Meet Kevin Kline’s long-time wife, Phoebe Cates: the secret to the Hollywood actors’ 35-year marriage? Live thousands of kilometres from LA, and split the work schedule
Tinseltown relationships may come and go, but for Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates, married for decades, bliss followed their decision to live in New York and her rejection of the film industry
Kevin Kline has divulged the secret to one of Hollywood’s longest love stories: keep a healthy distance. In a recent chat with Business Insider, the 77-year-old actor shared how he and his wife, Phoebe Cates, 61, have kept their marriage going strong for more than three decades by living on New York’s Upper East Side. “If your marriage lasts more than six months, you’re already in the Guinness Book of World Records, if you’re a Hollywood marriage,” he joked at the premiere of seven-part series Disclaimer at September’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Kline and Cates’ romance might be Hollywood-worthy, but it is played out far from Los Angeles. In 2014 he reflected on meeting Cates, 16 years his junior, calling it a happy twist of fate. “I was 40-ish when I finally stopped obsessing about acting … and actually got married,” he told The Guardian. “If I had married someone my own age, the possibility of progeny would have been very slim.”
But who exactly is Phoebe Cates? From her Hollywood heyday to her life with Kline, here’s everything we know about the woman who stole his heart 35 years ago.
Phoebe Cates was born and raised in New York City
Per her IMDB profile, Phoebe – born to Lily Cates and Broadway producer Joseph, with acclaimed director-producer Gilbert Cates as her uncle – seemed destined for the arts. She attended The Hewitt School and the Professional Children’s School in New York and, by age 10, had studied at The Juilliard School for three-and-a-half years.
She built a career as a model and an actress
Per Business Insider, more roles followed, in movies including Gremlins (1984) and Bright Lights, Big City (1988), but by the mid-90s Cates had stepped back from Hollywood, putting family before film.
How did Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline meet?
