Who Is Willem Dafoe's Wife? All About Giada Colagrande

Mar. 15, 2025

Willem Dafoe and Giada Colagrande at the 68th Berlinale International Film Festival on Feb. 20, 2018.Photo:Brian Dowling/Getty

Brian Dowling/Getty

Willem Dafoeand his wife, Giada Colagrande, were the perfect pairing even before they married in 2005.

“I met my wife on the street in Rome in 2004,” hetoldThe Guardianin 2009. “I knew of her because I’d seen her films and we had some mutual friends.”

“The collaboration I’ve got with Willem is ideal … Intense, pure, without interference,” ColagrandetoldVogue Italia. “He doesn’t act like a star; if anything, an artist."

So, who is Willem Dafoe’s wife? Here is everything to know about Giada Colagrande.

She is an actor and a filmmaker

Giada Colagrande and Willem Dafoe attend the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

In addition to her extensive work as a filmmaker and producer, Colagrande has acting credits to her name.

Her first role was inAprimi il Cuore, which translates toOpen My Heart. The romance-drama film premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival and follows two sisters, who have a dark and intense relationship.

The film, which saw success in the European film festival circuit, was made on a small budget of around $5,000 — a gift to Colagrande from her grandmother.

“She has three grandchildren and she gave each of us $US5000. My cousin bought a car: I made a movie,” shetold Australian outletThe Agein a 2004 interview.

She grew up in a family of all women

Giada Colagrande at The 8th Rome Film Festival.Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage

Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage

Speaking toThe Ageabout her movieAprimi il Cuore, Colagrande explained that she was always drawn to “morbid, visceral, intense, strong relationships, extreme relationships,” and she — like the characters in her debut film — grew up without a father figure.

“I have grown up with a family that was all women. I have a very close relationship to my mother and grandmother,” she said. “I didn’t grow up with my father, so men have always been very fascinating, but also an object you look for [that] you fall in love with outside of yourself.”

Colagrande added: “Still, the film has nothing to do with my personal story. I don’t have sisters, and I have never had an incestuous relationship.”

She and Dafoe made their red carpet debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005

Willem Dafoe and Giada Colagrande during 2005 Cannes Film Festival.Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage

Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage

In 2005, the two stepped out as newlyweds at the Cannes Film Festival. Walking the red carpet for theBroken Flowerspremiere, the couple grinned and embraced while wearing black formal outfits.

Dafoe and Colagrande have since walked the red carpet together on a number of occasions. In February 2020, theywere photographedat theSiberiapremiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.

Her and Dafoe’s wedding was “very impulsive”

Willem Dafoe and his wife, Giada Colagrande, attend the ‘Antichrist’ premiere in 2009.Toni Anne Barson/WireImage

Toni Anne Barson/WireImage

The couple’s marriage has been low-key since the start; they preferred a more intimate affair over an elaborate occasion for their wedding.

“Getting married was very impulsive and romantic. We were having lunch and I said: ‘Do you want to get married tomorrow?’ " Dafoe toldThe Guardianin 2009. “I called up City Hall and they said: ‘If you get here in the next couple of hours, you can register and then you can get married tomorrow.’ “

“So we ran down there,” he continued. “We married the next day with just two witnesses, our best friends: my manager and her editor.”

She is a stepmom to Dafoe’s son

Willem Dafoe with his son Jack at the 73rd Academy Awards.LUCY NICHOLSON/AFP/Getty

LUCY NICHOLSON/AFP/Getty

Dafoe is a father to an adult son, Jack Dafoe, from his previous marriage to director Elizabeth LeCompte.

Colagrande is 21 years Dafoe’s junior. While the couple don’t have any children together, it’s something that’s not off the table for Dafoe.

“Well, my wife is still young enough and I have no qualms about being an older dad,” hetoldThe Daily Telegraphin 2009.

She and Dafoe live in Rome

Willem Dafoe and Giada Colagrande at the 58th Berlinale Film Festival in 2008.Andreas Rentz/Getty

Andreas Rentz/Getty

The couple split their time between New York City and Colagrande’s native Italy, residing in Rome. Dafoe is now an Italian citizen and speaks the language.

“I’ve lived in New York for over 40 years and I married an Italian. She didn’t want to give up Rome and I said, ‘I’m okay with that,’ ” hesaid during a 2019Live with Kelly and Ryaninterview.

Due to his acting career, Dafoe only spends a few months a year in Italy but is always happy to be back.

“I’m one day back [in Rome] and I’m in heaven,” the actortoldAnOthermagazinein 2022. “There’s a sense of beauty and impermanence and history that I love. I like the people so much.”

Dafoe continued: “I don’t want to sound like a rube — it’s a broad statement — but they’re empathetic. Americans like a winner. Italians consider people that have lost in a different way. In more puritanical societies, which probably includes where you’re from and where I’m from, it’s, ‘If they fall, keep ’em down, because it’s their fault.’ ”

She’s in a band

Giada Colagrande and Willem Dafoe attend the 10th Annual Filmmakers Dinner.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Colagrande has taken her creative talents to the music scene, forming a band namedThe Magic Door.

“In October 2016 Arthuan [Rebis, Colagrande’s bandmate] and Giada decide to make an album inspired to Rome’s Magic Door (also called Alchemical Portal),” the website reads. “They [wrote] and compose seven songs, each about one of the seven epigraphs engraved on the door, an intro and an epilogue.”

What began as a two-piece band now has four members. They have performed at a range of concerts across Italy.

She attended Dafoe’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

Amy Sussman/Getty

“Thank you to my wife, Giada Colagrande, who teaches me gratitude and reminds me not to spit on my luck,” the actor said during his acceptance speech.

source: people.com