Ben Stiller & Wife Christine Taylor Split After 17 Years of Marriage

She just won the gold digger's lottery.

Gold digger?! She was married to the guy for 17 years. I guess you could call it a long con...

And now to catch the rebound…

This is very sad news. Christine is a lovely, kind woman as well as a devoted wife and mother. Ben, who is basically a nice-guy type underneath, has been increasingly spinning out of control for the last several years. Christine has been his tether to normalcy throughout their marriage. If Anne were still living, she'd waste no time in smacking some sense into Ben. What a pity she isn't!

I wonder if Ben is hooking up with younger women. He spent his 30s and 40s married, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's hit some sort of midlife crisis.

What about rumors that he encourages her anorexia?

Ben Stiller had prostate surgery. He probably is impotent now.

I've heard he's ano too... he's obsessed with his body.

This one actually kinda makes me sad. They were together for a long time. She is still really beautiful .

Christine may not work, but her damn GIF pulls down some massive OVERTIME!!!

Ben's mother thought he was funny. His father didn't think so, and didn't think he'd make it in Hollywood despite connections.

If she got royalties from that, she'd be rich.

She will get a great settlement

[quote]Does Christine work?

Does she need to?

I've loved Ben since he was a boy, but, believe me, Christine has earned every penny, R13.

He's not funny (Dodgeball) but he makes a good straight man (Fockers).

Their son looks like Eddie Munster

There are blinds saying he's very controlling. If true, then good for her for finally escaping.

He was just in Cannes a few days ago for a premiere. Her reputation is fairly normal, he's reputed to be monstrously difficult to work with. Wonder if this was a long time coming of if something triggered it recently.

What has she done besides the Brady Bunch movie?

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R20 , she was in the Zoolander movies, the Craft, Dodgeball, the Wedding Singer among lots of other movies

Did the son (gasp!) inherit the ears?

A former headwriter for SNL said that he was the absolute worst guest host ever. Also, Katie Holmes was the dumbest, fwiw.

R20, she used to be on the Nickelodeon series Hey Dude as Melody.

She's "Bonnie" on Friends

She must have finally gotten sick of the abuse from that raging, lunatic, asshole.

Oh and...

[quote]Ben, who is basically a nice-guy type underneath

HAHAHAHAHAHA

He's the Heartbreak Kid

I've always heard he was incredibly difficult to work with as well.

I could also totally believe he was always nice to her. 17 years is an incredible amount of time and she seemed perfectly content to do projects with him and an occasional guest appearance on a show here and there.

The best part is, for her, she's always been hot. She's 45 and incredible looking. If she wants to she'll bounce back quickly.

Good for her. He's an ass.

Hey everybody...

R27 - Ben has always been nice to me. I've also observed him be unusually kind and generous to others when there was no potential payback, and he didn't have to. Can he occasionally be an asshole, when under stress? He sure can! Can't you?

[quote] Can he occasionally be an asshole

There's nothing occasional about how much of an asshole he is.

I hope it's not too soon, but would you be interested in the real thing?

He had a LOT riding on the Walter Mitty remake. It took a lot of time and a lot of money and it was supposed to establish him as a serious director capable of big budget flicks and as an actor capable of heart-wrenching drama. Huge flop.

So he crawled back to Zoolader for a easy win, right? The sequel was called the year's worst movie and earned zero dollars.

Today, both his directing career and acting career are in tatters. That can't make for a happy home.

Jews cover for each other. Every Jewish asshole is a "nice guy underneath" who was "always nice to me" (at Bar Mitzvahs and Passover seders and other Chosenite gatherings).

Yes, she's a babe. Pretty and sexy. Queen MILF.

Fuck you, R36!

r38 thinks Dylan Farrow had every reason to lie.

Marcia. Marcia. Marcia.

Deep down, Jared Kushner is the nice guy type.

On top of that r35 he was hoping to get leverage out of Baumbach's new Meyerowitz Stories, only to see Adam Sandler come out the critics darling in Cannes. That has to smart.

She was in Search Party and very funny. She needs a Netflix comedy series.

I always found Stiller sexy in an unconventional, ape-like way.

R44 Agreed. I've always found him to be attractive.

Also, Christine was barely in Zoolander 2... I wonder how long things haven't been working out. Perhaps she didn't want to show up at all, but Stiller knew fans would wonder what happened to her character, so he conveniently killed her off and probably convinced her to do that cameo. She lucked out, really, as the film was horrible.

Ben Stiller was sleeping with Winona Ryder last hear. You heard it hear first.

Oh shit! *here

R47 really? That's the only correction you want to make?

That wasn't a compelling storyline when they filmed Reality Bites over 20 years ago. Why would anyone care now?

Really, R46? Did they work together on something? It's such a random pairing.

[quote]She needs a Netflix comedy series.

The Unbreakable Marcia Brady

Wait, R10 is Christine? All these years I thought that was the real Masha Brady.

Their statement says "separate," doesn't mean that they will necessarily divorce. She'll probably take him back. She's old and has no career, what else does she have to do? What little status she has, she has as being his wife.

Couples usually have to separate before filing for divorce and almost always celebrity couples follow through with divorce. I don't know why you think this would be any different.

She also played the role of Parker Posey's Mary in the short lived fox series Party Girl in 1996

"She's old and has no career, what else does she have to do?"

Spend his money, honey! Alimony and Child Support, makes the pain go away!

I read a few years ago that she suffers from extreme bipolar and they almost split then because of her moods and his inability to sympathize with her.

He's supposed to be the absolute worst asshole of all time. I've heard it over and over that he's a complete and utter jerk from various industry types.

He is the one who is bipolar, not her. Stiller did an amazing job with Tropic Thunder, large cast, big production, very clever comedy. He doesn't really need to prove he can make good movies.

I think he is tough as a director, but talented actors understand his way. If Jack Black thinks the director is an ass, I wouldn't give one flying fig about this opinion.

I always thought he was playing himself in Greenberg. He pulled off entitled, self-important douchebag clutching at youth just a little too well in that film.

r52 that's adorable!

Was is Christina Applegate again?

[quote]Their son looks like Eddie Munster

Not surprising

I would imagine there's a prenup.

She had a small recurring role in Arrested Development.

She's probably been focused on raising her kids so her career took a back seat, except for small roles here and there, some of them in his movies. She was never a big star but is pretty and talented and has a "name" in the industry so I'll bet she starts to work more.

I've also heard he's a nasty, critical person who others hate working with. She seems perfectly normal by comparison. I've seen him a few times in person - he's really short and hunchbacked. The last time I passed him on the street on the UWS he was yelling at someone on his cellphone.

I worked with them once and she was a sweatheart, very nice and no actress bullshit I've seen others pull. He was very short, quiet and reserved. Not rude, but not overly friendly either.

That pretty well describes Christine and Ben, R67.

She dated my cousin seriously before she took up with Be, Everyone loved her.

I like some of his films but he gives me really bad vibes. He looks angry even when he's smiling for press. Underlying anger is never a good thing in relationships.

[Quote] Christine may not work, but her damn GIF pulls down some massive OVERTIME!!!

They really do.

R59 - They're both bipolar. Moody bitches.

I've never heard anywhere that she's actually bipolar , but I've heard he is multiple times over the years. I don't believe she really is .

Is it nature or nurture? Both Of the Stiller-Meara's kids grew up to be rageaholics.

He kind of made her stop working when they got married. Too bad, because she lights up any project she is in.

Maybe she can go back to skew-el.

I remember NPH saying lovely things about her. He said dating her helped define his sexuality, that she's basically the greatest women around and if he wasn't feeling it with her, he wouldn't with any woman.

I've never read one bad word about her. She seems to have a very solid professional reputation.

I know Christine. She's a lovely woman in every way.

She's underrated as an actress, IMO.

Kneel Patrick Harris dated her?!?!?

Being a wife and mother and giving up your career for a guy is just a bad decision to make.

Bumping the original thread

[quote] I worked with them once and she was a sweatheart,

Is that like a female counterpart to the Sweathogs?

She really gave up her career to raise his kids, so i feel sorry for her--she really has comic gifts. I hope she can get a good role on a cable comedy series--she deserves it.

Why does he always pull that weird blue steel face in real life? He looks like an asshole.

Also, along with Anchorman, Zoolander must be the most overrated thing ever.

I remember when the Onion reported that he peeled a banana with his feet.

Did Ben not get along with RDJ and Jack Black when they were filming Tropic Thunder??

I loved every second of what she did to the character of Marcia Brady.

Christine should have at least had Jennifer Anistons career. She's prettier than Aniston and much more likeable .

Maybe she should date Brad Pitt R89

She has great comic timing as several above have noted.

She's a saint to put up with him. Re: the anorexia--was that a CDAN blind? Somewhere there's a blind item about their anorexia/orthorexia.

R92, this might be it.

Ben Stiller is only one week younger than me, and he is the one guy who I felt always best represented Generation X. His Emmy-winning TV show really spoke to me as a style of humor that Gen-Xers could get. (Unlike SNL, which went from Baby Boomer to Millennial as if Gen-X didn't even exist.)

Unfortunately for Ben, his style of humor didn't grow up along with his generation. He was in some great films, but he continued to play the same persona of sad-sack romantic lead or put-upon doofus over and over. I think he may have had the range to make the jump from comedy to drama (as Tom Hanks did), but his career choices in the past few years have not served him well.

I hope his divorce from Christine will help him decide what he really wants to do. I think they are both good people.

Watching two episodes of Party Girl, she seems to be a terrible actress. Her delivery is cliched and drains the dialog of all humor. (The material is not great but the supporting cast makes more of it than she can.)

Christine Taylor was also in two episodes of "Ellen" in 1995 as a member of the Book Club at Buy The Book.

Christine was also in 'The Wedding Singer'. She was great. I do NOT believe she is bipolar. Ben definitely, he has admitted this fact. I, also, am not sure she is anorexic. He appears to be, but her weight in the photos above does not reflect an anorexic woman.

If his parents weren't famous, I doubt he would make it in Hollywood with his looks. I don't find him funny or talented. Yes, he is super short, gotta be one of the shortest celebs I've ever seen. Walked past him once in downtown Manhattan.

He must be so desperate to be banging Wynoa Ryder.She is a mental case. Next he'll be banging Janeane Garofalo, his former bbf, maybe it will work out 2nd time around. hope springs eternal...

Agree with R94--The Ben Stiller Show was one of the few sketch comedies to capture that Gen X "vibe." Unfortunately, Gen Xers weren't a large enough demographic to be of much interest to advertisers and TV programmers. I think that's part of the reason the show didn't survive or get the attention it deserved until years later.

Also, I remember in the late 80s he played Tom Cruise in an SNL takeoff of "The Color of Money." It also featured Jerry Stiller and John Mahoney (from Frazier) in the Paul Newman role. I thought he really nailed it.

That said, his movie career (while lucrative) has never been as impressive.

R25 Will always have fond memories of Hey Dude. It was basically Saved by the Bell on a ranch.

Aw, I always thought Winona made the wrong choice when she picked gross Ethan Hawke over him!

He cheated on her constantly for what it's worth.

[quote]Did Ben not get along with RDJ and Jack Black when they were filming Tropic Thunder??

RDJ was very frank about Ben Stiller being tough on actors but acknowledged that the end justified the means. I think he also said Stiller filmed his parts at the end of the day so all the other actors could have time off.

I think Jack Black complained he had to work too hard.

Meet the Fockers was one of the funniest comedies I've seen. Also it was an "ethnic" story that almost everyone in the audience understood. Too funny the numbers who were asking the real meaning of "L' chaim." To bad they can't do more of the same.

Those Fockers movies were awful.

Well, if he cheated on Christine, that just shows he's got issues. She's essentially perfect. How did Stiller and Meara raise two jerks? Back in the day, one of my friends "in the industry" had directed Calista Flockhart in a play, and my friend also had worked with Anne Meara on a project. When Calista went out with Ben Stiller a few times, my friend really wanted them to marry because she thought having Anne Meara has a mother-in-law would fix Calista right up (Calista was seriously bulimic). She told me Anne Meara was almost the only "normal" person she'd every been around in show business, and was just great.

Anyone wanna bet on Ben greenlighting a sequel to Reality Bites pretty soon?

[quote]Unlike SNL, which went from Baby Boomer to Millennial as if Gen-X didn't even exist.

huh?

Anne wasn't at all "normal", R106. She was loud, crass, vulgar and had almost no boundaries. She was the first to laugh at a joke, or cry when touched. When a friend asked for her advice, she would follow through, and remember every significant detail, often after several years. She knew her strengths and her flaws, but didn't allow them to define her. Anne was far better than normal.

BTW, Anne loved Christine.

r99 The State? Kids in the Hall? Mr. Show?

R100 you beat me to the punch -- I adored Hey Dude as a kid.

R109. I'll change it. "Genuine" instead of "normal." You're right.

R110, I never heard of "The State" or "Mr. Show," but I'll check them out. And as much as I love Kids in the Hall, they were part of the late Boomer generation and their style was more aligned with Monty Python (another Boomer favorite).

R108, Spade, Farley, and Sandler were not representative of Gen X sensibilities. Their specialty was the lazy, frat boy buffoonery that a Boomer (Lorne Michaels) thought represented "the younger generation." They were Belushi 2.0. Interestingly enough, though, the male millennials I work with who grew up watching old Farley and Sandler movies on cable TV think those guys are hilarious. FWIW, I don't think Chris Rock belongs in that group. His comedy was much more intelligent than that of Sandler, Farley, and Spade.

The reality is they were Gen Xers r113. One of the most successful set of comics to come out of SNL also, whether you love or hate them. What comedy would you consider 'representative of Gen X sensibilities' pray tell?

Rock is indeed perhaps 'more intelligent' than the others listed but he was their generational contemporary and was close pals with them. Still is pals with Sandler.

I thought it had been discussed on DL before about what a bitch Anne was to Jerry.

He's a monster!

That is nonsense, R115. Anne was devoted to Jerry. Did she have "moments"? Of course she did! So, by the way, has Jerry. Don't you?

What is up with Ben's sister?

Raging narcissist, R118.

R105, You might not have liked "Meet the Fockers" but are you aware of how much $$$ it made internationally as well as in the US?

I lived near Anne and Jerry on the UWS in the 80s, and would see them around the neighborhood and in local restaurants all the time. They were ALWAYS fighting! Jerry is a sweet guy, exactly as you'd think.

Ben's sister Amy has lots of mental health issues, so he supports her too.

Amy is the most toxic person I've ever encountered.

OMG, I'd never consciously seen Amy Stiller before, just googled her. I did not know it was possible for a biological woman to look so much like Ben Stiller.

Another random remark: both Amy and Ben are 50% Irish, but they are two of the most stereotypically Jewish-looking people I've ever seen; no Irish in evidence at all. If their the Jewish parent had been the mother, I would probably assume there had been cheating going on and it was a case of false paternity, but I assume Anne Meara gave birth to both of them. So, some kind of turbo-genetics?

Come to think of it, I have a case like that in my own family too. It's like the mother's genes were overwritten.

"The State" was great. I had a crush on Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black was/is hilarious.

Showalter on the left:

Michael Ian Black is one of those guys I still have a hard time believing is really straight.

Actually I have trouble believing either of them is straight.

R119 and R122, do tell...why is she such a terror?

[Quote] Anyone wanna bet on Ben greenlighting a sequel to Reality Bites pretty soon?

As long as it shows Winona's character realizing what a mistake she made by choosing Ethan Hawke. There was nothing appealing about that guy.......at all!

He had prostate cancer and maybe suffers from impotence?

[quote]He looks angry even when he's smiling for press. Underlying anger is never a good thing in relationships.

You'd be angry too if your mother got up in your face and yelled "READ!! READ!!" all the time.

R122 hit the nail on the head. Amy is "toxic" on her best days! Most of the time she has only one mode - go for the jugular! No one is safe around her. It's come to the point where almost everyone avoids her like the plague. She's consumed by petty jealousies and grudges against the universe. Her life has become an endless game of cat-and-mouse. No one enjoys being around her. No sane man will date her. No one wants to perform with her. Ben has used her in his films several times, only to hear the crazy things she's said about him behind his back. A lot of the nastiest gossip about Ben can be traced directly back to Amy. She's even savaged him in her stand-up "comedy" routines, which, if you've never seen one, always quickly devolve into the rantings of a lunatic.

[quote] He doesn't really need to prove he can make good movies.

If he plans on retiring (which I imagine is not the case) then you're correct. He doesn't need to prove anything.

R114, R133, and others -- R 94 here.

I agree that Sandler, Farley, and Spade are Gen X-ers, but I agree with R113 -- their comedy never clicked with me and they seemed like Lorne Michael's Gen X pets.

The shows that I thought captured Gen X comedy (delivered by Gen Xers) were The Ben Stiller Show and The State.

Baby Boomers who understood Gen X included The Pee Wee Herman Show, Exit 57, Strangers with Candy, The Kids in the Hall, and Conan O'Brien.

Currently, I think one of the best Gen Xers who delivers Gen X style comedy is Jimmy Kimmel.

A friend of mine used to be very close with Amy. After dealing with her lunacy for several years he finally cut her off and the messages and emails he constantly received from her were very disturbing. I don't know how he was able to deal with her for a fucking day. The woman is nuts.

No sane man will date Amy Stiller?

Perhaps that's because she has been married since 2008.

That fell apart years ago, R135.

She has never been married.

According to IMDB she was and she is.

How tall is Ben? Google says 5'7", so... 5'5"?

I'm telling you she was not married. Don't believe everything you read. She was in a very serious relationship for a few years but it never led to marriage.

She was in an on and off ltr, but never married. I wouldn't put it past Amy to have lied to IMDB. Nothing she says is ever quite true.

It has been so long that I can't remember his name, but it may have been Roger. Anyhow, for years Amy tried her Goddamnedest to trap some poor sap into marrying her. He managed to escape her clutches by being in LA when she was in NY, and NY when she got her ass to LA. When he finally ended it (don't fall for her later rewrite that she jilted him), she spent the next few years trying to wreck his life and career.

One thing I can tell you for certain is that Amy was never married. I definitely would have known if that miracle had happened.

I don't think so, R53.

By getting out now she gets to take a nice chunk of change with her and she mostly experienced the best years of a marriage. Now, she is free to enjoy life and financial independence.

If she stays, she has to put up with an increasingly sulky Ben and will be stuck being his nursemaid at some point.

R143 is right, R53. Christine is a lovely woman, but she isn't stupid. Family and friends aren't happy to see their marriage end, but no one is surprised. Everyone knows that Christine deserves every dollar coming her way in a settlement and a less difficult future husband. Watch and see. Christine will never say anything negative about Ben, but she will demand and get a fair deal. She will probably marry again fairly quickly. Ben will probably be his usual whiny, asshole self throughout the divorce negotiations, then come to his senses and move on quietly, but miserably single for a long time, if not forever.

Is he impotent? He had the cancer

Forget about Ben. Forget about Christine. Forget about Anne and Jerry.

Can we please turn Amy into a DL icon???

Statistically, well over 50% of men who have had had prostatectomies are likely to have erectile dysfunction issues (Studies differ; some suggest higher incidence of e.d.), R145. Most men over 50 have similar issues. Unfortunately., because prostate cancer thrive best in a testosterone rich environment, meds like Viagra are contradicted for men in Ben's situation. Add to that the complete cessation of ejaculate production after prostatectomy, and other post-surgical issues, most men experience a dramatic drop in libido after treatment. (These effects are true for all forms of prostate cancer treatments.) Ben has been candid in interviews about his cancer, surgery and post-treatment. He is no different from others in this regard.

^ Please pardon the numerous typos and erroneous auto-corrects, the most egregious being "contradicted " in place of "contraindicated".

I've seen him in person R139, and would put him between 5'2" and 5'4". His head is massive compared to the rest of his body. He didn't give off an asshole vibe, but one of being incredibly anxious.

Christine Taylor was with him. Beautiful, trim but not too skinny, seemed pleasant and even tempered.

On a totally separate occasion, I stood behind Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller in an airport security line while Jerry (elderly at that point, and seemingly quite frail) was frisked. Anne thought it was funny: "Poor Jerry! They must think he's smuggling contraband!" However, they were frequent travelers at this particular airport (Nantucket) and Anne said to a friend that she would call the head of security and complain. I think her impression - and mine - was that they frisked Jerry to meet a quota, and selected him because he was an elderly man who seemed unlikely to give them a hard time.

I thought it was interesting that both Anne and Jerry were very polite and cooperative with the security staff who were doing their jobs, although Anne planned to call the management about what she felt was an unfair policy. I think she probably fought a lot of battles and protected him a bit, even if she was known for giving him a hard time (as another poster said.) They seemed like decent people to interact with, but Anne, in particular, was absolutely no fool.

If Anne and Jerry are so decent and reasonable, why are both of their kids so awful?

Maybe Ben went gay.

Thanks for writing that R149. Nantucket locals all loved Anne and Jerry. I never heard tell of either one ever playing the "do you know who I am?" card.

[quote]She will probably marry again fairly quickly.

I'm available!

She dated Neil Patrick Harris. I assume she is lesbian. She's too hot to love stiller.

Maybe she's bi, R154?

Then again, Stiller is ugly. And mean. You're probably right.

R155, I'm right????? First time!

Does Christine know she has GIF fame?

Jesus christ, there are some heavily opinionated folks on this thread. I never knew these two were such an important thing. It's like listening to two divorce attorney's arguing over their clients.

Stiller is indeed unkind.

R157 I assume someone would have asked her about it by now.