Irish actor Cillian MurphyOver the course of his career, he has appeared in many films. After making his breakthrough with the 2002 horror flick 28 Days, he’s starred in hits like Inception, Red Eye and Batman Begins. The Dark Knight Rises. And A Quiet Place Part II. He’s also played Tommy Shelby on the BBC crime drama series Peaky Blinders Since 2013. Since 2013, the actor, 45, has been married to artist Yvonne McGuiness. Here’s the inside scoop on Cillian Murphy’s talented wife and the family he shares with her.
Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness Were Married in 2004
According to a 2020 article in the Sydney Morning HeraldCillian Murphy met Yvonne McGuiness in 1996. McGuiness met Murphy at one of their shows. He was the lead singer and guitarist of an Irish band called The Sons of Mr. Green Genes. The band was offered five-album records in the mid-90s and Murphy looked like he might be a full-time rock-and roller. However, they ultimately decided to turn the opportunity down because it would have forced Murphy’s brother, who was also in the band, to quit school. Murphy said that although he was disappointed at the time, he now realizes that they made the right choice.
“There was nothing we could do,” he said in his interview with The Sydney Morning Herald. “It [the record deal] wasn’t big money or anything. It just so happens that there was a short window of opportunity when the kind of music we made could be popular. I’d seen friends in bands sign deals and then get dropped really quickly. So, I was aware that while it seemed appealing on paper it could end badly.”
After dating for a number of years, Murphy and McGuinness married in 2004 and had two sons together—Malachy, born in 2005, and Aran, born in 2007. While they started out living in London, the family decided to move to Murphy’s native Ireland when the kids were young. “We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose,” the actor explained in a 2016 interview with the Guardian. “It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Within a year of returning, they have started to resemble a rakish West Brit. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls when they’re 15.”
Murphy said that Murphy’s move helped him to keep his anonymity, which is crucial for his acting craft. In 2014, he told the Guardian, “Logically, the less people know about you, the more convincing you are playing someone else. It’s glaringly obvious to me. I take the bus, the tube and go to the shop to get milk. It would be terrible if it was impossible. As an actor, you’re supposed to be playing real people so it seems essential to live like a normal person.”
Both Murphy and McGuinness keep a very low profile when it comes to their personal lives—neither is on social media and there are very few public pictures of the couple together.
Yvonne Is An Accomplished Artist
McGuinness, like her husband, is a native Irishman. McGuinness also has a successful career as a multimedia artist. The 47-year-old’s work includes film installations, photographic collages, interactive performances, sculptures, and more. On her official website, McGuinness describes herself as “Irish artist working with place, time, and community.”
McGuinness’s art projects have been commissioned by a wide range of prestigious organizations, including the VISUAL Centre of Contemporary Art, the Roscommon Art Centre, the Fingal County Council Arts center, and more.
