Kevin Kline reveals secret to 35-year marriage to former child star
Kevin Kline made a rare comment about his 35-year marriage to Phoebe Cates during the premiere of Apple TV+’s Disclaimer at the Toronto International Film Festival.
While reflecting on the key to their long-term relationship, the 77-year-old actor explained that he and his wife, best known for her roles in the Gremlins franchise and the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, are not the typical ‘Hollywood -wedding.’
“If your marriage lasts longer than six months, you’re already in the Guinness Book of World Records, if you’re a Hollywood marriage,” the Oscar winner mused. Business insider in September.
For Kline and his wife, the lack of a “Hollywood marriage” meant living outside Tinseltown, raising their children on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and choosing to enjoy low-key date nights over lavish nights out.
During his recent interview, Kline raved that his wife “has her head on her shoulders.”
Kevin Kline made a rare comment about his 35-year marriage to Phoebe Cates during the premiere of Apple TV+’s Disclaimer at the Toronto International Film Festival; seen in 2010
“She’s a great wife, a great mother, a great person, and she keeps me honest,” the star said. “Except in interviews.”
The couple first met while auditioning for the 1983 film The Big Chill.
Although Cates was not cast, Kline landed a role in the cult classic.
Two years later, the couple started dating and eventually walked down the aisle in 1989.
During their wedding, they welcomed their son, Owen, 33, and daughter, Greta, 30.
Kline has been in the spotlight for the past five decades after starting his acting career on stage in 1972.
He has earned several accolades, including an Academy Award and three Tony Awards, as well as two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
His film debut was in the drama Sophie’s Choice (1982), opposite Meryl Streep.
Kline won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the comedy A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
While reflecting on the key to their long-term relationship, the 77-year-old actor explained that he and his wife, best known for her roles in the Gremlins franchise and the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, are not the typical ‘Hollywood -marriage’ (seen in 2017)
“If your marriage lasts more than six months, you’re already in the Guinness Book of World Records, if you’re a Hollywood marriage,” the Oscar winner mused to Business Insider in September. ‘That’s why you don’t see Botox. These are my lips, what’s left of them
Meanwhile, his wife retired from film acting in the 1990s, except for the 2001 film The Anniversary Party, directed by her longtime friend Jennifer Jason Leigh.
In 2002, Kline admitted that in the early stages of their relationship, he wasn’t sure if they were most compatible.
“When I first met Phoebe, I remember thinking, ‘She’s too happy to be with me,'” he said Entertainment weekly. ‘She’s too excited about life. What shall we talk about?’
To ensure that their family would come first, the stars “agreed to alternate their careers so that we are never working at the same time.”
For Kline and his wife, the lack of a “Hollywood marriage” meant living outside Tinseltown, raising their children on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and choosing to enjoy low-key date nights over lavish nights out; seen in 2009
“When she had to work, Phoebe chose to stay with the children,” he noted in 1998. “That was one of the many things I loved about her.”
Kline continued, “She loved acting while she was doing it, but she wasn’t driven by it like I was.”