told People magazine in 2018. "I think there's a difference."
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara are the definition of true love. The comedic couple were married for over 60 years until Anne's death in 2015. They made it official in 1954 and welcomed two children, daughter Amy Stiller and son Ben Stiller. "I really knew this was the man I would marry," Anne told People in 2000. "I knew he would never leave me." Jerry later expressed his grief about Anne's death. "I miss her," Jerry said. "There were no walls between us in any way. We both knew what the other was thinking even when we weren't listening."
David Bowie and Iman had an instant connection when they met in the early '90s. By 1992, the twosome were married. The British rocker and the Somali supermodel welcomed one daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones, and remained happily committed until David's death in 2016. "My attraction to her was immediate and all-encompassing. I couldn't sleep for the excitement of our first date," he once told Hello! magazine. "That she would be my wife, in my head, was a done deal. I'd never gone after anything in my life with such passion in all my life. I just knew she was the one." Feels!
Colin Firth has said it was "love at first sight" when he met his future wife, Livia Giuggioli, in the '90s. The Italian producer-director and the "King's Speech" star fell hard for one another and married in 1997. Today, the couple are happily together after working through a separation in 2015 during which Livia briefly moved on with another man. "It does help to actually realize that however stunning the person who is, you know, fluttering eyelashes at you, she doesn't do anything to match up to your wife," Colin, who has two sons with Livia, said in 2011. "We've made it 15 years together… I think that is pretty good going in Hollywood standards. And it's going to go on forever."