Real-Life Love
A Deep Dive Into Ted Danson & Mary Steenburgen’s Hollywood Love Story
Cheers! Ted Danson has taken over our screens (and our hearts) once more in Netflix’s recent hit series A Man on the Inside, earning himself a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, along with this year’s Carol Burnett Award honoring his outstanding contributions to television.
Before he played the charismatic retired professor-turned-private-investigator in the Pacific View Retirement Community, Danson was acclaimed for his roles as Sam Malone in Cheers, Arthur Frobisher in Damages, and afterlife “architect” Michael in The Good Place.
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However, for nearly just as long as his beloved career, Danson has boasted a beloved relationship with his wife and fellow actress Mary Steenburgen. Keep reading to learn more about their nearly three-decades-long marriage and what makes them one of Hollywood’s most esteemed couples.
Who is Mary Steenburgen?
Steenburgen is an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning stage and screen actress whose first breakout role was the female lead in Jack Nicholson’s second directorial film Goin’ South in 1978, followed by her critically acclaimed performance in Melvin and Howard in 1980 as well as 1983’s Cross Creek. She also became well-known for her roles in television programs such as Ink and Gulliver’s Travels. She later appeared in more comedies, both television and film, including Elf, Step Brothers, Four Christmases, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
When did Danson and Steenburgen first meet?
The couple first met in 1983 when Danson auditioned to play Steenburgen’s spouse in Cross Creek, though the couple didn’t begin their romantic relationship until 1993 on the set of the adventure film Pontiac Moon. Danson starred as the science teacher Washington Bellamy while Steenburgen portrayed his wife Katherine.
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How did their relationship begin?
At the time, Danson had just ended his relationship with Whoopi Goldberg and was finalizing his divorce from his second wife, Casey Coates. Steenburgen was also recently divorced from her first husband, Malcolm McDowell. Both actors have expressed that neither party felt they were looking for a relationship at the time, but the friendship turned to romance after Danson invited Steenburgen on a canoe trip with friends in Mendocino, California.
“We came back in love,” shared Danson with PEOPLE. “Or I’ll say smitten.”
When did Danson and Steenburgen get married?
After flying out to Steenburgen on her birthday in February 1995 while she was filming the sci-fi movie Powder, Danson proposed. A few months later, on October 7, 1995, the couple tied the knot on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Wedding guests included then-President Bill Clinton as well as Hillary Clinton, who are friends of Steenburgen’s. The wedding party also included Steenburgen’s children Lily and Charlie, and Danson’s own daughters Kate and Alexis.
Have Danson and Steenburgen worked together as costars since?
Yes! In the late ’90s, the two costarred in the miniseries Gulliver’s Travels. Like their first project together, the two portrayed a married couple, Danson as Dr. Lemuel Gulliver and Steenburgen as his wife Mary.
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In 2004, the two also starred in the rom-com It Must Be Love as a couple contemplating divorce who end up falling back in love with one another after a snowstorm traps them in the house.
How many years have Danson and Steenburgen been married?
Danson and Steenburgen have been married for 29 years, going on 30 years in 2025. The two often post supportive photos and captions on Instagram, celebrating each other’s successes and affirming to anyone who questions their relationship that their love is very much flourishing. The two also appear at all of the major awards shows with one another, such as this past year’s 66th Grammy Awards, and frankly, they have never looked better.
Ahead of their 30th anniversary, Danson opened up about his love with Steenburgen. “We celebrate how lucky we are all the time,” he told PEOPLE. “We make sure joy stays in our life, and gratitude. You know, when you get older, [it] hurts. There’s sh*t that’s not fun. But stay in gratitude, stay creative, stay hopeful, and you can kind of hopefully coast over a lot of things in life.”
