Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean: All About the Actors’ Decades-Long Marriage

Mar. 15, 2025

Annette O’Toole and Michael McKean attend the screening of ‘A Mighty Wind’ during the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Charley Gallay/Getty

Charley Gallay/Getty

Annette O’TooleandMichael McKeanhave one of Hollywood’senduring love stories.

Both actors with long résumés, the pair had been acquaintances in the 1970s before reconnecting on a film set in 1998 and getting married in 1999.

On March 20, 2022, McKean celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary with asweet message to O’Toole on X(formerly Twitter). “23 years ago, I married my best friend and it is working out beautifully. Thanks for saying yes,” he wrote.

In a 2022 interview withHello!,O’Toole and McKean gave a tour of their Los Angeles home, sharing why it works for their relationship. O’Toole said the living room is the size of a “mini ballroom, perfect for the outsize personalities the entire household seems blessed with. We sing, dance, make music … try and stop us.”

O’Toole has also shared the secret to her long marriage with McKean. “We really like spending time together," she toldVanity Fairin 2022.

Here’s everything to know about Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole’s marriage.

Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole attend the 2012 American Theatre Wing Jonathan Larson Grants Presentation on March 27, 2012 in New York City.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

McKean first rose to fame onLaverne & Shirley,which ran from 1976 to 1983, around the same time he first met O’Toole. Since then, he’s been a series regular onSaturday Night Live,Better Call SaulandThe Diplomatamong others, in addition to acting in movies includingWeird: The Al Yankovic Storyand Broadway shows likeHairspray.

O’Toole has been a major part of television programming since the ’90s, including the miniseriesIt,based onStephen King’s novel, and has continued her career in shows likeThe HuntressandThe Punisher.O’Toole has also appeared in movies like48 Hrs.andSuperman III.

They met decades before they were romantically involved

Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole at the premiere of ‘Wirey Spandell’ in January 2000 in Los Angeles.Chris Bergman/Fotos International/Getty

Chris Bergman/Fotos International/Getty

“Michael and I actually met many years ago when he was doingLaverne & Shirley,” O’Toole toldSoundtrack.netin 2004. “I was this actress, and we could bump into each other at various screenings; we had friends in common, but we didn’t really know each other very well. We had very different lives.”

O’Toole and McKean fell in love on a movie set

Annette O’Toole Instagram

When the two were both cast in the 1998 Lifetime movieFinal Justice,they reconnected — and sparks flew during filming.

One night, O’Toole told TheaterMania, McKean called her while she was taking care of her daughter Anna from her first marriage to Bill Geisslinger. “I heard it all in his voice,” O’Toole recalled. “I just heard that he liked me that way.”

McKean interjected, “I think what you heard in my voice was, ‘I’m going all in here.’ "

“And I did something I had only seen in movies,” the actress continued. “I put the phone down. I said, ‘I really, really want to talk to you but Anna’s so sick. Could we talk tomorrow?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow.’ I thought, he’s never going to call me tomorrow. But I put the phone down and I went into the bathroom and jumped up and down in silent screaming.”

They had their first date at a benefit concert whereBob Dylan,Joni Mitchelland Van Morrison played. “I would have married him that day,” O’Toole said with tears in her eyes. The pair tied the knot in March 1999.

“As a gag, I told her, ‘And they said it wouldn’t last,’ but nobody said that,” McKean recalled to TheaterMania. “They were like, ‘Of course, duh.’ "

They’re both musicians

Annette O’Toole and Michael McKean performing.Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic

Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic

McKean has had a long career of writing songs for movies, but it wasn’t until 2001 that O’Toole joined him in playing with melodies. The pair worked together on three songs for the movieA Mighty Windduring a long drive from Los Angeles to Vancouver.

“Michael has had this collaboration with other people over the years, but this is my very first time ever doing it,” the actress told Soundtrack.net in 2004. “So every time we write one, it just gives me more confidence to do the next.”

O’Toole and McKean have worked together many times

Michael McKean as Elias Grace and Annette O’Toole as Valerie Grace on ‘Law & Order’.Jessica Burstein/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Jessica Burstein/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

McKean was a guest star on three episodes ofSmallvilleduring its 10-season run, in which O’Toole played Clark Kent’s mother. They’ve also appeared together as Topanga’s parents onBoy Meets World.

O’Toole and McKean have continued to collaborate on music, too. In 2004, the couple had a song of theirs included on a Disney album calledWorld of Happiness.

“We wrote a song for it called ‘What Could Be Better?’ and we actually wrote it while on the set ofSmallville,” O’Toole told Soundtrack.net. “That’s the goal — to be those people you can call when you need a song for this movie, or this performer. We have a backlog now of songs, building up a library!”

They were nominated for an Oscar together

Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole during The 76th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.L. Cohen/WireImage

L. Cohen/WireImage

The duo’s work on songs forA Mighty Windearned them an Oscar nomination.

In the film about 1960s musicians, McKean appeared as a member of the fictional band the Folksmen. O’Toole didn’t have a role in the movie, but she did play an important part, working with her husband to write the movie’s biggest song, “A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow.”

In the movie,Eugene LevyandCatherine O’Haraperform the tune. McKean and O’Toole were nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2004 Academy Awards.

They have a sweet bedtime ritual

Annette O’Toole and Michael McKean on her Instagram.Annette O’Toole Instagram

O’Toole and McKean toldVanity Fairin 2022 that they read to each other every night — even when they’re in different locations.

source: people.com