A dream couple celebrates their 20th wedding anniversary: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas enjoy a quiet life after turbulent years.
Actor couple Catherine Zeta-Jones (51, "Chicago") and Michael Douglas (76, "Basic Instinct") celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary on November 18th. Peace has returned to the life of the Hollywood dream couple – after crises and illnesses put their relationship to the test for a long time.
Until their paths crossed in 1998, the lives of the two Hollywood stars were very different. Catherine Zeta-Jones – half Irish, half Welsh – was born in Swansea, Wales in 1969 and grew up in the village of Mumbles with two brothers. Zeta-Jones recognized her love for show business at an early age and so she sang and danced in the parish and took on roles in plays. At the age of 15 she moved to London, two years later she made her theatrical breakthrough in the musical "42nd Street".
Her husband, however, was born into the film business, more precisely in 1944 in New Brunswick in the US state of New Jersey as the son of actor Kirk Douglas (1916-2020) and his first wife, actress Diana Dill (1923-2015). At the age of eight he took on a small film role and after studying at the University of California in New York trained as an actor and director. In 1969 he received for his role debut in "Hail, Hero!" already a Golden Globe nomination for best young actor.
Both celebrated big screen successes
After the success of the TV series "The Streets of San Francisco" (1972-1977) Michael Douglas was able to shine with the disaster film "The China Syndrome". This was followed by top-class roles in "On the hunt for the green diamond" (1984), "A fatal affair" (1987), "Black Rain" (1989), "The War of the Roses" (1990), "Basic Instinct" (1992) and "The Game" (1997). In 1988 Douglas won the Oscar for "Best Actor" for "Wall Street". In 1975 he had already received a producer Oscar for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
Zeta-Jones made her big screen breakthrough with her move to America and Steven Spielberg's (73) offer to star alongside Antonio Banderas (60) and Anthony Hopkins (82) in the movie "The Mask of Zorro". Later she also celebrated successes with "Das Geisterschloss" (1999), "Traffic – Macht des Kartell" (2000) and "Chicago" (2002). The latter earned her the Oscar for "Best Supporting Actress". At that point in time she already had her current husband by her side, many years passed before that neither of them had any luck in love.
One failed marriage, many failed relationships
Michael Douglas married the film producer Diandra Luker (64) in 1977, and son Cameron (41) was born two years later. The marriage was divorced in 2000. Zeta-Jones has had several failed relationships: From 1991 to 1993, she was in a relationship with the Scottish presenter John Leslie (55). In 1995 she is said to have been spotted turtling with fellow actor Paul McGann (61), who was married, however. Zeta-Jones was engaged to the Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen (57) for 15 months. However, the couple separated in 1996. Relations with Hollywood producer Jon Peters (75) and Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall (60) should not hold up.
In 1998 the fateful encounter took place at the Deauville Film Festival. Douglas went straight to the point: "I looked at her and said, 'Catherine, I will be the father of your children'." Despite her initial skepticism about the saying, he was proved right: Son Dylan (20) was born three months before the wedding in 2000. The wedding party in the "Plaza" hotel on Central Park cost the equivalent of 2.5 million euros and Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt (56), Danny DeVito (76) and Sir Anthony Hopkins gave each other the handle. Daughter Carys (17) was born in 2003.
In 2010, Douglas received a bad diagnosis: a tumor was discovered in his throat. Two years later, the good news: Douglas was able to beat cancer. Zeta-Jones also had health problems at the time: She went to a clinic in 2011 because of a bipolar disorder. The health problems have apparently gnawed at the relationship: In August 2013, the two actors announced that they would be taking a break. "A lot of married couples do that. But I hope that our marriage will last a very, very long time – maybe forever," said Douglas at the time of the "Bild" newspaper.
Finally a life without worries
In addition to her own private problems, there was concern about Douglas' son Cameron, who was sentenced to five years and later seven years for possessing heroin and selling methamphetamine. "The agony of my son was a nightmare. It was stressful, very painful and difficult for everyone involved," said Douglas in an interview with "Page Six" in July 2018. Cameron was released in 2016 and Douglas proudly announced: "I am very happy to say that he is in wonderful shape."
The son's problems are out of the world and the little love break was quickly forgotten – it finally seems calm has returned to the dream couple: "I live a life without worries – and without fears. We are financially secure. The children are blooming. I can work. (…) Sometimes I cry with happiness – because I'm alive and I'm doing so well, "Douglas said in July 2018 to the" Bild "newspaper. His father set an example for him how a long and successful marriage can work.
Fatherly role model
An important pillar in the family, Kirk Douglas died in early February 2020 at the age of 103. In November 2019, he gave his son and his wife advice on their wedding day with a wink, as Zeta-Jones revealed in an Instagram post. In a congratulatory letter, the acting legend, who was married to Michael Douglas' stepmother Anne Buydens (101) for six decades, wrote: "Michael, you have learned an important lesson for a successful marriage: You have to obey your wife. Carry on as you do I handle it with my wife. "