Who is Frances McDormand’s Husband, Joel Coen? Do They Have Any Kids?
Frances McDormand was just recognized at the 2021 Academy Awards for her incredible work on Nomadland, and it’s easy to see how she could be considered one of the best actors of our time. Now, we’re curious about her home life, as she’s married to another notable name in film. Who is Frances McDormand’s husband, Joel Coen, and do the two have any kids together?
Is Frances McDormand married? Who is her husband, Joel Coen?
Frances McDormand’s husband is Joel Coen, and the two have been together since McDormand was 24 years old, The New York Times reports. It was the movie industry that brought the couple together initially — and it was the first time McDormand had a relationship that didn’t involve a power struggle.
“It was a revelation that I could have a lover who I could also work with and I wasn’t intimidated by the person,” she explained to The New York Times. While past relationships were full of difficult power dynamics, McDormand noted, “that didn’t happen with Joel. It was: Wow! Really! Oh, my God! I can actually love and live — not subvert anything, not apologize for anything, not hide anything.”
The couple moved in together shortly after first getting together, and they tied the knot in April 1984. And when McDormand first married Coen, she wore the wedding ring Coen’s first wife owned.
So, who exactly is Coen? Brittanica notes he directs and produces films with his brother, Ethan Coen (many know them as the Coen brothers), and they gained recognition after the 1984 film Blood Simple. It was this film that also brought McDormand and her husband together.
How did they meet?
Before Frances McDormand’s husband ever met her, he was casting for Blood Simple. McDormand auditioned for the role of Abby, the wife of a bar owner Good Housekeeping reports — and it was her bold audition that got her the role and captured his heart. She was asked to return for a callback audition after her initial one, and she explained she couldn’t, as she had to watch her boyfriend’s debut on a soap opera. His debut involved him saying only two lines.
McDormand later joked to Coen that her boldness was the reason he hired her for the role anyway, but Coen noted it was her pure talent that got her in.
After the couple’s first collaboration, McDormand was in a number of Coen brothers’ films. She then won an Oscar for her role in Fargo, AFP via Yahoo reports.
So, how do McDormand and Coen maintain a happy marriage after so many decades? “I think it’s having different stories to tell each other,” she explained. “Although we have often collaborated on films, we have both had really autonomous careers and so we have always had new things to tell each other.”
Does Frances McDormand have children?
Does McDormand have a child with her husband? She does, as they adopted a son from Paraguay. According to PopSugar, they adopted Pedro McDormand Coen when he was just 6 months old in 1995. McDormand herself was also adopted.
McDormand and her son seem to have a very close relationship. She gave him and Coen a shoutout when she won an Oscar for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. “These two stalwart individuals were well raised by their feminist mothers,” she said during her acceptance speech. “They value themselves, each other, and those around them. I know you are proud of me, and that fills me with everlasting joy.”
She’s brought her experiences as a mother into many of her performances, too, as it’s not an easy task. “As a mother, you live on the edge of disaster,” she explained to Belfast Telegraph. “You just do.”
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