Celebrity Couples Together for More Than 50 Years

Dan Rather & Jean Rather

Legendary newscaster Dan Rather has been married to his wife Jean (pictured with him at home) for 66 years, but he still recalls his first impression of her when they met decades ago: She was "so supportive, so kind — and besides that, she was smokin' hot," he recently told PEOPLE.

Martin Sheen & Janet Sheen

The actor has been married to his wife since Dec. 23, 1961, and credits her with saving his life during the life-threatening crises he experienced while filming Apocalypse Now in the late 1970s.

While he recovered from a heart attack and a nervous breakdown, "Janet slept on the floor beside me," he told Rolling Stone at the time. "She called a therapist in New York and I talked to her every day and those two ladies pulled me through."

Decades later, Sheen reflected on the experience to Closer Weekly. "It was very serious, and she handled it like a pro. She had me laughing in the most dire circumstances. She said, 'Don't take yourself so seriously,'" he recalled of Janet, with whom he shares four children. And these days, it's smoother sailing, he added: "Every day is a celebration with this dame."

Alan Alda & Arlene Alda

The actor has been married for 65 years to his wife, a musician and author, and recently described their perfect night at their Long Island home to The New Yorker: chess, a game of ladder ball, dinner and a TV binge-watch.

He recounted their meet-cute — over a dropped rum cake at college — on Twitter, writing "We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha."

Christopher Walken & Georgianne Walken

The actor and his wife, a casting director, have been married for more than five decades, after meeting during a production of West Side Story in the 1960s. The actor recently told the New York Times that his 53-year marriage is one of his great accomplishments, and when he counts his blessings, she's among them.

"Every once in a while — certainly not often — I'll be looking out the window, and I'll think, I feel pretty good," he said. "My bills are paid, my wife is healthy, the weather's nice. That's really all I care about: when, apropos of nothing, I happen to look out the window and think, This is good."

Michael Caine & Shakira Caine

The actor fell in love with his wife-to-be instantly after seeing her in a Maxwell House commercial in the early 1970s. He jokes that it took a few attempts to convince her to go out with him, but ever since, they've been inseparable; they wed in 1973 and have a daughter together, Natasha.

"We are never apart. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen, but she is also the gentlest, kindest person," he told PEOPLE of his happy marriage, which made the cover of PEOPLE in 1976. "I have this extraordinary beautiful Indian wife who cooks fantastic Italian food. Things can't get better than that."

Dolly Parton & Carl Thomas Dean

The couple has been married since 1966, but are very rarely seen together; she has a busy life in the spotlight and Dean is more of a homebody. In their case, Parton told PEOPLE, absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

"I always joke and laugh when people ask me what's the key to my long marriage and lasting love," she said. "I always say 'Stay gone!' and there's a lot of truth to that. I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we're together and the little things we do."

Susan Lucci & Helmut Huber

Lucci may have tied the knot more than 10 times in her iconic role as Erica Kane on All My Children, but in real life, she was married to one man since 1969 until his death in 2022. She met Helmut Huber when he was a chef and she was a waitress at the Garden City Hotel, and they were engaged only three months into their relationship.

"I married young. I had an instinct that this man was going to really wear well and he has," she told PEOPLE of their lasting love. "I always admired Helmut because he was A, very smart, B, very sure of himself and very, very funny and so that combination of things. My husband is European, he's Austrian and so to my young eyes he was very worldly and experienced —there's 10 years between us. It all turned out to be true. And he still makes me laugh, lucky me."

Samuel L. & LaTanya Richardson Jackson

In 2020, the actor marked 40 years of marriage and 50 years together with his actress wife. "50 years ago we started dancing, it was all fun & games," he wrote on Instagram. "Love You for keeping me on my toes & on the beat for 18,250 days. You make my soul sing! Don't change the tune, we're not done dancing."

Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter

The former president and first lady have enjoyed nearly 77 years of marriage, which makes them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. The Carters first met in the early 1940s when President Carter was on break from the Naval Academy and asked Mrs. Carter on a date to the movies; her sister Ruth also attended.

"I just felt compatible with her," the former president recalled in Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas' book, What Makes a Marriage Last. "She was beautiful and innocent, and there was a resonance. We rode in the rumble seat of a Ford pickup — Ruth and her boyfriend in the front — and I kissed her on that first date. I remember that vividly."

The next morning, President Carter told his mother that "Rosalynn was the one I wanted to marry."

The pair wed on July 7, 1946, and share sons Jack, Jeff, Chip and daughter Amy.

Bonnie Bartlett & William Daniels

June 2021 marked 70 years of marriage for the two actors, who tied the knot on June 30, 1951.

"I think our relationship is based on mutual respect and I think she is smarter than me, better actor than me, and so I just hang on, you know, and try to get along," Daniels told Forbes in a recent interview.

With a laugh, Bartlett chimed in, "He doesn't mean that at all!"

Added Daniels: "I'm an actor! I'm making it up as I go along."

The two share three sons: Robert, Michael and William Jr.

Kirk Douglas & Anne Buydens

The legendary actor, who died in February of 2020 at the age of 103, shared nearly 70 years of marriage with wife Anne. The two made it official in Las Vegas in 1956.

Their secret to almost seven decades of wedded bliss? "We solve our disagreements with a kiss," Douglas told PEOPLE in 2015.

The couple had two sons together, Eric and Peter, who joined Douglas' two sons from his previous marriage to actress Diana Love Dill, Joel and Michael.

Ron & Cheryl Howard

In 2019, the director opened up to PEOPLE about the instant connection he felt when he met Cheryl as a junior at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. "I met her, and there was never anybody else," he said.

The high school sweethearts, who are parents to daughters Bryce Dallas, twins Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige and son Reed Cross, celebrated their 50th anniversary in November 2020 with thoughtful gifts.

"Nov 1 1970 Cheryl & I went on our 1st date. We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad Mad Mad World and then got some pizza at now defunct Barnone's in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right?" Howard shared with his fans on Instagram.

"Today we are celebrating with these kind of socks we ordered (Cheryl's w/my mug got held up) and a trip to our local take-out pizza place," he added, sharing a photo of socks with Cheryl's face on them. "We'll be driving in the same '70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we."

Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner

The couple met when Tomlin invited Wagner to help write for her comedy special in 1971 — and to hear Tomlin tell it, their connection was instant. "In two minutes, I fell in love with her," she told Variety.

The couple have collaborated on multiple artistic projects through the years, including the 1986 play that won Tomlin a Tony Award, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. And in 2013, the two tied the knot in a small ceremony at a friend's home.

The secret to 50+ years of happiness? "Admiration and respect," Tomlin tells PEOPLE.

Barbara & George H. W. Bush

Before Jimmy Carter, the late former president held the record for the longest presidential marriage, to wife Barbara before she died at 92 on April 17, 2018. The pair were just teenagers when they met, beginning an epic romance that would last more than 76 years.

"I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara's husband," he said, according to the Associated Press.

Through triumphs and tragedies, a world war and four years in the White House, the former first couple's love for each other endured as they raised five children: George W. Bush, also president of the United States, serving from 2001 until 2009, Jeb Bush, who was the 43rd governor of Florida, Neil, Marvin and daughter Dorothy — daughter Robin died after a battle with leukemia in 1953.

Bob & Ginnie Newhart

The legendary comedian celebrated his 60th anniversary with wife Ginnie months before her death in April 2023, and credited laughter as the key factor to their long-lasting relationship.

"There's something about laughter and the longevity of a marriage," he said on CBS Sunday Morning.

Newhart revealed to PEOPLE in 2019 that Buddy Hackett introduced him to his wife, as the late comedian and actor set the two up on a blind date.

"Well, we're both Catholic. She's three-quarters Irish. I'm three-quarters Irish," Newhart said. "Buddy said, 'I've got a girl for you. She's going with another guy, but I don't think he's right for her, so I'm going to fix you up on a blind date. You'll meet her and you'll date and you'll get married. Then you'll have kids and you'll call one of the kids Buddy.' "

"Which we did — one of our daughters, we called her Buddy," Newhart joked.

The couple had four children: sons Robert and Timothy, and daughters Jennifer and Courtney — as well as 10 grandchildren.

Carl & Estelle Reiner

The comedian and his wife wed in 1943, and were married for 64 years until her death in 2008. Shortly before his own passing in 2020, Reiner paid tribute to his beloved wife, tweeting, "Nothing pleases me more than knowing that I have lived the best life possible by having met & marrying the gifted Estelle (Stella) Lebost---who partnered with me in bringing Rob, Annie & Lucas Reiner into to this needy & evolving world."

Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip

The royal couple celebrated 73 years of marriage in November 2020, ahead of Philip's passing in April 2021. The pair were together at Windsor Castle, where they were staying amid England's second national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although they didn't have a big gathering for the occasion, the royal family made sure to send their best wishes. In addition to social media posts celebrating the anniversary, Prince William and Kate Middleton's three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — delighted their great-grandparents with a handmade card.

For her Christmas address in 2021, the Queen shared a personal tribute to her late husband. "His sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation – were all irrepressible. That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him," she said.

Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara

The actors were married for 61 years until Meara died in 2015 at the age of 85. (Stiller died five years later in May 2020 at 92.) The two worked together as the comedy duo Stiller & Meara on sketch shows throughout the 1960s, most notably, The Ed Sullivan Show. Eventually, the two parted ways as collaborators but remained intact as a couple, which made their bond even stronger.

"I miss her," Stiller said in a 2020 interview with Country Living. "There were no walls between us in any way. We both knew what the other was thinking even when we weren't listening."

The pair were parents to son Ben and daughter Amy.

Geoffrey Holder & Carmen de Lavallade

The larger-than-life dancer, actor, choreographer, painter and composer met his wife while performing as a dancer in House of Flowers, his Broadway debut in 1954. de Lavallade, also an actor, dancer and choreographer, was dancing in the same show and caught his attention. The couple got married in 1955 and had a son named Léo in 1957. The two distinguished artists were married for 59 years until Holder died in 2014 at the age of 84.

Colin & Alma Powell

The former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush (who died in Oct. 2021) married the successful author and advocate for children and youth on Aug. 25, 1962. The distinguished pair led decades-long careers in public service and each won several awards for their work, including their shared 2019 Lincoln Medal. They shared children Linda, Annemarie and Michael.

Alfred Hitchcock & Alma Reville

The celebrated film director died on April 30, 1980, and had his wife of 54 years at his bedside, along with their only child, daughter Patricia O'Connell, Variety reported at the time. The two got married in December 1926 and although Hitchcock, who died at age 80, is remembered as a cinematic pioneer, Reville had never fully gotten the recognition she deserved for being just as brilliant in her career as a screenwriter and editor and an indispensable partner to her husband and his movies. Their daughter went on to honor her mother, who died in 1982, and father in her 2004 book, The Woman Behind the Man.

Cyd Charisse & Tony Martin

The movie dancer, who twirled with such studio legends as Gene Kelly (in Singin' in the Rain) and Fred Astaire (in The Band Wagon), was married to singer-actor Martin for 60 years before she died in 2008 after suffering a heart attack at 86. (Martin died in 2012 at the age of 98.)

The Martins shared son, Tony Jr., and Charisse's son Nico Jr. from her first marriage to dancer Nico Charisse.