- Jeff Bridges is an Oscar-winning actor.
- He’s been married to Susan Geston since 1977.
- Jeff and Susan have three children and two grandchildren.
Jeff Bridges, 73, has enjoyed a successful acting career that isn’t slowing down at all. Starting in the 1970s, the beloved actor received several Oscar nominations for his impeccable performances on the big screen. In 2010, Jeff finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as an alcoholic singer in Crazy Heart. Since then, Jeff’s enjoyed more success in film and he recently starred in the hit television show The Old Man.
Jeff’s been lucky to have his wife of 45 years, Susan Geston, by his side throughout his career. The pair met in 1975 when Jeff was shooting a movie and they fell in love instantly. Susan was also there for Jeff when he announced his cancer diagnosis in October 2020, though he’s now in remission. Here’s everything you need to know about Susan and her marriage to Jeff.
Who is Susan Geston?
Susan is an actor just like her husband. She’s appeared in only two movies: 1976’s Stay Hungry and 1980’s Forbidden Zone, according to her IMDb. Susan also worked as an associate producer on the 1989 movie Cold Feet.
How did Jeff and Susan meet?
Jeff was filming his 1975 movie Rancho Deluxe on a ranch in Montana when he met Susan, who was 21 years old and working as a waitress at the time. He revealed in a 2014 essay for Good Housekeeping that he was immediately struck by Susan. “I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Not only was she gorgeous, but she had two black eyes and a recently broken nose (from a car accident, I later learned),” Jeff wrote in the essay. “Something about her beauty and disfigurement kept me riveted.”
Jeff eventually asked Susan out, but she declined. “I asked her again, and she said, ‘No — it’s a small town; maybe we’ll run into each other later,’ ” he explained in the essay, adding, “Those words proved to be prophetic, and one night in town we danced, and I fell in love.”
Jeff and Susan’s wedding
Jeff revealed in his Good Housekeeping write-up that “losing my freedom” was why he was initially afraid to marry Susan. But after two years of dating, Jeff finally proposed to the love of his life. “Thank God I finally got with the program,” he wrote. “Frightening as it was for me, there was also the sense of deeply opening my heart.” Jeff and Susan got married on June 5, 1977.
Jeff and Susan have three children
Jeff is a proud “girl dad” to three daughters: Isabelle Bridges, 41, Jessica Bridges, 39, and Hayley Bridges, 37. Hayley got married to Justin Shane in August 2021, less than a year after Jeff revealed his lymphoma diagnosis. But Jeff was still able to walk Hayley down the aisle and participate in the father-daughter dance at the wedding. Hayley told Brides magazine that her famous dad “gave a welcome speech and touched on a trait of Justin’s that I also mentioned in my vows, which is that kids and dogs love him.” Jeff and Susan are also grandparents to Isabelle’s children Gracie and Ben.
Jeff and Susan’s 45-year marriage
Jeff and Susan have been married for nearly half a century, which is so wild. One of the scariest moments they faced as a couple was when Jeff almost died from COVID-19 during chemo in 2021. Speaking about the experience to PEOPLE, Susan said, “We didn’t know if he would recover. I said [to the doctors], ‘Save his life. No matter what you have to do.’ ” Susan also called the time Jeff was severely sick “a bad dream,” but noted that “now’s the good dream part.”
As for how they’ve accomplished such a successful partnership, Jeff and Susan told PEOPLE in 2020 that they always mutually respect each other, no matter what. “We are quite different as people, and we celebrate that rather than making it drive us apart. I respect her wisdom, and I’m sure the girls do too,” Jeff said. “I’ve really been blessed.”