In The Music Man, flim-flam man Harold Hill attempts to seduce local librarian/piano teacher Marian Paroo as part of his con of River City, Iowa, though he develops real feelings for her in time. In reality, Jackman has been head over heels in love with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, since they met in 1995. Read on to find out how Hugh Jackman met his wife and what sustains their adorable relationship.
Is Hugh Jackman married?
Jackman, 53, and wife Furness, 66, have that rare celebrity marriage that has lasted more than a couple decades–and they still act like newlyweds, judging from social media. There’s no big secret to their relationship’s longevity, according to Jackman. “You have got to find the right person,” he told TODAY. “It’s powerful, but simple.” Along with that comes a willingness to continue learning and growing together. “We’re always learning and humans change so you have to, even though we’ve been together 25 years, you gotta reset all the time,” Jackman told PEOPLE in 2021. “I’m always reeling in how funny she is and how amazing she is and how smart she is. The longer it goes on the better it gets.” When Jackman started rehearsals for The Music Man, Furness would help him warm-up. In December 2021, Jackman posted a video on Instagram of one of their warm-up routines: dancing to a mash-up of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” and Soulja Boy’s “Crank That.” The 12-second clip is objectively delightful and currently has over four million views.
Who is Hugh Jackman’s wife, Deborra-Lee Furness?
Furness is an Australian actress, producer and humanitarian. Born in a suburb of Sydney and raised in Melbourne, she started acting in Australia in the 70s before studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, a private conservatory in New York City. She appeared on stage in New York and in an episode of the 1980s primetime soap opera Falcon Crest before returning to Australia. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) In addition to her acting career, Furness is well known for her advocacy work on behalf of orphaned children, campaigning both to raise awareness and to foster better laws for international adoptions. She founded Australia’s National Adoption Awareness Week in 2008, and is either a patron of or created several nonprofit organizations aimed at assisting vulnerable children worldwide, including Hopeland in New York City. “Every minute that a child is not in a safe, nurturing environment with a permanent family, damage is being done to them emotionally, physically and psychologically,” Furness told PEOPLE in 2020. “That, to me, is just unacceptable. And society is measured by the way we treat our most vulnerable, so we, as a country, need to really step up.” In 2014, Furness was named the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work on behalf of orphaned and otherwise vulnerable children.
What TV shows and movies has Deborra-Lee Furness been in?
Aside from Falcon Crest, Furness has been in several critically acclaimed Australian television series and films. Her breakout film was 1988’s Shame, about a feminist lawyer on a road trip along the western coast of Australia, whose motorcycle breaks down in a small town. Furness won the Best Actor award from the Film Critics Circle of Australia for her role. She also played Esther Jacobs, mother to the Jacobs siblings, in the 1992 film Newsies.
How did Hugh Jackman meet his wife?
Jackman and Furness met on the set of Correlli, an Australian dramatic miniseries from 1995. Furness played the title character, Louisa Correlli, a prison psychologist working to help Jackman’s character, prisoner Kevin Jones, recover his memories of a traumatic event. It was Jackman’s first acting gig. During the series’ 10-episode run, Jones and Correlli’s working relationship turns romantic, which mirrors what happened with Jackman and Furness. Their first kiss was for Correlli, after which the show’s producers told them that they liked the chemistry between them. Indeed. In 2015, Jackman told Parade he was embarrassed that he was falling for his co-star so he stopped talking to her on set. She confronted him about it and confessed that she had a crush on him too.
When did Hugh Jackman marry Deborra-Lee Furness?
Jackman and Furness married on April 12, 1996, a year after they met. In an interview with TODAY, Jackman said, “I knew two weeks into meeting Deb that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives… In the end, what do you want from your life partner? You want to be fully seen and you want to be able to fully see them for exactly who (they) really are. And Deb and I had that from the beginning.” They were married in Melbourne at St. John’s Anglican Church, with a reception at Rippon Lea, a 19th-century mansion surrounded by nearly 14 acres of gardens.
How long has Hugh Jackman been married?
Jackman and Furness celebrated 25 years of marriage in April 2021. To mark the occasion on social media, Jackman posted photos from their 1996 wedding on Instagram and Twitter and wrote a touching tribute to his wife: “Being married to you Deb is as natural as breathing. From nearly the moment we met… I knew our destiny was to be together. In our 25 years—our love has only grown deeper. The fun, excitement and adventure more exhilarating; the learning even greater. I’m forever grateful to share our love, our life—and, our family together. We’ve only just begun. Deb, I love you with all my heart!”
Does Hugh Jackman have kids?
Jackman and Furness have two children: Oscar Maximilian was born in May 2000 and is now 21, while Ava Eliot was born in July 2005 and is now 16. Both were adopted either at or shortly after birth. While the couple had always planned to adopt, they had also hoped to have biological children. Unfortunately, IVF did not work as they’d hoped, but Jackman calls it destiny, telling the Herald Sun, “Things happened the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn’t the way we were meant to have children. Now, as we go through life together, sure there are challenges, but everyone’s in the right place with the right people." Both kids are relatively low-profile on social media, but Jackman often shares stories about them in public interviews. Shortly after Greatest Showman came out, Ava banned Jackman from her ballet classes because he attracted too much attention. In 2018, Jackman recalled a time Oscar used his celebrity status to impress a girl on the beach. “He came up to me and he started walking ahead of the girl, and he goes, ‘Dad, Dad, Dad, she’s coming over. I told her you’re Wolverine, just go with it,’” Jackman told ET. “I was like, ‘I am the wingman for my 13-year-old boy.’” Furness credits her children for making her “smarter than I think I ever could have been on my own… When you’re a parent, you can’t lie to them or yourself. They will shine a light on every one of your flaws, your Achilles heel, whatever. You’ve got to look at yourself.” Next, All You Need Is Love—as Paul McCartney and Wife Nancy Shevell Prove! All About Their Marriage and Macca’s Marital History
