Who Is Frances McDormand's Husband? All About Joel Coen

Mar. 15, 2025

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen attend the Los Angeles premiere of A24’s ‘The Tragedy Of Macbeth’ on December 16, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

Frances McDormandandJoel Coenare the perfect example of being in the right place at the right time.

The now-husband and wife first met during McDormand’s audition for the Coen Brothers’ first feature film,Blood Simple— but it was an audition she was considering skipping.

While working so closely with a spouse may be intimidating for some, it is second nature to McDormand and Joel.

Here’s everything to know about Frances McDormand’s husband, Joel Coen.

He’s a filmmaker

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen attend a photocall during the Rome Film Festival 2015 on October 16, 2015.Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty

Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty

Joel and his younger sibling Ethan make up the Coen Brothers, a filmmaking duo best known forRaising Arizona,Miller’s Crossing,O Brother, Where Art Thou?and more.

The brothers worked together for more than four decades before undertaking separate endeavors. “It’s not like when we first got together, we planned on working together for 40 years,” Joel explained toThe New York Timesin January 2022 while promoting his Shakespeare thrillerThe Tragedy of Macbeth. “It just kind of happened that way. When we said, ‘Let’s do some other stuff separately for a little while,’ it’s not like there’s any plan for how long and what that would mean.”

In a December 2021 interview withThe Guardian, Joel reiterated that working alongside Ethan was never going to be permanent. However, there is no reason to rule out a future Coen Brothers collaboration.

He has won four Academy Awards

Joel Coen and Frances McDormand attend the BFI London Film Festival Special Presentation of ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ on October 17, 2021 in London, England.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Joel has won four Academy Awards throughout his career: in 1997 in the Best Original Screenplay category forFargo, and in 2008 for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay forNo Country for Old Men.

Both Joel and McDormand took home an Oscar for their roles inFargo —he served as the writer, director, producer and editor of the black comedy crime movie, while she portrayed police chief Marge Gunderson.

He and McDormand first bonded over books

Joel Coen and Frances McDormand attend the premiere of ‘Olive Kitteridge’ at the 71st International Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2014.Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Getty

Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Getty

When Joel and McDormand first met, they bonded over their love of literature. While filmingBlood Simplein Austin, Texas, the actress had only brought one book with her on set. She asked Joel for recommendations, and he then brought his future wife a box full of books.

“I asked him if there was anything he’d recommend,” she explained during a 2014 interview withThe 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 read the 1934 crime novel and called it one of the “sexiest books” she had ever read. A couple of nights later, she invited Joel over to discuss the book. “That did it. He seduced me with literature,” she added. “And then we discussed books and drank hot chocolate for several evenings.”

He gave McDormand a unique wedding ring

Joel Coen and Frances McDormand attend Apple’s special screening and Q&A of ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ on December 25th, 2021.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Prior to meeting McDormand, Joel was briefly married to someone else, whom he divorced in the late 1970s.

After they started dating, McDormand and Joel soon moved in with one another, but waited a few years to take their relationship to the next step. When the pair got married in 1984, they sealed their marriage in a rather unconventional way — with Joel’s ex-wife’s wedding ring.

TheHail, Caesar!star explained toTheNew York Timesin 2017 that she had no problem wearing the hand-me-down and felt the ring was a practicality and shouldn’t go to waste.

He and McDormand share one son

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen attend the World Premiere of Apple and A24’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Joel and McDormand are parents to one son,Pedro McDormand Coen, whom they adopted from Paraguay in 1995.

“As a mother, you live on the edge of disaster,” McDormand told theBelfast Telegraphin 2018. “You just do. I didn’t give birth to my son, I met him at 6 months old, but from the minute I held him and smelled him, I knew it was my job to keep him alive.”

In 2023, Pedro shared a loving tribute to his dad on Father’s Day. “Always learning from you #fathersday” he captionedan Instagram photoof him leaning on Joel, with one hand on his shoulder.

He encourages McDormand to step outside her comfort zone

Joel Coen and Frances Mcdormand attend the 65th Annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2011 in New York City.Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The two-time BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker often encourages his movie star wife to step outside of her comfort zone — including taking roles that she wouldn’t necessarily choose.

In 2018, McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of grieving mother Mildred Hayes inThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but it was her husband who convinced her to take the role in the first place. At a Toronto International Film Festival conference in September 2017, McDormand expressed her concerns that she felt she was“too old” to play Hayes, despite loving the script and character.

“Because at the time [writer and director Martin McDonagh] gave it to me, I was 58 … I was concerned that women from this socioeconomic strata did not wait until 38 to have their first child,” she explained at the time. “So we went back and forth and we debated that quite for a while, and then finally my husband said, ‘Just shut up and do it.' "

source: people.com