On January 11, 2026, the buzz of Hollywood’s awards season reached its peak as celebrities flooded the red carpet at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. Among the night’s most talked-about couples were Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson, whose enduring partnership has quietly become one of Hollywood’s most celebrated love stories. While Anderson’s latest film, One Battle After Another, racked up nominations and ultimately earned him the coveted Best Director trophy, it was the couple’s understated affection and impressive professional achievements that truly stole the show.
Rudolph, resplendent in head-to-toe Chanel, was there to support Anderson, who found himself in the spotlight for his action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, and a powerhouse cast including Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and Chase Infiniti. According to Town & Country, the film was a major contender at this year’s Golden Globes, reflecting Anderson’s reputation as one of the best filmmakers in the world—a title solidified when The Guardian ranked him number one on its list of top directors.
Anderson’s journey to the upper echelons of cinema has been nothing short of remarkable. With eleven Academy Award nominations under his belt—for works like Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza—he’s become synonymous with the kind of creative risk-taking and storytelling mastery that keeps audiences and critics alike on their toes. Beyond feature films, he’s also directed a slew of music videos for artists such as Radiohead, Fiona Apple, and, notably, nine videos for the band Haim. It’s no wonder he cast Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza; their creative partnership goes way back.
But for all his acclaim, Anderson is perhaps best known in some circles as Rudolph’s partner—a title that, while unofficial, carries deep meaning for both. The pair’s romance began at a Saturday Night Live afterparty in 2001, a moment Rudolph recounted in a 2024 interview with Town & Country: “He said he saw me in a sketch and said, ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry,’” she recalled. “But I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Maybe he just told me that to be sweet.”
Since then, their relationship has blossomed into a family of six, with daughters Pearl, Lucille, Minnie, and son Jack. Though not legally married, Rudolph has referred to Anderson as her husband for years. In a 2018 New York Times interview, she explained, “People know what that means. It means he’s the father of my child, and I live with him, and we are a couple, and we are not going anywhere.”
The couple’s journey into parenthood has been filled with both surprises and gratitude. Rudolph admitted to Us Weekly that she never envisioned herself with four children: “It’s like this extra layer of life you never knew about,” she said. “I never imagined I’d have four kids—that was never the goal. I feel really lucky that everyone is healthy and amazing.”
Rudolph and Anderson’s partnership extends beyond their private life into their professional worlds. Rudolph has appeared in Anderson’s films Inherent Vice (2014) and Licorice Pizza (2021), the latter featuring their children as well. In a 2022 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Rudolph shared how much their kids loved working with their father: “They loved it. Like, it only made their worship of their father stronger. They just think he’s such a stud and a cool guy.”
Their collaborative spirit was on display when Rudolph returned to set just four days after giving birth to their youngest, Minnie, to reshoot scenes for Inherent Vice. “He knew he could get me to do it,” she told Today in 2015. “Those are the things you do for the people that you love.”
Anderson’s creative process has been shaped by his relationship with Rudolph in ways both tender and humorous. The 2017 film Phantom Thread, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a 1950s fashion designer, drew inspiration from a moment when Anderson was bedridden with the flu. As he recounted to Collider in 2018, “I remember that I was very sick, just with the flu, and I looked up and my wife looked at me with tenderness that made me think, ‘I wonder if she wants to keep me this way, maybe for a week or two.’ I was watching the wrong movies when I was in bed, during this illness. I was watching Rebecca, The Story of Adele H., and Beauty and the Beast, and I really started to think that maybe she was poisoning me. So, that kernel of an idea, I had in my mind when I started working on writing something.”
Despite their public profiles, Rudolph and Anderson are famously private about their personal life. Still, they occasionally share glimpses into what makes their relationship work. Rudolph told Us Weekly, “I think genuinely, like, the effort to make an effort. [That’s] the most romantic gesture. Like, to be present. To show up every day is kind of the most romantic part because you can bail at any moment.”
Over the years, the couple has made memorable appearances together at major events, from the Oscars to the Golden Globes. Rudolph’s fashion choices have garnered attention in their own right—she’s worn everything from Valentino’s floral prints in 2021 to a textured David Meister gown in 2012, and, most recently, Chanel at the 2026 Globes.
The 2026 Golden Globes marked a particularly sweet milestone for the couple. After Anderson’s win for Best Director, Rudolph shared a kiss with him, a moment captured by cameras and celebrated by fans who have followed their story for decades. It was a fitting tribute to a partnership built on mutual respect, creative collaboration, and a quiet but steadfast commitment to family and each other.
As awards season continues, Rudolph and Anderson’s story serves as a reminder that behind Hollywood’s glitz and glamour, the most compelling narratives are often the ones unfolding just out of the spotlight—where love, laughter, and the willingness to show up every day make for a tale as rich as any movie script.