They share two children and are both actors, but Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber are not your typical Hollywood stars.
Watts was born in England in 1968 but as a teenager moved to Sydney, Australia with her mother, stepfather and brother.
After school she tried her hand at modeling before pursuing a career in acting, during which time she befriended another fledgling actress, Nicole Kidman. She scored some commercial gigs, including the classic Australian lamb roast ad (see below) and TV roles, before winning a part in the acclaimed 1991 film Flirting.
After struggling for years in small parts in the US she got her Hollywood break in 2001, starring in the David Lynch thriller Mulholland Drive. A string of big roles followed, including in Ned Kelly, 21 Grams, The Ring and I Heart Huckabees. She’s also starred in King Kong, Birdman and The Impossible.
Born in San Francisco in 1967, Schreiber studied acting in college and obtained a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. He first scored roles in indie films before making his Hollywood break in 1996’s Scream (he was also in the sequels).
He followed that with a role as a kidnapper in Ron Howard’s box office hit Ransom.
He played supporting roles in a number films including The Hurricane and The Sum of All Fears.
On Broadway, Schreiber won a Tony Award for his performance in Glengarry Glen Ross and has also performed in productions of Shakespeare in New York.
In 2015, he won accolades for his performance in the Oscar-winning film Spotlight, about abuse within the Catholic church.
Watts and Schreiber worked together for the 2005 film The Painted Veil and the two began a relationship. From 2002 to 2004 Watts had been in a relationship with her Ned Kelly co-star Heath Ledger.
Although coy about their status, it is believed Schreiber and Watts were never married during their 11-year union. Watts was quoted as saying Schreiber had given her a ring, but that they did not want to rush in to marriage.
In 2007, the couple welcomed their first son, Alexander, who is known by his nickname “Sasha”. Watt’s gave birth again the following year to Samuel, who goes by his middle name, Kai.
The couple announced their separation on September 26, 2016.
“We’re parents together so we’ll be together for the rest of our lives no matter what and we’re very close,” said Schreiber, 52. “Hopefully, that never changes and I don’t think it will.”
It hasn’t so far. Three years on, the couple remain the best of exes and share custody of the kids.
“It’s always hard, you know? You build a life with someone and things change,” Schreiber told US Today. “And I think the way that we’ve looked at it is that we’ll always be partners with these kids.”
Sasha is now 11, and Kai is 10, and both feature in 2016’s The Jungle Book as the voices of young wolves.
“It’s important to support each other,” said Schreiber. “I was making some jokes at breakfast about Mommy with the boys and their eyes light up when I talk about her. You can see how important it is to them that their parents care about each other.”
Watts, 51, has also spoken openly about the couple’s ongoing partnership.
“We’re doing things very differently. I’m pretty proud of us, corny as that may sound,” Watts told Net-a-Porter in August, 2019. “We’ve made it our absolute priority to be good and kind to each other and we’re absolutely committed to that.”
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