DIFFERENT-SEX COUPLES – PRESENT
Rebecca Walker (writer and daughter of Alice Walker) & Glen Choyin: live together in Hawaii and Northern California with their young son (born in 2004).
Jon Hamm & Jennifer Westfeldt: both actors, have been happily unmarried for over 10 years. In a recent interview, Hamm said he has no real desire to marry or have children. He replied, “Becoming a parent is a whole other life, and it doesn’t stop.”
Michelle Triola Marvin & Dick Van Dyke: these Hollywood seniors were unmarried together for over 30 years, until Michelle’s death in October, 2009.
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt: together since 2005, have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. In September 2006, Pitt said, “Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able.”
Oprah Winfrey & Stedman Graham: engaged since 1992 but still not married. On Larry King Live in September 2001, Oprah said, “I think the relationship as it is works really, really solidly well.” In TV Guide in October 2003, Oprah said, “People look at me [not marrying Stedman] and think, ‘She must be unhappy, something must be missing.’ But that’s because they’re looking at my life from their perspective. Stedman and I have a great relationship that allows me to be me in the fullest sense, with no expectations of wifedom and all that would mean.”
Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell: together since 1984. Goldie’s children Oliver and Kate consider Russell their father. The couple has one biological child together.
Tina Turner & Erwin Bach (record executive): living together since 1986
LeBron James and Savannah Brinson: Together for over 10 years, the couple has two children together. James is outspoken not only about being a great father to their two children but also about his great single mother, Gloria. James won the Most Valuable Player for the second time in 2009-10 becoming the tenth NBA player in history to do so. The couple currently resides in Miami, and got engaged December 31, 2011.
Bob Shacochis (American Book Award-winning author) & Barbara Petersen (executive director of the First Amendment Foundation): together since 1976.
Gail Godwin (bestselling author) & Robert Starer (composer): lived together for over thirty years before Starer’s death in 2001.
Larry Mullen Jr. (of U2) & Ann Acheson: high school sweethearts. Have been together for over 30 years and have three children.
Donna Mills (actress) & Richard Holland (music executive): in a relationship since about 1981, although they live apart. Mills lives with her adopted daughter.
Ricky Gervais (comedian) & Jane Fallon: together for 31 years.
Carol Queen & Robert Morgan (authors and sex educators): together since 1989
John Malkovich (actor/director) & Nicoletta Peyran (scholar): together since about 1991 with 2 children.
Marty Liquori (track athlete) & Debra Main: together since 1992, “engaged” since 1996
Alastair Campbell (Prime Minister Tony Blair’s chief spokesman) & Fiona Millar (chief aide to Mr. Blair’s wife, Cherie) have three children together.
Joanna Coles & Peter Godwin (award-winning journalists).
Alan Nairn & Amy Goodman (journalists and activists).
Wallace Shawn (actor/writer, known for The Princess Bride) & Deborah Eisenberg (writer, author of All Around Atlantis).
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber (actors): together since 2005, they have 2 children.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard (actors): have been together since 2007; became engaged January 2010; and in November 2012 announced that they are expecting their first child
SAME-SEX COUPLES – PRESENT
Barbara Gittings (activist, editor, bibliographer) & Kay Tobin Lahusen (activist, writer, photographer), together since 1961 until Gittings death in 2007 from breast cancer.
Lily Tomlin (comedian) & Jane Wagner (writer) have been living together since around 1971.
Kate Clinton (comedian) & Urvashi Vaid (LGBT activist) have been together since about 1991. Her 2006 tour marked her 25th anniversary as a professional stand-up comedian. Clinton says, “I can’t marry [her] and wouldn’t if I could, even though we could use some new Corning Ware with matching tops.”
DIFFERENT-SEX COUPLES – PAST
Wally Nelson & Juanita Nelson (peace activists), together 54 years until Wally’s death in 2002.
Simone de Beauvoir (author of The Second Sex) & Jean-Paul Sartre (existential philosopher), together about 50 years until Sartre’s death.
Dashiell Hammett (writer, author of The Maltese Falcon) & Lillian Hellman (playwright, author of The Children’s Hour), had a rocky 30 year relationship and friendship, until his death in 1961.
Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy: He was unable to divorce his Catholic wife, so he and Katharine never married in their 27 year relationship that was ended by his death in 1967.
George Eliot (pen name for Mary Ann Evans, 19th century British author) & G.H. Lewes, together for 24 years until Lewes’ death in 1878.
George Sand (pen name for Amandine Lucille Dupin, 19th century French author) & Frederick Chopin (Polish classical composer), together about 15 years until Chopin’s death. Sand had previously been married and said she found marriage a “barbarous institution.”
Aphra Behn (British author) & John Hoyle (lawyer), together more than 12 years..
Peggy Seeger & Ewan MacColl (singing duo), may not be household names, but the song Ewan wrote about his falling in love with Peggy, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” is one of the most moving love songs of the 20th century. Peggy and Ewan were a committed, non-married couple for almost 30 years, and had three children. Ewan and Peggy finally married shortly before Ewan’s death in 1989 only to allow Peggy to receive Ewan’s pension.
SAME-SEX COUPLES – PAST
J. Edgar Hoover (FBI chief) & Clyde Tolson (FBI special agent), together 44 years
Willa Cather (author) & Edith Lewis, together 40 years.
Harry Hay (author, activist) & John Burnside (activist), together 40 years, until Hay’s death in 2003
Gertrude Stein (poet, author) & Alice B. Toklas, together 39 years
Raymond Burr (actor, philanthropist) & Robert Benevides (Burr’s business partner, philanthropist), together 35 years until the death of Raymond Burr
Leonardo da Vinci & Giacomo Caprotti, together 30 years
Gore Vidal (author) & Howard Austen, together since 1948 until Howard’s death in 2003.
Noel Coward (playwright, songwriter) & Graham Payn (actor), together 29 years
