Michelle Pfeiffer Flaunts Longtime Marriage To Producer David E. Kelley

By Afouda Bamidele on November 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM EST

Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley at 'Big Little Lies' TV show season two premiere, Arrivals, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, USA - 29 May 2019
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On Hollywood streets where divorce is almost the norm, Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley are proving to be the exception.

The iconic couple is taking over social media with a celebration of their 32nd anniversary in style and, most importantly, in love.

Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley tied the knot after meeting on a blind date in 1993, where they participated in a group movie night.

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Michelle Pfeiffer Feels 'Lucky In Love'

Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley at the 49th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award Gala Tribute Celebrating Nicole Kidman
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The TV queen and her husband shared the joyous news of going over three decades strong in love with her 3.6 million followers. The simple picture featured Pfeiffer and Kelley taking a walk on a well-lit path adorned with trees.

The couple also rocked matching outfits featuring black jeans and a jacket combo as they held hands tightly. Pfeiffer's blonde tresses with brown streaks stole the whole show despite their backs facing the camera.

Pfeiffer's picture pulled hundreds of comments from well-wishers who celebrated the couple for their enduring love. Singer Rita Wilson was front row on their page, wishing the actress and her husband "happy anniversary" and described them as a lovely pair with hopes that they double the number.

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More commenters wished them a happy anniversary with loads of love emojis for the occasion.

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The Actress Reminisced About Her First Date With David E. Kelley

Two years ago, when they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, the actress shared a lovely story of her first very awkward date with Kelley. As reported by PEOPLE, she confessed to Drew Barrymore that she got her sister to follow her on the date because she thought they would make a good match.

The meet-up, which was supposed to be a one-on-one affair, quickly turned into a group affair, and that caught Kelley by surprise. In her words: "We were in this restaurant and there were eight of us, and somehow [David] ended up sitting across from my sister and I ended up sitting across from his best friend."

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She added that they did not have any conversation the whole night, and he soon left early for another party. However, two days later, she received an hour-long phone call from Kelley that just changed the entire course of their interaction, birthing their iconic love story.

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Pfeiffer Spoke About Becoming A Parent Months Into Her Relationship 

Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley at TCM Hosts Handprint And Footprint Ceremony Honoring Michelle Pfeiffer
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When the couple met, the actress was in the middle of finalizing adoption plans for her daughter, Claudia, and two months into their romance, Claudia came home. Becoming a sudden father figure was another thing that attracted Pfeiffer to him the most because he did it so well within such a short time. 

"It was sort of perfectly timed. I mean, it's a real testament to the kind of person he is, but also to the fact that sometimes the traditional way of doing things isn't always the best way," Pfeiffer stated.

She added that getting to see each other raise a child before walking down the aisle really took the pressure off them as a couple and brought a whole lot of issues into perspective. Pfeiffer and Kelley became parents to their son, John Henry, in 1994, one year after their marriage.

Who Is The Movie Producer?

Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley attend the 2019 Fragrance Foundation Awards
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The quiet man behind Pfeiffer's smiles for 32 years now came from a long line of athletes, including his father, Jack Kelley, who played for the Boston University ice hockey team and led them to the finals in 1950 and 1951.

Kelley also played on the ice hockey team during his time at Princeton University, where he studied politics. He graduated in 1979 and proceeded to work for a Boston law firm as a litigation lawyer.

As a lawyer, Kelley also dabbled in screenplays and wrote for the 1987 legal thriller "From the Hip." He rose to the post of a head writer on the show after Los Angeles law writer Steven Bochco invited him.

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"From the very first story meeting, I felt, 'This is where I'm meant to be,'" Kelley said about meeting Bochco in 1986. Since then, Kelley had become a household name in the business of prolific television writing and production in Hollywood.

Some of his famous works include "Doogie Howser, M.D.," "Picket Fences," "The Practice," "Big Little Lies," "Big Sky," and "Nine Perfect Strangers."  In 2014, the producer was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Michelle Pfeiffer Set Strong Boundaries Between Work And Marriage To David E. Kelley

David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer at Environmental Media Association Awards Gala, Los Angeles
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In a report by The Blast three years ago, the actress confessed in an interview that she would not consider collaborating with her husband for the sake of their marriage. She praised her husband's creativity, especially when it came to writing scripts for female roles, but that is just one line she would not cross.

"We're both kind of fierce when we work, so if I come home and I've had a bad day, and I'm upset about something, I want him to be on my side because he hasn't heard the other side... There's value in that," the actress explained further.

She had voiced the same sentiments the previous year, emphasizing that several couples really go from having a great marriage to working together and then heading for divorce the next minute.

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Pfeiffer has, however, made a short cameo in an episode of "Picket Fences," although her appearance was uncredited in the series.

Happy anniversary to Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley!

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