Who Was Rob Reiner’s Wife Michele Singer? A Guide to the Late Director’s Family
What To Know
- Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14.
- The couple married in 1989 and had three children.
- The pair’s middle child, son Nick, is in custody with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept.
Tragedy struck Hollywood on Sunday, December 14, when filmmaker Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in their Los Angeles home. People reported that the couple’s son, Nick, 32, is being questioned by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, while a source confirmed to TMZ that a family member allegedly committed the murders.
Online records showed that police had Nick in custody on the morning of December 15, per TMZ.
Rob and Michele tied the knot in 1989 and shared three children. Per People, the pair’s daughter, Romy, was the one who found them and called authorities. As more information about this tragic story unfolds, scroll down to learn more about Rob and his family.
How did Rob Reiner meet his wife?
Rob met Michele during production of the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, which he directed. In 2019, he revealed that their meeting inspired the ending of the movie.
In the original script, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) didn’t end up together. “They meet each other years later and walk their separate ways,” Rob explained in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary in 2019.
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However, he added, “I met my wife while making the movie, and we changed the ending, and this is what we came up with. Billy came up with some of this dialogue, and that’s how we decided to end the movie, that they do end up together.”
Who is Michele Singer?
Michele worked as a producer and photographer. Her producing credits include Shock and Awe (2017), Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023), God & Country (2024), and Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025).
Rob’s wife photographed Donald Trump for the cover of his 1987 book, Trump: The Art of the Deal.
Who are Rob Reiner’s kids?
Rob and Michele had three children. Their eldest son, Jake, was born in 1991, followed by Nick in 1993, and their daughter Romy in 1997. All three kids were on the red carpet with their parents for the premiere of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues in September.
Jake is a Syracuse University graduate and cohost of The Incline, a Los Angeles Dodgers podcast. He’s married to Maria Gilfillan and has also worked as an actor. Romy is a “photographer, writer, and artist,” according to her website. She recently wrote and directed a short film called Here to Stay.
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Nick has had a troubled history (more on that below) and wrote the 2015 film Being Charlie, which his father directed, about dealing with addiction. The film tells the story of a “would-be governor’s addicted son [who] goes down the long, rough road of rehab, fighting against recovery every inch of the way,” per IMDb.
“It’s not my life, [but] I went to a lot of these places, so I had a lot of these stories,” Nick told People in 2016.
What happened to Rob Reiner’s son Nick?
Nick dealt with years of drug addiction and rehab stints, and has even been homeless multiple times. He did his first stint in rehab when he was 15 years old and was in 17 programs over the next four years.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick shared. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.” Nick explained that he lived on the streets because he didn’t want to go back to rehab.
During the 2016 interview, Nick, now 32, said he completed his last rehab stint at age 19 and was focused on staying clean. “Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family,” he shared.
Rob recalled his son’s addiction while promoting Being Charlie in 2016. “It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows,” he said. “And then making the movie dredged it all up again.”
Was Rob Reiner married to Penny Marshall?
Yes, Rob and the late actress Penny Marshall were married from 1971 to 1981. They never had any children together, but he adopted her daughter, Tracy, from her previous marriage to Michael Henry.
Rob and Penny grew up on the same street in the Bronx, but didn’t officially meet until they both auditioned for All in the Family (he got the part, she didn’t), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When Penny died in 2018, Rob tweeted, “So sad about Penny.”I loved Penny. I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her.”
If you or someone you know has addiction issues, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
