Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon met in 1987 while on the set of Lemon Sky – Kevin was cast as Alan, while Kyra was cast as Carol. The two hit it off during rehearsals and it didn’t take long for them to fall deeply in love with one another. In fact, it only took one date for them to see a future with one another.
“I was knocked out. I thought she was amazing,” Bacon says of meeting his wife in a PEOPLE cover story – on shelves this Friday. It initially took a little convincing before Sedgwick agreed to a first date, but she’s glad she did. When she woke up the morning after that date, she knew right away that he was the one.
“I remember waking up and going, ‘I feel like home.’ I realized, ‘Oh, that was him,’” she tells PEOPLE. The couple have now been married for 34 years and will be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary on September 4. In the PEOPLE cover story, they share some of their secrets to maintaining that love.
Despite living very busy lifestyles, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick always find time for each other. They call themselves one another’s ‘biggest support and fans,’ but there’s one secret and key ingredient behind their long-lasting marriage. “A sense of humor is crucial. He is very freaking funny,” Sedgwick says.
These two are so close they are actually related. Believe it or not, after being married for more than 15 years, Kyra and Kevin learned that they are distant cousins while learning about their genealogy on PBS’ Finding Your Roots. “I figured I was going to be related to Kevin Bacon — I mean, most white people are related, ultimately,” Kyra once said with a laugh. “I wasn’t surprised, honestly. Frankly, I figured that was part of the reason that they wanted to do both of us. I had to act surprised.”
Over the past 35 years, the couple have appeared in numerous films/television shows together – including Lemon Sky (1988), Pyrates (1991), Murder in the First (1995), The Woodsman (2004), and Loverboy (2005). And while they’re often seen in front of the camera, they also excel behind the camera.
“She just absolutely adores directing. You can’t be a crew or a cast member and not get swept up in that [excitement],” Bacon said of his wife. Sedgwick, who recently directed Space Oddity (which releases on March 31), seconded her love of directing. “I love being in charge of the storytelling,” she tells PEOPLE.
Kyra opened up about her love for directing in an interview with Variety last year – promoting her Space Oddity project. “I feel like this is what I was meant to do all along,” she said of her directing. And it turns out the film is a family affair with her husband starring in it and her son composing the music for it.
Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon Also Enjoy Being Parents
While Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon have created numerous masterpieces in front of the camera, their most proud creations are their two children. They gave birth to a son, Travis Bacon, in 1989 and gave birth to their daughter, Sosie Bacon, in 1992. Together, they’re a close-knit and very supportive family.
Travis is a successful composer, while Sosie has had a successful career as an actress. Along with their parents, the foursome worked together on the 2005 film Loverboy – which was directed by Kevin and starred himself, his wife, his daughter (10 years old at the time), and his son (13 years old at the time).
“We also did a lot of stuff with just the four of us. And that has really sustained – they have significant others now, but the four of us are still very, very close and we’re very connected,” Kevin told PEOPLE. Sedgwick adds that she has enjoyed watching them grow up and admires them for who they are today.
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They also talked about their love of music and how it not only brought Kevin and Kyra together, but how it has resonated with their children – Travis’ first word was guitar, while Sosie has always enjoyed singing. “It’s really fun to hang out and play music,” says Kyra, who has shared videos of them singing in the past.
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