Michael Shannon has been working in front of the camera for over 30 years, but while he has had decades to get used to the spotlight, he still prefers to spend his days out of it. The Death by Lightning actor, 51, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to a professor father and lawyer mother, and grew up between there and Chicago. He eventually made his screen debut in 1993, in Groundhog Day.
These days, the Oscar nominee is based in Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York. He first moved to the neighborhood with his wife Kate Arrington, with whom he shares two daughters. Though in 2024 there were rumors the couple split after Michael was seen out without a ring, and with a mystery woman as his plus one, neither of them have commented on the status of their relationship. Here is what we know about the two.
Kate is also an actress
Kate has had appearances in shows such as Billions, Succession, and, though she is primarily a theater actress, and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which Michael also worked for, since 2007. Per her biography on the company's website, she is a graduate of Northwestern University, and her play Another Marriage was performed as part of Steppenwolf's 2022/23 season.
Their life in Red Hook
Kate and Michael have been together since 2002, and married in 2017 after 15 years and two daughters together. Per a 2014 New York Times feature on Michael, he moved to New York City from Chicago to be with Kate, and confessed to the outlet at the time: "I don't like big cities very much; they give me a lot of anxiety," noting: "I've had to get used to living in them because of the work I do. But I wouldn't want to live in the suburbs."
"This is an ideal balance. It's a combination of this old shady industrial neighborhood and a place that's becoming green and friendly," he further shared, as Kate added of Red Hook: "I think Mike experienced a feeling of openness and quiet that you don't usually get in New York."
Their daughters
Kate and Michael have two daughters, Sylvie, born in 2008, and Marion, born in 2014. Little is known about them, but in 2023, Michael gave insight into their interests, revealing that his youngest was dressing up as Taylor Swift for Halloween.
Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, he explained: "My older daughter is 15 so she's kind of aging out of the trick-or-treating thing, adding that Marion was "going to try to dress up as 'midnight,' which I thought was rather lyrical. Poetic," referring to Taylor's 2022 album Midnights.