Dustin Hoffman Met His Wife of 42 Years Even Before She Was Born | He Played Piano at Her Parents’ Wedding

Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 5, 2022. It has since been updated.

Dustin Hoffman and his wife Lisa have been married for 42 years -- and he's known her since before she was born! Dustin first 'met' Lisa during her parents' wedding. Dustin was the pianist, and her mother was expecting her. He was learning to be a classical pianist at the time.

Since Dustin's mother and Lisa's grandmother were friends, Dustin ended up performing at Lisa's parents' wedding. The pair now joke that Lisa fell in love after hearing Dustin play at the ceremony. While some may consider Dustin and Lisa's first meeting to be during their wedding, their first formal meeting was after Lisa was born. Dustin departed for New York soon after to study, but Lisa would see him when he came to see his family.

Dustin hung out with Lisa, 10, and her 8-year-old brother, instead of the adults. He played the piano for them and encouraged Lisa to dance. That evening, Lisa told her mother, "I hope he waits for me because I want to marry him," reports Daily Mail. 

Dustin was 27 at the time, and Lisa's mother made no comment about it until their passion blossomed years later. They began dating when Lisa was 22 and Dustin was 38. Dustin was already well-known as an actor when Lisa and Dustin began their relationship. He had divorced his first wife, Anne Byrne, and Lisa's grandpa had died, so he returned to Los Angeles to pay his condolences to Lisa's family. 

They met each other after several years and their feelings for each other blossomed. Lisa said, "Dustin asked how many children I wanted. I said six, and he said he had two already, so would four be ok? And that's exactly the way it played out."

Lisa was studying when she got engaged to Dustin, but she didn't end up working since she looked after Dustin's children from his ex-wife. Lisa graduated at the age of 25 and gave birth to the couple's first child, Jake, one week after taking the bar test. While the couple was overjoyed to have their first child, a cloud lingered over the baby's development, per Fabiosa.

Jake was born prematurely with Hyaline membrane disease, which means his lungs were not fully formed when he was born. Lisa devoted her life to being a mother because of Jake's health issues. 

Following Jake's birth, the couple welcomed three more children, according to their plan. Becky arrived two years after Jake, Max two years later, and Alexandra three years later. She talked about her family values, "Our values are traditional. It was important to Dustin that we were together as a family. For both of us, that was the point of being married."

Lisa also stated that their children were always their top focus. If they had duties that kept them away from their children, they would return and spend meaningful time with them to compensate. 

After many years, of being a mother and wife, Lisa found a passion to follow in her life. She started a skincare line inspired by the amount of traveling they did as a family. Her skincare line makes one-use packages that can be easily carried while traveling along with regular-use products. 

Lisa and Dustin have been married for 42 years now and are happier than ever with six beautiful children and two grandchildren. 

References:

https://news.amomama.com/293441-dustin-hoffman-wife-are-more-love-decade.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-469585/The-secret-life-Mrs-Dustin-Hoffman.html

https://fabiosa.com/rsmkib-auchr-pdar-phnkz-after-36-years-of-marriage-dustin-hoffman-and-his-wife-lisa-talk-about-their-long-lasting-partnership/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris