How Long Has Cillian Murphy Been With His Wife, Yvonne McGuinness?
When Cillian Murphy won his first Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer, the first person he turned to was his wife, Yvonne McGuinness. McGuinness supported her husband at the ceremony, and she has been by his side for years. The couple fell in love after meeting just before Murphy rose to prominence.
Cillian Murphy met his wife in 1996
In 1996, Murphy, then a law student, decided to try his hand at acting. He landed his first role in the play Disco Pigs, which was so successful that the cast toured with it for 18 months. Around this time, he met McGuinness, a visual artist. She joined him on the tour.
“It was like being in a band again. Except that people actually came to the shows,” Murphy told The Guardian. “That time, making Disco Pigs, was kind of the most important period of my life. The people I met there remain my closest friends. Enda Walsh. Pat Kiernan [its director]. Eileen Walsh [his co-star]. They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. And it was around the same time I met my wife. She came on tour with us. It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was – we were all just kids, trying to find our way – but such a special, special time.”
In 2004, Murphy and McGuinness tied the knot, marrying in a private ceremony. They will celebrate 20 years of marriage in 2024.
Cillian Murphy thanked his wife in his Oscars acceptance speech
Though Murphy and McGuinness are a private couple, he has occasionally spoken about their relationship.
“To have a really secure, solid base is important,” he said of McGuinness on BBC Radio 4 (per the Daily Mail). “You have to have that safe place. I certainly do. It’s just like an island of comfort and ease.”
He also thanked McGuinness after winning Best Actor for his performance in Oppenheimer.
“Yvonne McGuiness, my partner in life and art,” he said. “My two boys, Malachy and Aran who are sitting up there. I love you so much.”
The couple shares two children
Murphy and McGuinness welcomed their first son, Malachy, in 2005 and their second, Aran, in 2007. While the couple initially raised their sons in London, they relocated to Dublin.
“We had 14 years in London,” he told Rolling Stone in 2023. “But I feel like as you hit your late 30s and have kids, living in a major metropolis is less exciting. And then also, you know, we’re both Irish. We wanted the kids to be Irish. I think it’s the best decision we made.”
He spoke affectionately about his two children.
“They’re really good boys. We have a laugh,” he said. “We don’t do ‘Dad’s Movie Night’, but they like some of my films. They say all my films are really intense.”
Aran is following in Murphy’s footsteps. In 2024, he will star in Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun.
