Famous working couples
October 23, 2007 11:51 AM

Can you think of any more famous working couples?

I'm looking for names of married (or romantically involved) couples who did well-known/respected work together. The only examples I can think of Ray and Charles Eames and Pierre and Marie Curie.

Does anyone know of any others?
posted by kiwitobes to Society & Culture (141 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
Bill and Hillary Clinton?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:52 AM on October 23, 2007


Mary Matalin and James Carville
posted by tristeza at 11:52 AM on October 23, 2007


Mary and Percy Shelley? And then there's a whole slew of the romantically involved in bands together.
posted by fvw at 11:54 AM on October 23, 2007


Well, Einstein's first wife is rumored to have played a large part in developing the theory of relativity, but she didn't get any credit for it, so I don't know if that counts.
posted by amro at 11:55 AM on October 23, 2007


Christo and Jeanne-Claude
posted by hermitosis at 11:55 AM on October 23, 2007


Jean Paul Sartre and SImone De Beauvoir
posted by mdn at 11:56 AM on October 23, 2007


Carolyn & Eugene Shoemaker (astronomers).
posted by rocket88 at 11:57 AM on October 23, 2007


Heloise and Abelard
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:57 AM on October 23, 2007


Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (mostly with him directing).
posted by timetoevolve at 11:58 AM on October 23, 2007


oh, I didn't see the work together part - they did the same kind of work, but I don't think they published anything co-authored or anything. Still, same intellectual circle... (though how much respect he gave her work is an open question)
posted by mdn at 11:59 AM on October 23, 2007


Jackson Pollock & Lee Krasner
posted by rocket88 at 11:59 AM on October 23, 2007


mdn: Yeah, I managed to come up with a lot of authors or artists who were married to each other but didn't really work together. I was curious about those who managed to actually be romantically involved and have much of their work be joint projects.

By the same token, don't Mary Matilin and James Carville work for competing political parties? (sorry, don't really follow political strategy very much)
posted by kiwitobes at 12:02 PM on October 23, 2007


Mendel Rosenblum and Diane Greene. Their company, VMware, is now about the fourth-largest software vendor in the world.
posted by rdc at 12:09 PM on October 23, 2007


Jane Goodall and Hugo van Lawick, back when they were married.
posted by JanetLand at 12:09 PM on October 23, 2007


The architects Ricardo Scofidio and Elizabeth Diller.
posted by gac at 12:10 PM on October 23, 2007


Also photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher.
posted by gac at 12:12 PM on October 23, 2007


Isabel and Ruben Toledo
posted by pluckysparrow at 12:12 PM on October 23, 2007


Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell
posted by pluckysparrow at 12:14 PM on October 23, 2007


Bela and Marta Karolyi.
posted by JanetLand at 12:14 PM on October 23, 2007


Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
What? I liked El Cantante. Yeah, I said it.

Vladimir and Vera Nabokov. (She edited all of his novels.)
posted by milarepa at 12:14 PM on October 23, 2007


Artists Gilbert and George.
posted by rongorongo at 12:15 PM on October 23, 2007


Fantasy authors David and Leigh Eddings.
posted by mkb at 12:18 PM on October 23, 2007


Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
posted by OmieWise at 12:18 PM on October 23, 2007


The composer Benjamin Britten wrote many works over his lifetime for his romantic partner, the tenor Peter Pears.

Also, in the movies, aren't Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson married (or were at one time)?
posted by matildaben at 12:18 PM on October 23, 2007


Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie also won the Nobel prize for work they did together. Man, what a family...
posted by you're a kitty! at 12:22 PM on October 23, 2007


Nichols and May. Stiller and Meara. (I may not be spelling that last name correctly.)
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 12:22 PM on October 23, 2007


Segolene Royal and François Hollande?
posted by dismas at 12:22 PM on October 23, 2007


Plenty of examples from the stage: the Lunts, the Barrymores, Comden & Green.
posted by bradlands at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2007


Stiller and Meara? Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball?
posted by futility closet at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
posted by Rock Steady at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Hepburn and Tracy, Burton and Taylor, Franklin and White.
I recommend browsing the swell blog If Charlie Paker Was a Gunslinger...'s They Were an Item category.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Depending on what "significant" or "important" means to you, there are LOADS of co-publishing married professors in the world of academia.
posted by proj at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007


It's interesting to think about the definition of a working couple. Some of these couples worked together, but some also simply served as muses for each other. If the work was an on-going body of work it seems more likely that they'd be what we mostly think of as working couple.
posted by theinfonaut at 12:27 PM on October 23, 2007


Are Ben and Mena Trott famous enough?
posted by pracowity at 12:28 PM on October 23, 2007


Ike and Tina Turner, June and Johnny Cash...there are _lots_ in the music business.

Roger Vadim and Jane Fonda (Barbarella)
posted by iconomy at 12:29 PM on October 23, 2007


Bill and Melinda Gates
posted by sargento29 at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2007


Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley of Yo la Tengo
Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2007


Jessica Tandy & Hume Cronyn
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2007


Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield (Flickr).
posted by Brockles at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2007


Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner
posted by pracowity at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2007


Zigfried and Roy.
posted by greekphilosophy at 12:32 PM on October 23, 2007


Ismail Merchant and James Ivory
posted by pracowity at 12:32 PM on October 23, 2007


Will and Ariel Durant.
posted by needs more cowbell at 12:33 PM on October 23, 2007


John and Yoko
posted by bondcliff at 12:33 PM on October 23, 2007


Keith Bostick and Margo Seltzer of Sleepycat Software
posted by rdc at 12:35 PM on October 23, 2007


Richard and Linda Thompson, back in the day.
posted by hwestiii at 12:36 PM on October 23, 2007


Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, yo.
posted by Justinian at 12:38 PM on October 23, 2007


Several figure skating pairs: Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov.... I'm sure there are more, too.

Would you count Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera?
posted by bassjump at 12:38 PM on October 23, 2007


Jack and Suzy Welch
posted by Sweetie Darling at 12:39 PM on October 23, 2007


Louis and Mary Leakey.
posted by infinitewindow at 12:39 PM on October 23, 2007


Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne
posted by amanda at 12:44 PM on October 23, 2007


Clara and Robert Schumann?
posted by musicinmybrain at 12:45 PM on October 23, 2007


Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg co-author/illustrate very popular children's books.
posted by iconomy at 12:45 PM on October 23, 2007


Shields and Yarnell
posted by sandra_s at 12:46 PM on October 23, 2007


Per theinfonaut's comment, would Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell fit the bill? Regarding Rosie's charities, I mean. I don't know anything about their personal lives, I'm simply presuming Kelli works with Rosie on these things; Kelli's a Marketing Executive.
posted by gummi at 12:48 PM on October 23, 2007


Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings.
Tuck Andress and Patty Cathcart.
Les Paul and Mary Ford.
posted by timeistight at 12:48 PM on October 23, 2007


Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
George Burns and Gracie Allen
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
Siegfried and Roy
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut)
Tuck and Patti Andress
Jim Cramer and Karen Backfisch
Plenty of examples from European royalty
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:49 PM on October 23, 2007


Oh, and Jhonn Balance and Peter Christopherson of Coil, etc.
posted by mkb at 12:50 PM on October 23, 2007


Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi.
posted by timeistight at 12:50 PM on October 23, 2007


Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely collaborated on some wild kinetic sculptures and fountains.
posted by Scram at 12:53 PM on October 23, 2007


Masters and Johnson
Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
posted by jquinby at 12:55 PM on October 23, 2007


The Lunts - "...the pre-eminent Broadway acting couple in American history..."
posted by amtho at 12:55 PM on October 23, 2007


(Not super well known outside of the indie rock world) Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel from the band Mates of State.
posted by adustum at 12:55 PM on October 23, 2007


Louis Prima and Keeley Smith
posted by jefftang at 1:00 PM on October 23, 2007


Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew to five continents together, mapping new commercial air routes.
posted by steef at 1:00 PM on October 23, 2007


Massimo and Lella Vignelli
posted by mike_bling at 1:01 PM on October 23, 2007


Hmmm... the ones I can think of mostly come from music and film.

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love (People like to say that Kurt wrote all of Courtney's material... isn't true. They contributed more or less equally- in terms of lyrics/riffs/overall inspiration- to one another's work.)

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull.
Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson.
Lux Interior and Poison Ivy of The Cramps.
Phil and Ronnie Spector.
Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter.
Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth.
Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.
Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann.
Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz.
Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow.
Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin.

And, of course... there is Brangelina. Their charity work counts as "well respected", right?
posted by MiaWallace at 1:08 PM on October 23, 2007


Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher?
posted by pracowity at 1:11 PM on October 23, 2007


Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker -- and probably a lot of other preachers & preachers' wives.
posted by amtho at 1:11 PM on October 23, 2007


Just learned this morning that The Captain & Tenille are married
posted by andifsohow at 1:15 PM on October 23, 2007


Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee.

Sorry.
posted by ceri richard at 1:18 PM on October 23, 2007


Barry Diller and Diane Von Furstenberg
posted by PenDevil at 1:22 PM on October 23, 2007


Sonny and Cher.
posted by ceri richard at 1:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Elvis Costello and Diana Krall.
posted by ceri richard at 1:25 PM on October 23, 2007


Legendary children's book illustrating team Alice and Martin Provensen. They weren't just both illustrators. They illustrated together, and did so on some of the most important books of the past 50+ years. They also won multiple Caldecotts together.

Likewise, see Leo and Diane Dillon.
posted by lampoil at 1:25 PM on October 23, 2007


Vernon and Irene Castle
posted by trip and a half at 1:26 PM on October 23, 2007


Also, Patricia McKissack is one of today's most respected kids' authors all on her own, but she's also written several award-winning books with her husband, Fred.
posted by lampoil at 1:26 PM on October 23, 2007


Elvis Costello also worked with his second wife, Cait O'Riordan (The Pogues).
posted by MiaWallace at 1:26 PM on October 23, 2007


Maynard Dixon/Dorthea Lange
posted by Yiggs at 1:40 PM on October 23, 2007


Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
posted by hypersloth at 1:43 PM on October 23, 2007


Buddy and Julie Miller have done a couple albums together, but they show up on each other's songs fairly often.
posted by booth at 1:45 PM on October 23, 2007


Leonard and Virginia Wolfe
posted by klarck at 1:47 PM on October 23, 2007


...or Woolf
posted by klarck at 1:49 PM on October 23, 2007


Richard and Judy
posted by cardamine at 1:54 PM on October 23, 2007


charlie starkweather and caril ann fugate
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:55 PM on October 23, 2007


Richard and Maeve Leakey

The above-mentioned Richard and Judy (Madeley and Finnigan) for the uninitiated.
posted by ceri richard at 2:05 PM on October 23, 2007


Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.
posted by Pollomacho at 2:08 PM on October 23, 2007




Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone
posted by greenmagnet at 2:14 PM on October 23, 2007


bonnie and clyde?
posted by mrunderhill at 2:15 PM on October 23, 2007


Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.
Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (several movies; now divorced).
Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley ("Uptown Girl" video; now divorced).
Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:20 PM on October 23, 2007


Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf (technically they don't work together but are very much in the same field).
posted by ceri richard at 2:21 PM on October 23, 2007


John Alderton and Pauline Collins
posted by ceri richard at 2:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Debbie Harry and Chris Stein in Blondie (dated).
John Doe and Exene Cervenka from X (now divorced).
John & Christine McVie and Linsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:26 PM on October 23, 2007


Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:27 PM on October 23, 2007


Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
Fanny Cradock and John Cradock
posted by ceri richard at 2:31 PM on October 23, 2007


Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt (I think they've co-authored essays?)
posted by ceri richard at 2:33 PM on October 23, 2007


semi-famous rock couples:

Christina and Tom Carter in Charalambides (divorced, still play together)

Manuel Gottsching and Rosie in Ash Ra Tempel/Ashra

Elisa Ambrogio and Ben Chasny in Magik Markers (dating, Ben's part of the live band)
posted by porn in the woods at 2:35 PM on October 23, 2007


Helen and Scott Nearing, back to the land pioneers and authors
Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, musicians
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, film theorists
posted by bubukaba at 2:39 PM on October 23, 2007


Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
posted by jayder at 2:50 PM on October 23, 2007


Ossie and Harriet Nelson.
posted by timeistight at 2:52 PM on October 23, 2007


Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:07 PM on October 23, 2007


What kind of work? If the Clintons count, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Juan and Eva Peron . . .
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 3:21 PM on October 23, 2007


If the arts is more what you are after, Richard and Linda Thompson, Salvador and Gala Dali . . .
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 3:23 PM on October 23, 2007


John Reed and Louise Bryant (see the film Reds)
posted by Camofrog at 3:24 PM on October 23, 2007


Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:39 PM on October 23, 2007


Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson.
Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:41 PM on October 23, 2007


Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:42 PM on October 23, 2007


Tod Williams and Billie Tsien
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 3:55 PM on October 23, 2007




Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry of Handsome Furs.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 4:12 PM on October 23, 2007


Charles Laughton & Elsa Lancaster
Antoine Levoisier & Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
posted by IndigoJones at 4:53 PM on October 23, 2007


alex and allison grey
posted by lgyre at 5:10 PM on October 23, 2007


I'm sad that I didn't get to be first with Masters and Johnson, but you should know that they did sex research, outlining the four stages of arousal. This is controversial because their female subjects were prostitutes.
posted by bilabial at 5:17 PM on October 23, 2007


Lotte Reiniger and Carl Koch (silhouette animators, they made amazing films!)
posted by ethel at 5:28 PM on October 23, 2007


U CAN HAS SIEGFRIED & ROY.

Mmmrrrrowrrr!
posted by rob511 at 5:44 PM on October 23, 2007


Alvar Aalto and Aino Aalto, Alvar Aalto and Elissa Aalto.

Anita Roddick and Gordon Roddick.
posted by iviken at 5:48 PM on October 23, 2007


Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (tee hee)
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
George Burns and Gracie Allen
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier
Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thompson

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yarwood

Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas

Marc Antony and Cleopatra

Annie Oakley and Frank Butler
posted by misha at 6:05 PM on October 23, 2007


Tony Blair and Cherie Booth Blair.
posted by midatlanticwanderer at 6:10 PM on October 23, 2007


Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
posted by arianell at 6:21 PM on October 23, 2007


I always mention this couple, but that's because they were amazing: Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth were pioneers in the fields of industrial engineering and efficiency studies (which are a lot more interesting than they sound). They worked together for more than 20 years, and after his death at the age of 55, she continued their work alone . . . while raising their twelve kids.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:33 PM on October 23, 2007


George Balanchine and pretty much every woman he was ever married to, by common law or otherwise:

Tamara Geva
Vera Zorina
Alexandra Danilova (common law)
Maria Tallchief
Tanaquil Le Clerq
posted by wildeepdotorg at 6:52 PM on October 23, 2007


Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge. They're well-known ecology researchers with a significant body of work. They share a research lab and co-advise their graduate students. They actually split the workload and pay of a full-time academic position between them earlier in their careers, while raising their kids.

Jazz musicians and club owners Tiny Davis and Ruby Lucas.
posted by Tehanu at 7:00 PM on October 23, 2007


Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.
posted by pasici at 7:10 PM on October 23, 2007


Amy Poehler and Will Arnett (comedy)
Andre Agassi and Stefi Graf (tennis and real estate development)
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:56 PM on October 23, 2007


Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon?
posted by streetdreams at 8:03 PM on October 23, 2007




Famous sculptors Claes Olderburg and Coosje van Bruggen

(though my art history teacher told us she does all the work)
posted by lorenzism at 8:39 PM on October 23, 2007


Not super famous, but Edwin and Mary Scheier.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:54 PM on October 23, 2007


In truth some of those listed above are merely "power couples" in the same or related fields. I think you asked a more specific question.

Joel Coen and Frances McDormand (there are really quite a few director-actor combinations and actor-actor combinations of course)
Ian and Sylvia
Richard and Mimi Fariña
Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole (A Mighty Wind)
Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (both on SNL)
etc.

Ségolène Royal and François Hollande (led France's Socialist Party together, now divorced)
Merrill "Mimi" McLoughlin and Michael Ruby (edited Newsweek together)
Mark Lee and Jan Davis (STS-47)
posted by dhartung at 10:55 PM on October 23, 2007


Serge Gainsbourg and Briget Badot - lovers when they wrote "Je t'aime... moi non plus".

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin - lovers when "Je t'aime... moi non plus" was re-recorded and released.
posted by rongorongo at 2:06 AM on October 24, 2007


Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney.
Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa.
Ingemar Bergman had long relationships with several actresses that were regulars in his films: Harriet Andersson, Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann. He was married five times, but none of his wives were actresses.
posted by iviken at 2:28 AM on October 24, 2007


Britney and K-Fed
posted by roofus at 3:21 AM on October 24, 2007


and....scene
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:13 AM on October 24, 2007


These are all some kinda photographer/other artist or photographer/photographer combo:

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (photog/photog)
Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin (photog/photog)
Nigel and Chrissy Barker (photog/makeup artist)
Lithium Picnic and Apnea (photog/model & makeup artist)

Then there's always-

John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands (director/actress)
posted by arishaun at 6:18 AM on October 24, 2007


Samantha Bee and Jason Jones on The Daily Show.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:20 AM on October 24, 2007


The Gilbreths were the first that came to mind for me too, though "she continued their work alone . . . while raising their twelve kids" isn't technically correct. She was left with eleven; one daughter had died many years earliers, at the age six.

Lillian Gilbreth was an amazing woman, not only for her professional research and innovations but for managing to do it all between that many pregnancies and operating out of a home office where there must have been interruptions every five seconds. She deserves to be every working mother's hero.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 4:01 PM on October 24, 2007


If you're interested in more depth, Creative Couples in the Sciences discusses husband-and-wife Nobelists Marie and Pierre Curie, their daughter Irene Joliet-Curie and her husband Frederic, and Gerty and Carl Cori. (One of the essays also examines Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric, mentioned upthread, and concludes that she didn't contribute anything of intellectual significance to the work that made him famous.)

Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages - has this to say in the section on John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor: "Mill believed that when two people together probe every subject of interest, when they hold all thoughts and speculations in common, whatever writings may result are joint products. The one who has contributed the least to composition may have contributed the most to thought. It is of little consequence which of them holds the pen."

I think the last sentence overstates the case, but the one before it is interesting. It gets at tthe question of what qualifies, or should qualify, as "joint work" - co-author publication credits? Yes, of course. What about unofficial collaboration where the process of shaping the work, from initial spark to final product, involves lots of verbal back-and-forth and mutual critiquing, but only party puts his name to it officially? (Historically, "his" is how such situations have worked out - see the above books for reasons that some couples elected to do this.)

What about unofficial collaboration, same as above, but the unofficial partner did write signfiicant chunks of rough drafts? And/or penultimate or final drafts? But only the official partner gets the publication credit?

A couple of other books that address the process of collaborative work, and cast doubts on the myth of solitary genius, are Mothering the Mind and Creative Collaboration.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:33 PM on October 24, 2007


Note that despite being listed above, songwriters/lyricists Comden & Green were not romantically involved with one another; they had their own spouses.
posted by Asparagirl at 9:58 PM on October 25, 2007


Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda.
posted by bubukaba at 9:15 PM on October 27, 2007


Zuzana Licko and Rudy VanderLans of Emigré.
posted by KS at 8:56 AM on November 7, 2007


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