Cillian Murphy and his wife and sons arrive at the 2024 Oscars.Photo:VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty
Despite his profession,Cillian Murphyand his wife Yvonne McGuinness have a decidedly low-key life.
“I don’t need to live in Los Angeles,“Murphy told PEOPLEin 2005. “I’d be tremendously far away from my family — I’d never see them.”
When Murphy was presented with the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards in January 2024, he took the opportunity tothank McGuinness and their sonson stage.
“Two-thirds of them are sitting down there. We had to leave one of them at home doing exams,” he said. “But just thanks for putting up with me — putting up with the half me and the shadow me and the absent me, the remains of me when I’m doing a film like this or work in general. You’re always there. I love it. So thanks, guys.”
Murphythanked his family once againwhile accepting his Academy Award for Best Actor for his work inOppenheimerat the 2024 Oscars.
“I love you so much, and I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight,” he said.
But who is Cillian Murphy’s longtime love, Yvonne McGuinness? Read on to learn about her work as an artist and her life out of the spotlight with Murphy.
She’s an accomplished artist
Originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, McGuinness is a classically trained visual artist who holds a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art in London.
“Her work encompasses film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound and writing,” readsMcGuinness' website, explaining that the artist stages “live, public interventions and performances.”
She met Murphy before he was famous
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“That time, makingDisco Pigs, was kind of the most important period of my life,” he toldThe Guardianin 2016. “The people I met there remain my closest friends … They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. And it was around the same time I met my wife. She came on tour with us. It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was — we were all just kids, trying to find our way — but such a special, special time.”
She and Murphy got married in 2004 and share two kids
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McGuinness and Murphy tied the knot in 2004 and later welcomed two sons together: Malachy, born in 2005, and Aran, born in 2007.
While McGuinness was pregnant with Malachy, Murphy was shooting the 2006 war dramaThe Wind that Shakes the Barley. The actor later told theThe Guardianthat filming the movie was one of his favorite acting experiences, in part because he was able to be close to McGuinness.
“I was living at home with my folks, my wife was pregnant with our son, and we were running around the hills of west Cork shooting up Black and Tans. Fantastic!” he described.
That same summer,Batman Beginspremiered in theaters and catapulted Murphy’s career to new levels.
They lived in London for decades, but now live in Dublin
“I loved living in London in my 20s and 30s, but after a while you kind of go, ‘Right, is this it? Is this it for the rest of my days? Or is there some other possibility?’ “Murphy toldThe Guardian.
He and McGuinness decided to move the family to Dublin in 2015 because they wanted their sons to be closer to their grandparents. “We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose,” he said. “It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of thing. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls when they’re 15.”
They value their privacy
Though McGuinness has Instagram and Twitter accounts, they’re both private, and Murphy isn’t on social media at all. The couple is so closed-lipped about their family life that, though Murphy often does interviews for his blockbuster movies, he rarely discusses his wife or children publicly.
They’re both vegetarians
“I was vegetarian for a long time then I relapsed and now I’ve relapsed back to vegetarianism,“Murphy toldThe Guardian. “My wife is, too.”
When Murphy was filmingPeaky Blinders,McGuinness stayed home with their kids
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The couple lives in Dublin, butPeaky Blindersfilmed in Liverpool, England. During production, McGuinness stayed in Dublin with their children while Murphy moved into a rented apartment in Liverpool and lived “zero” life, ashe toldThe Guardian.
“It’s cancelled life,” he explained. “You go home to your tiny apartment at the end of the day and you feed yourself for sustenance and you learn the lines for the next day and you try to get as much sleep as you possibly can. Which isn’t much. And then you get up and do it again.”
Murphy also described the period of decompression he went through when filming wrapped each season and he returned home. “It takes time. My wife can see it happening. ‘OK. Tommy’s gradually leaving. I’m getting Cillian back,’ " he said.
McGuinness suggested adapting the novelSmall Things Like These
In an interview published in July 2023, Murphy spoke toThe Guardianabout his upcoming movie,Small Things Like These,sayingthat his wife originally suggested adapting Claire Keegan’s novella for the screen.
Murphy explained that he wanted to work withPeaky Blindersdirector Tim Mielants and they were trying to think of a film to make when McGuinness suggested adapting the popular book.
“That’s going to be gone already,” Murphy said, referring to the book’s adaptation rights. He recalled contacting the agent and finding out that it was available.
Murphy credits McGuinness with keeping him grounded
Despite Murphy’s high-profile career, the couple tends to stay out of the limelight. “The fame thing was never a goal. I just want to improve,“Murphy previously told PEOPLE. “If I can leave one film behind that’s something that affects somebody, that’s absolutely fine.”
He credits his wife with keeping him grounded. “It’s very important to have somebody like that,” he said. “My life hasn’t changed in any way, really. I still have the same friends and we go to the same places.”
As MurphytoldThe Guardianin 2016, it took him “a long time” to figure out who he was, noting that he sees a level of confidence in his and McGuinness' sons that he did not experience at their age.
“I had bravado. But, deep down … I don’t know, they seem better adjusted than I was. More sure of themselves. I’m happy about that. For me, it was something that took a long time to figure out: that it’s all right to be you, that it’s all right to be an individual,” he said.
source: people.com
