The Untold Truth Of Adam Driver's Wife Joanne Tucker
Actor Adam Driver has been in the entertainment business for a minute now, first getting his start on HBO's Girls in 2012 as Lena Dunham's on-and-off-again boyfriend. He left the hit series in 2017. But before Adam Driver stepped into the Hollywood lights, he was a United States Marine, whose service was cut short when he was medically discharged from the military after injuring his sternum in a mountain biking accident. The California native's star continued to rise from there, later landing roles as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequels, Flip Zimmerman in the BlacKkKlansman, and Charlie in A Marriage Story. Driver's portrayal of Charlie — a talented director navigating a bi-coastal custody battle — earned him numerous award nominations, including a 2020 Oscar nomination for Best Actor, not to mention an infamous walk-out moment during press rounds for the film.
Of course, behind Driver's impressive career lies his personal life, which he understandably prefers to keep private. But fans have gleaned some details about his world off-camera, including his marriage to another accomplished actor, who he married in 2013 and with whom he shares a child. Let's take a closer look into the compelling life of Joanne Tucker.
Joanne Tucker is a talented actor
Similarly to Adam Driver, Joanne Tucker is a talented actor who has a long list of impressive credits to her name. One of her notable appearances was in Girls when she starred alongside Driver in the 2016 episode titled, "Hello Kitty." That same year, the New York native also starred in Showtime's Billions, portraying the role of Sandy Stearn. Three years later, in 2019, Tucker and her husband reunited once again when they both starred in Amazon's The Report. "I love putting myself in other people's shoes and imagining their life from different perspectives," she told The Royal Gazette about why she loves acting.
Tucker credits her time at Julliard as being formative in her career, stating in an interview with Julliard Snapshot: "When I got in I felt really lucky... [I felt] sort of like I was home in a way. And that ... my dreams could be a reality because I had the resource to make the connections that having a career as an actor are really hard to make if you don't get the exposure you get when you're a student here. So, I just felt grateful and lucky."
Joanne Tucker hails from Bermuda
Joanne Tucker was born in Bermuda to her Bermudan father, Robert Tucker, who is the son of Henry Tucker, the first leader of Bermuda's Government. Henry formed the "United Bermuda Party, a moderate, multiracial group, in 1964," and led it until 1971, per The New York Times. Although Joanne moved away from Bermuda to the United States at age 4 when her parents got divorced, she has an everlasting love for the gorgeous locale. "It's one of those places that draws you back," she told The Royal Gazette in March 2019. "I got married there. I just love the people and the place." The mom-of-one returned every summer to spend time with her family there, noting how her special memories consist of her "running around on the beach," which she called "a vivid sensorially important part of [her] upbringing." Joanne also revealed her son with Adam Driver, who was 2 at the time of the article's publication, has visited the island a few times.
So if you ever wondered why Joanne and Driver said "I Do" in Bermuda, you now have your answer.
Adam Driver and Joanne Tucker were cut from different cloth
As we noted, Joanne Tucker lived in Bermuda up until she was 4 when her parents got divorced. She then split her time between Connecticut and New York City, where she later attended the famous Dalton School on the Upper East Side. After high school, she majored in theater at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, followed by grad school at Juilliard, per The Royal Gazette. The latter is where she met Adam Driver, who was one of her classmates at the time. But the two couldn't have come from more different backgrounds, given the Marriage Story star's time in the military versus her upbringing in NYC.
"She taught me what Gouda cheese is," Driver joked about their contrasts to Broadway Buzz in 2009. "And that you shouldn't talk with your mouth full and spit on the sidewalk." Driver taught Tucker new things, too, especially where it concerned her reading habits."I told her about Rolling Stone and how it could be interesting and entertaining," he quipped about diversifying her magazines beyond The New Yorker.
It looks like the old adage, opposites attract, is true in this case.
Don't plan on seeing Joanne Tucker and Adam Driver's son anytime soon
There are plenty of celebrities out there who feel comfortable sharing their personal life, including their children, on social media. Joanne Tucker and Adam Driver aren't those people, as evidenced by the fact they kept the birth of their son "hidden from the press for two years," per The New Yorker. And we're not just talking about his photo — we mean his very existence. The revelation came to light in November 2018, when Tucker's sister, "who was launching a peacoat business, accidentally made her Instagram account public and someone noticed the back of [their] son's head in one picture." News of the sighting was published by Page Six. Driver described keeping the arrival of his son private as "a military operation," which seems fitting given how long he was able to keep it on the DL.
As for why Tucker and the actor are so private, it might have something to do with the restrictions of fame. "My job is to be a spy — to be in public and live life and have experience," Driver told The New Yorker, adding, "But, when you feel like you're the focus, it's really hard to do that." Another possibility? Some fans struggle to respect personal boundaries, which the Girls alum hinted at in the profile. "This one woman who has been harassing my wife came to the show and gave me a creepy wood carving that she made of my dog," he lamented.
Bottom line? The couple has every right to respect their son's privacy.
Joanne Tucker & Adam Driver founded a non-profit
Joanne Tucker and Adam Driver founded the Arts in the Armed Forces together, a non-profit which aims "to use the powerful shared experience of the arts to start conversations between military and civilian, service member and family member, the world of the arts and the world of practical action," according to the organization's website. Tucker talked about the organization's influence in conversation with The Royal Gazette, stating, "They get celebrity visits and they get film screenings or huge arena concerts that the USO puts on. But no one is going to them with the talent and material we take. Their material doesn't talk down to the audience, and it's not of a military theme. It's the type of thing you might see on a stage in New York City, a David Mamet or Sam Shepherd play." She added, "We have seen the effect it has. People are hungry for the stimulation and the conversation. It is a release and relief and something to take their minds off their situation and something to stimulate their minds in a different way."
Driver illuminated these points in an interview with Playbill, saying of his experience in the military, "Theatre can be a weapon, it can be something that can arm someone. Something about watching someone live experiencing something maybe resonates with what you're going through — there's power in that."
Adam Driver gave Joanne Tucker a big compliment
Given all of Joanne tucker's accomplishments, it's no surprise Adam Driver is head-over-heels for her in every single way. "My wife is my biggest hero," Driver told Z96.3 (via Entity). "She ensures that amidst all this Hollywood craziness, I remain a normal person. For example, she'll persuade me to go and see old friends, even if I'm not really feeling like it. Having a person like that in your life is far more important than a successful career."
The actor also admitted he was taken by her from the get-go, telling The New Yorker, "She read a lot of books, knew a lot of s**t. She was very composed." But perhaps Tucker's most endearing quality of all is how she approaches Driver's "holier-than-thou attitude" as described by Richard Feldman, a Juilliard teacher. "She doesn't take any nonsense," Feldman, who officiated the couple's wedding, explained to The New Yorker.
Although we don't know the ins and outs of the couple's relationship, it sounds like they balance each other out pretty well.
Joanne Tucker is awesome at giving gifts
Adam Driver has a net worth of $10 million, so some might assume it's difficult to find him a gift considering he can buy himself virtually anything he wants. But this seemingly isn't a daunting task for his wife Joanne Tucker, who has the game nailed, even when she's forced to ruin the surprise. "I kept bothering her about getting a dog for a while," the former Marine recalled to W Magazine in February 2017, adding, "I think it was just I was just on a tangent, at Halloween, going 'F***ing Halloween, ridiculous holidays, bulls**t. If I had a dog, I'd play with my dog on Halloween — I don't have to see f****ing kids all the time." He added, "And she's like, 'Well, I'm getting you a g*****n dog for your birthday, so shut up.'" Ha!
Driver brought up one of Tucker's gifts again when interviewed by The New Yorker, revealing his wife gave him a poetry collection by Sharon Olds for the opening night of a Broadway revival he was starring in. "The language is so great," the actor said about one of Olds' poems.