Photo:Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Martin Sheenhas one of the most extensive careers in Hollywood, but his relationship with his wife, Janet Sheen, is equally long-lasting.
Both Ohio natives, the pair met in the early ’60s in New York City and got married in 1961. They went on to welcome four children together: sonsEmilio Esteves,Charlie Sheenand Ramón Esteves and daughter Renée Estevez, all of whom followed in their father’s footsteps and pursued acting. The couple have since become grandparents to 10 children.
As for the secret to his and Janet’s enduring union, theGrace and Frankieactor said he “[has no] clue,” tellingThe Guardianin 2011, “I really don’t. I’ve never met a person with more integrity in my life, though … It’s taken me a long time to be as even and direct with her as she has been, always, with me.”
For Martin, this type of honesty is one of the most important aspects of a happy relationship. “I was fortunate enough to marry the scariest woman I’d ever met,” he toldThe Washington Postin 2015. “She did not know how to lie. It was impossible." He added: “She would always call me out, thank God.”
Speaking withThe Guardian,in 2017,he named Janet as the person he admires most. “She is the most scrupulously honest human being I have ever encountered,” he said.
So, who is Martin Sheen’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Janet Sheen and her relationship with the actor.
She was born in Ohio
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Both Martin and Janet were born and raised in Ohio, however, the pair didn’t until meet years later in N.Y.C.
Martin (whose real name is Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez) was born to immigrant parents (his mother is from Ireland and his father is from Spain) in Dayton, Ohio, while Janet (née Templeton) was born in Dayton and grew up in Cincinnati.
She met Martin in 1960
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In 1959, Martin moved to N.Y.C. to pursue a career in theater. The following year, while sleeping on a friend’s couch, he met Janet, an art student at the New School.
Speaking of his time in the city toCloser Weeklyin 2022, Martin said: “I was there for 10 years. Jan and I met there, were married there, and all our children were born there. Those 10 years were vital in my life as a husband, father, an activist and an actor.”
She and Martin got married in 1961
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Shortly after they began dating, the two moved in together. They married the following year after Janet became pregnant.
In his dual-memoir,Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son(co-written with Emilio), Martin wrote: “Even though Janet and I were both so incredibly young, starting a family seemed to make sense, as if this was what two people who loved each other naturally did next.”
The couple married on Dec. 23, 1961, in a short, 15-minute ceremony in New York. “I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day,” Martin wrote of their wedding.
She and Martin have four children
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As Martin pursued a career in Hollywood, travel was a big part of life for the family. “My parents believed that, for the family to stay together, the family had to literally stay together,” Emilio wrote inThe Washington Post.“My father insisted that any film deal requiring him to travel must also include airfare and accommodations for my mom and his four children.”
All four of their children went on to follow in their famous father’s footsteps, with Emilio and Charlie becoming household names in their own right.
In his 2022 interview withCloser Weekly,the actor shared that his “only influence” on his eldest son’s career was convincing him to keep his given surname. “When [Emilio] started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen and he wouldn’t do it. And I thank God he didn’t,” he said, adding that heregrets his own decisionto adopt a stage name.
Of his children, Charlie is the only one who chose to take the Sheen stage name professionally. All four of them, however, haveworked alongside their famous father.
She’s an actress and producer
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Acting has become a family affair for the Sheen/Esteves clan. Martin has not only shared the screen with all four of his children but he’s also costarred with Janet.
On the topic of working with his family, Martin toldThe Guardianin 2011: “From my point of view there’s nothing better.”
She and Martin are grandparents
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Martin and Janet’s family has continued to grow over the years, and they now have 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Emilio and his ex-girlfriend, Carey Salley, share two kids, son Taylor and daughter Paloma, as well as a grandchild. Ramon has three adult children: Katherine, Christopher, and Luis Jr.
Finally, Charlie is a father of five. He shares two daughters,SamiandLola Rose, with ex-wifeDenise Richards, and two sons, twins Max and Bob, with ex-wifeBrooke Mueller. He also has a grandchild of his own, Luna, from his eldest daughter, Cassandra Estevez, whom he shares with his high school girlfriend, Paula Speert.
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While filmingFrancis Ford Coppola’sApocalypse Now,a notoriously difficult shoot, the actor suffered a heart attack at age 37 and a nervous breakdown.
“I completely fell apart. My spirit was exposed,” he toldRolling Stonein 1979.“I cried and cried. I turned completely gray — my eyes, my beard — all gray. I was in intensive care."
He noted that his wife never left his side: “Janet slept on the floor beside me.”
“She called a therapist in New York and I talked to her every day and those two ladies pulled me through,” he said.
Speaking toCloser Weeklyyears later, Martin reflected on the experience and Janet’s support. “It was very serious, and she handled it like a pro. She had me laughing in the most dire circumstances. She said, ‘Don’t take yourself so seriously,’ " he recalled, adding: “Every day is a celebration with this dame.”
source: people.com
