Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Steven Spielbergand his wife, Kate Capshaw, have one of the longest-standing relationships in Hollywood.
The famed director first met Capshaw in the early ’80s when she was cast in his filmIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In the years that followed, the pair blended their families, tied the knot and welcomed five children together.
“Steven and I are partners, and our life together is our production, so to speak,” CapshawtoldThe Spokesman-Reviewin February 1995. “If I want to do something that affects that production, I want to have his support. If he doesn’t understand the piece, then I have to help explain it. Sometimes, in explaining it, I realize I don’t understand it. Then everybody’s saved a lot of work.”
The couple have been together for more than three decades, during which Capshaw has largely stepped away from the limelight to focus on their family.
“He operates his jet — a camera and a story. My jet is the family,” she said during the same 1995 interview. “I might not be comfortable pushing the limits in film the way he does, and he might not be as comfortable pushing the limits of our family. But I get to be the frontierswoman here, and he gets to be the frontiersman there.”
So, who is the woman who stole the iconic director’s heart all those years ago? Keep reading to learn more about Kate Capshaw and her relationship with Steven Spielberg.
She was a teacher
She added, “I still have those images with our children. I look at them very differently. There are house rules that you have to follow — it doesn’t matter how unique you are. But within that, there’s room for each child to be who he or she is.”
Capshaw toldEntertainment Tonightin 1984 that she left teaching because it wasn’t “stimulating.”
She was married before
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Capshaw married school principal Robert “Bob” Capshaw, with whom she shares daughterJessica Capshaw, in 1976. The family moved to New York City in 1978, and Kate began modeling shortly afterward.
She began acting after her divorce
After she divorced from her first husband in 1980, Capshaw took voice and acting lessons, keeping her ex’s last name to use professionally in her stage and screen pursuits.
Capshaw later recalled during her interview withEntertainment Tonightthat she had a friend who was a talent agent in N.Y.C. at the time, but that her pal refused to represent her and instead suggested that she go back to school. Though she was just 27 years old at the time, Capshaw’s friend claimed that she was too old to get good roles.
She got her big break from Spielberg
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Capshaw had a few screen credits to her name in 1983, but it wasIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomthat would make her a major star. Spielberg reportedly had trouble finding a woman to play alongsideHarrison Fordin theRaiders of the Lost Arkprequel, and talent agent Peter Meyers suggested Capshaw. She met with Spielberg twice, and after taking a screentest, was quickly cast as Willie Scott.
Capshaw later said the action-packed movie wasn’t necessarily what she expected from an acting career, tellingEntertainment Tonight, “You don’t become an actress so you can run, jump and flee. You become an actress so you can talk and be involved in dialogue.”
She and Spielberg married after two years of dating
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Spielberg’s first wife was actress and singer Amy Irving, with whom he shares son Max. Irving and Spielberg amicably split in 1989. He and Capshaw reportedlymoved in togetherthat same year after becoming close followingIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
In 1990, Capshaw and Spielberg welcomed their first daughter, Sasha, and adopted a son, Theo, whom Capshaw had been fostering. Capshaw then converted to Judaism, as did her and Spielberg’s children, and she and Spielberg tied the knot in October 1991. They’ve since welcomed three more children: son Sawyer and daughters Mikaela and Destry.
She doesn’t think being “Mrs. Spielberg” hurt or helped her career
“If someone is so insecure that it would be frightening to them to have Steven read a page of their script or hear the experiences of the set or watch the experiences, if that’s threatening, that is a ticket to disaster,” she toldThe Spokesman-Review. “A director has to be confident. The people I’ve worked with are thrilled to share the making of the movie with Steven, who is one of the more generous directors in the community we live in. He’s quiet, he sits back, he doesn’t answer a question unless a question’s been asked. You feel his support.”
She and Spielberg collaborated on a music video
She influences Spielberg’s career
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Capshaw influenced Spielberg’s filmmaking in a big way: he won’t do comedies. Spielberg revealed that he almost signed on to direct the raunchy hit comedyMeet the Parents— until Capshaw talked him out of it.
“My wife says I’m not funny enough! I was preparing to directMeet The Parentswhen she read the script,” hetoldTotal Filmin 2004. “She said, ‘You’re not directing this movie — give it to a director who does comedy well.’ She doesn’t mind when I have comic moments in my movies, like whenTom Cruisechases his eyeballs towards a drain inMinority Report, but I’m not allowed to do an outright comedy! Still, I producedMeet The Parentsand we did very well with it.”
She and Spielberg attended the 2023 Oscars
In March 2023, the couple attended the 95th annual Academy Awards. Capshaw looked chic in a black suit and white scarf, while Spielberg, one of the evening’s nominees, donned a black tuxedo.
She and Spielberg attended the 2024 Golden Globes
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The couple attended theGolden Globesat the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles in January 2024. Capshaw wowed in a high-neck black gown, while Spielberg looked dapper in a black tux.
source: people.com
