Real-Life Love
Who Is Ike Barinholtz’s Wife? All About ‘The Studio’ Actor’s Marriage
The Mindy Project‘s Ike Barinholtz has been in the spotlight for a while, but 2025 seems to be his year. After co-creating Netflix’s Running Point with former costar Mindy Kaling, the actor returned to the screen to play a drugged-up, vulgar, movie executive in Apple TV‘s The Studio.
The latter earned Barinholtz his first Emmy nomination, competing in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category. Before he hits the ceremony on Sunday, you might be curious about the woman that’ll likely be on Barinholtz’s arm. Read on for everything we know about the actor’s longtime wife, Erica Hanson, and their love story.
Who is Erica Hanson?
Like her husband, Hanson is an Illinois-native. It’s unclear what her occupation is: Some outlets have reported that she’s a TV producer, while others have assumed she’s an accountant. It seems like the latter is true, according to an August 2025 interview the actor did with The Hollywood Reporter, which lists “accountant” as Hanson’s job title.
How long have Ike Barinholtz and his wife been together?
The couple have been married for 16 years. It’s unclear when exactly they started dating, though they met when Barinholtz was 29. That puts their first encounter around 2006. They tied the knot about three years later in 2009.
After they met for the first time, the two struck up a long-distance relationship. Barinholtz lived in L.A., while Hanson lived in New York. On The Drew Barrymore Show, the actor recalled flying out to his future wife once a week for eight months. “I would finish my show, I would go, I’d catch a red-eye out,” he said. “We’d spent 36 hours together, and then I would fly back to L.A. very sad.”
Barinholtz also broke down what the first thing he saw in Hanson was that made him think she was the one. “Anyone that laughs really hard at me and thinks I’m attractive — right there. That’s a big two right there,” he said. “I think laughter is our little blanket. It’s like our respite from all that evilness and the horrible things that are out there.”
During an interview with Glamour, he revealed that his wife was his first long-term relationship.
How did Ike Barinholtz meet his wife?
The actor shared his unconventional meet-cute with his wife during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. “When you think of romance, you think of, ‘Oh, we met in Paris at the Eiffel Tower,'” he said. “That’s romantic, but it’s not as romantic as the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.”
He was sitting at the blackjack table with his fantasy football league, and she was with her “drunk bachelorette friends,” Barinholtz recalled. “You just make eyes with each other and you know, we’re going to have three children together one day. It’s a tale as old as time.”
The actor gave a few more details to Glamour. Although he thought his now-wife was out of his league, his group of friends — which included his MADtv costar Nicole Sullivan — encouraged him to approach her.
Hanson mentioned she was a White Sox fan, so Barinholtz (a Cubs supporter) lied and said he was, too. “I suggested we get together the next night and watch game five [of the World Series], and she said, ‘OK.’ The next night, her friends and my friends all met up and watched the game.”
He continued, “After I said, ‘Hey, I’d like you to come to L.A. this weekend.’ She said, ‘No, you could be a serial killer!'”
As an alternative, Barinholtz offered to travel to her, and the rest is history. “I went to New York the next weekend to see her, and I knew I was in love and this was it,” he said.
Do Ike Barinholtz and Erica Hanson have kids?
Barinholtz is a girl dad! In 2014, the couple welcomed their first daughter, Foster. Three years later came another daughter, Payton, and eventually, a third, whom they haven’t yet revealed the name of.
The comedian announced the arrival of his third daughter in a totally on-brand fashion. As he walked the red carpet of his movie Blockers, he wore his hospital bracelet. “I just had a baby. I wear [the bracelet] until it kinda falls off. Like the umbilical cord,” he joked.
He provided a little more insight into dad life last year. “My kids don’t think I’m cool until I’m featuring on a Dua Lipa song,” the actor told People. “I’m not cool. So that’s just, I have to live with that. That’s my cross to bear.”
77th Primetime Emmy Awards, Sunday, September 14, 8/7c, CBS
