A Look at Frances McDormand and Joel Coen’s Relationship as the Long-Term Couple Marks Their 41st Anniversary

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen’s Early Days

McDormand and Coen met when she auditioned for his first feature film Blood Simple back in 1983. McDormand read for the leading role of Abby, but after the first go, she told Coen that she would not be returning for a second audition because she wanted to see her then-boyfriend make his TV debut in a soap opera.

Needless to say, she did come back for a second audition and the pair would work on many other projects together.

Literature for the Win

Things really took off between the two as they were shooting Blood Simple. An avid reader, McDormand had only brought one book to the set and when she asked her future husband for recommendations, he went above and beyond.

“I asked him if there was anything he’d recommend,” she explained during a 2014 interview with The Daily Beast. “He brought me a box of James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler paperbacks, and I said, ‘Which one should I start with?’ And he said, The Postman Always Rings Twice.”

McDormand revealed that she read the 1934 crime novel and called it one of the “sexiest books” she had ever read. A couple of nights later, she invited the future Oscar winner over to talk about the book. “That did it. He seduced me with literature,” she added. “And then we discussed books and drank hot chocolate for several evenings.”

Going to the Chapel

McDormand and Coen tied the knot in 1984. The pair marked their union in a very unique way: Instead of getting a new wedding band, they reused Coen’s ex-wife’s old wedding ring.

In 2017, McDormand told The New York Times that she had no problem wearing the hand-me-down and felt the ring was a practicality and shouldn’t go to waste.

She’s Just a Girl

Fifteen years into their marriage, the pair took Blood Simple to the Deauville American Film Festival. Above, the actress is pictured playfully tugging at her husband’s blazer.

Matching Accolades

In 1996, McDormand starred in the Coen Brothers’ Fargo alongside Steve Buscemi and William H. Macy. An instant classic, the crime thriller won the brothers the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. McDormand also walked away a winner, snagging the Best Actress in a Leading Role trophy.

Winners’ Cirlce

Suffice it to say, she was thrilled by her win.

Triple Threat

In addition to Blood Simple and Fargo, McDormand has also worked with her husband and brother-in-law on several other projects including, Hail, Caesar!, Raising Arizona, Burn After Reading and more.

“It was a revelation that I could have a lover who I could also work with and I wasn’t intimidated by the person,” she told the Times in 2017. “But that didn’t happen with Joel. It was: ‘Wow! Really! Oh, my God!’ I can actually love and live — not subvert anything, not apologize for anything, not hide anything.”

Family Is Everything

In 1995, McDormand and Coen expanded their family, adopting their only son, Pedro McDormand Coen from Paraguay when he was six months old. Above, the trio walk the red carpet as they arrive to the Rome Film Fest at Auditorium Parco Della Musica in 2015.

Lasting Love

The two are awards show staples together (seen here at the 2011 Tonys) and are often being celebrated themselves. In 2018, McDormand won her second Oscar for her lead role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and thanked her family in her speech.

“I especially want to thank my clan, Joel and Pedro McCoen,” she started, holding back tears. “These two stalwart individuals were well-raised by their feminist mothers. They value themselves, each other and those around them. I know you are proud of me and that fills me with everlasting joy.”

Always Together

The happy couple were adorable while holding hands as they attended the Venice Film Festival 2014. Frances McDormand was awarded the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award.

Still the One

In 2022, the pair arrived together for the premiere of their latest collaboration, The Tragedy of Macbeth, which Coen directed and McDormand starred in alongside Denzel Washington, Harry Melling, Kathryn Hunter, Corey Hawkins and Alex Hassell.