Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin during the ‘Lord of the Rings’ premiere in Hollywood, CA.Photo:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Sean Astinhas been married to his wife Christine Astin for more than 30 years.
The actor, known for his roles inRudy,The Goonies,The Lord of the Ringstrilogy andStranger Things, was a teenager when he got engaged to the film producer.
“We were kids. I was 19 when we got engaged. We got married when I was 21,” Astin said in a 2023TikTok.
Sean’s argument for tying the knot at a young age was because he thought if he was “lucky and blessed enough to live a long life, it would be amazing” if he was with someone who he “had lived a lot of that long life with together.” He explained that in order for that to be “more true” and to be together longer, “you got to get married sooner.”
The actor has called his wife, whom he married in 1992, a “rock” and “pillar.” During an appearance onGreat Day Houstonin 2018, theEncino Manstar admitted that if it wasn’t for Christine’s “stability” and “decency,” he doesn’t know what he would be.
Christine is an “unbridled optimist,” according to her husband. “She grieves, and she cries, but she retains her faith and her belief in the inherent goodness of people,” Sean wrote of his wife in his 2004 memoirThere and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale. “I’m a compulsive worrier; Christine is an unbridled optimist. She’s a pretty amazing woman in that way.”
So, who is Sean Astin’s wife? Here is everything to know about Christine Astin and her relationship with the Hollywood star.
Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin during the “Where The Day Takes You” Hollywood premiere.Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Sean’s wife, who is the daughter of a fireman, isfrom Indiana. That state served as the setting forStranger Thingsand where Sean’s famous character Rudy played football at the University of Notre Dame.
TheLord of the Ringsstar penned in his book that the life Christine had known in Indiana was “one of stability, unquestioning love, loyalty and support from her family and community.”
Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin attend the 1994 Diversity Awards on September 20, 1994 in Beverly Hills, California.Barry King/Alamy
Barry King/Alamy
The couple met via a phone call while Sean was at a hotel in Tokyo. In his book,There and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale, Sean revealed that Christine was working for a commercial agent at the time and meetings had been set up for him while he was in Japan.
Remembering their phone call, he wrote, “The voice on the other end sounded as though it belonged to a beautiful young woman and, as it turned out, that was precisely the case.”
After connecting on the phone, the pair met in person at Christine’s office in late January 1991. “We were almost instantly inseparable,” Sean shared in his memoir. “We became life partners in every way imaginable.”
Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin at the VSDA Convention in Dallas in 1995.Fitzroy Barrett/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com
Fitzroy Barrett/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com
Months after tying the knot, Sean gushed toEntertainment Tonightthat married life is “wonderful.” At the time he said, “Everyone says you are so young. For me, married life is beautiful.”
Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin with their kids Alexandra, Elizabeth and Isabella at the ‘Earth’ World Premiere on April 19, 2009.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2002, Sean said that his “priorities are clear. I provide for and protect my family.”
In 2023, the proud dad celebrated hiseldest child graduating from Harvard Universitywith her master’s degree. “Ali also has a day job working in her family’s industry, which is actually bringing us opportunities to collaborate. Selfishly, I’m beyond excited that she has asked me to direct her in a film this summer that she wrote,” Sean told PEOPLE following his daughter’s graduation.
He added, “Maybe we’ll be able to test some of her thesis ideas. Ali is an original, and the sky is the limit with her future.”
Valerie Ann Sandobal, John Astin, Christine Astin, and Sean Astin and during The 67th Annual Academy Awards.Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
The producer is also vice president ofLava Entertainment, the production company that Sean started. InThere and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale,The Gooniesactor wrote about his wife being his “business partner in Lava Entertainment ventures.” He also expressed his pride over “the fact that her name” was next to his on the Academy Award nomination certificates that they received.
Left: Christine Astin and Sean Astin during “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone” Los Angeles Premiere. Right: Sean Astin in ‘Rudy’.Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty ; Maximum Film / Alamy
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty ; Maximum Film / Alamy
The 1993 film is a special movie for Christine. Twenty-five years afterRudywas released, Sean toldEntertainment Tonightthat his wife “really likes” the sports movie because “for her it’s the beginning of our marriage.”
“We had just gotten married,” he explained. “To me, it’s kind of a defining moment, not just in my career, but my life.”
TheToy Soldiersactor said that the movie is about him and his wife, adding, “The experience of making this film and what it means to me, it’s about Christine.”
The couple hit the red carpet together at the Westwood premiere ofRudyin September 1993.
source: people.com