Katharine Ross was married and divorced four times before tying the knot with Sam Elliott. The couple first saw one another physically on the set of the 1969 Western drama “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” However, the former told AARP The Magazine in 2015 that he had not even attempted to talk to his future wife. In his words:
“I didn’t dare try to talk to her then. She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene.”
Irrespective of his thoughts, the actress intrigued Elliott, and he spent his time on set in a dark corner watching Ross and her co-stars perform. Ten years later, Elliott and Ross finally had their first interaction when they worked together again on the horror film “The Legacy.”
They played a couple of guests terrorized at a creepy English estate. Ross and Elliot saw more of each other while filming. It was only a matter of time before the pair became romantically involved.
During an interview, Ross confessed that what attracted her to Elliott was his baritone voice, mustache, and rugged good looks. She also added:
“Probably all that and more. We were working together, and one thing led to another. And here we are.”
The lovebirds eventually tied the knot in 1984, and while it was Ross’s fifth marriage, it was Elliott’s first. The couple’s only daughter, Cleo Rose, was born in the same year the couple tied the knot. In April 2022, Elliott and Ross married for 37 years and are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples. When asked what their secret to a long marriage is, Elliott said:
“We have a common sensibility, but we also work at being together. You work past the [expletive]; you don’t walk away from it. That’s how relationships last.”
Elliott once mentioned that he wanted nothing more than to be married, have a family, and have a movie career. He added that he has abundance in all those things and is grateful to have his daughter. Reflecting on their marriage, he confessed:
“We – I think really what it boils down to is we love each other, and we work at it. And I think more importantly than anything, it takes wanting to be married.”
Elliott and his wife’s loving relationship is only matched by Denzel Washington and his wife, who have been happily married for over forty years. Here’s more about their solid and loving bond.