For decades, the name Ted Danson has been synonymous with the very best of American television. From Cheers to The Good Place, Danson has captivated audiences with a unique blend of charismatic charm and profound dramatic depth. This stellar career has been underpinned by a private life that is as rich and rewarding as his professional one. It leads the public to ponder the woman who shares his journey, and the life they have built away from the Hollywood glare. But who is the remarkable woman who holds the title of Ted Danson's wife?

This connection has been a beacon in Hollywood, illuminating a rare and successful long-term celebrity marriage.

 Ted Danson is married to Mary Steenburgen. Danson have been together for over 30 years, and they somehow seem more in love every day. Steenburgen is originally from Newport, Arkansas. There, she was raised by her parents, Nell and Maurice Steenburgen, who worked respectively as a school board secretary and freight train conductor, per her Hollywood Walk of Fame biography. She started acting in high school, but moved to New York City to pursue it as a career in 1972. Her breakout role in 1980s Melvin and Howard as Lynda Dummar won her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

In March 2025, Netflix announced Steenburgen would be joining season 2 of Danson’s show A Man on the Inside, so the pair will be working together again. In the show, Danson plays a widowed retiree named Charles who goes undercover for a private investigator at a senior living facility and finds his life transformed. His wife will be playing a former musician who factors heavily into the case Charles is trying to solve. This shared professional pursuit highlights a continued love for one another's artistic endeavors.

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The narrative of their meeting is a fascinating tale of timing, patience, and a surprising second chance encounter.

Ted Manson and Mary Steenburgen first met in 1983, while married to other people. Danson was married to Casey Coates, and Steenburgen was married to Malcolm McDowell. Danson was auditioning to play a role in the film Cross Creek, which he did not land. He told People in 2021; he was a hot mess back then, and both of them were married. Steenburgen added, reflecting on that early, missed connection. Then, in 1994, they were both cast in the movie Pontiac Moon, and each had recently split from their long-term partners, opening a new chapter for both of them.

They both had “sworn off relationships,” Steenburgen joked. She also told People in 2018, they met when they were 40 and 45, and they had lived a bit. According to her, it was fortunate that they met their partner at a point in their lives when both individuals had faced and overcome personal difficulties or challenges. In an interview with The Jess Cagle Podcast in 2021, Steenburgen said meeting Danson again made her rethink her original impression of him, realizing there was much more to the man she had previously judged.

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