5 minute readThe release of Oppenheimer put an even brighter spotlight on the already highly successful Cillian Murphy. Christopher Nolan’s film about the Manhattan Project’s chief scientist will probably get a lot of press from the get-go, but the film’s surprising connection to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie makes it part of a long-awaited double feature.
Murphy took it all in stride. This Irish actor seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy, and that may be due to his dedication to his family. Murphy is married to Yvonne McGuinness, an Irish artist known for her performance installations. The couple have two sons, Malachy and Alan, and live in Dublin. Despite having a lot of work in Hollywood, Murphy has decided to stay home as much as possible.
“I don’t need to live in Los Angeles,” he told People magazine in 2005. “I will be very far away from my family and I will never see them.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Cillian Murphy’s wife Yvonne McGuinness.
What does Yvonne McGuinness do?
McGuinness has a career in the visual arts and holds a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art in London. She says on her website that her installations incorporate “elements of film, performance, sculpture and textiles, sound, and text.”
Many of them involve performances, so she and Murphy have that practice in common.
She also takes care of the household chores while Murphy travels for work, something he has praised many times.
According to an interview with the Guardian, Murphy had to move to Liverpool for the hit show Peaky Blinders, where he was living “zero” life.
“It’s like my life has been canceled,” he explained. “At the end of the day, you go back to your little apartment, eat to refuel, learn your lines for the next day, and try to get as much sleep as possible, which isn’t much. Then you wake up and do it all over again.”
Meanwhile, McGuinness was waiting at home to welcome him after filming and support him as he took a break from his demanding schedule.
He said in an interview with GQ, “Work-life balance is difficult. I have a wonderful wife and I couldn’t have done this without her and her understanding. But it’s difficult… I think it’s the same for any father whose work consumes him. That’s generally the case, and my job is the same way that work consumes him.”
He also credited McGuinness with keeping him grounded even as he became a more famous actor.
“Fame was never a goal. I just want to improve,” Murphy told People. “If I can leave behind one movie that influences someone, that’s all good… It’s very important to have someone like that (McGuinness). Really, nothing in my life has changed. I still have the same friends, I still go to the same places.”
How did Murphy and McGuinness meet?
In the late 1990s, Murphy appeared in a play called Disco Pigs, which was first performed in Cork, Ireland. The song eventually became a huge hit, first in Dublin and London, and then toured around the world for about 18 months. Murphy told the Guardian in 2016 that McGuinness was on tour with the group.
“I would say those days when I was making Disco Pigs were the most important years of my life,” he explained. “The people I met there are still my best friends… They shaped me in terms of my tastes and what I wanted to do with my life. And that was around the same time I met my wife. She came on tour with us, and it was so exciting, whether it was 20 years ago or whatever. We were all just kids trying to find our way, but it was a very special, special time.”
How long have Murphy and McGuinness been dating?
The couple met in the late ’90s, but did not marry until 2004. they have two sons. Malachy was born in 2005 and Alan was born in 2007. Malachy told the Guardian that she was able to cuddle with McGuinness during her first pregnancy because she was filming The Wind in the Barley near her parents’ home in Cork.
“I was living at home with my family, my wife was pregnant with our son, and we were running around the hills of West Cork shooting Black and Tans. It was amazing!” he explained.
Initially, they raised their children in London, but decided to move back to Ireland in 2015 to be closer to family again.
“I think we wanted them to be Irish,” he said. “It’s amazing how quickly they’ve adapted their accents. Within a year of coming back, they’ve fitted into this quirky West British vibe. Hopefully they’ll get a lot of girls when they’re 15.”
He said in 2016 that his sons seem more confident than he did when he was a teenager.
“I was putting on some bravado. But deep down…I don’t know, they seem to be adjusting better than me,” he explained. “I’ve become more confident in myself, and I’m happy about that. For me, that was something that took me a long time to understand: It’s okay to be yourself, it’s okay to be an individual.”
Did Murphy and McGuinness create “Babenheimer” together?
They weren’t, Murphy revealed in a January 2024 interview with the Los Angeles Times. McGuinness and her sons were already looking at the Barbie dolls when they returned early from promoting Oppenheimer for the start of the SAG strike. After seeing “Oppenheimer,” which premiered in Paris in July, Murphy went to the theater alone to see the Greta Gerwig movie. As for how he did it without being noticed, he said, “Now I can go to the movies very well. There are ads and trailers, so I always arrive 30 minutes late, slip in and slide out.”
“The greatest democratic collective art form is sitting in a dark space with strangers,” he added of the theatrical experience. “It was really great to be a part of a movie that people went to see over and over again, and to be part of a great moment in cinema, the craze of those two movies. I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again, but I hope so.”
Did Murphy and McGuinness ever attend the 2024 awards ceremony together?
Yes, they attended the Golden Globes together on January 7th. McGuinness wore a black polka-dot ensemble and red lipstick, which later got smeared on Murphy’s face. Murphy gave his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Drama Movie with lipstick stains still on his face. “First question, do you have lipstick all over your nose?” he asked the crowd as he began his remarks. “I was going to leave it.”
Cillian Murphy with red lipstick on his nose
Did Murphy and McGuinness attend the awards ceremony in February 2026?
Murphy and McGuinness went out together twice in February 2026. On February 20, Murphy attended the Irish Film and Television Awards ceremony in Dublin, where he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Steve. While he wore a black suit over a light blue shirt, McGuinness opted for a softly draped pink gown, sheer tights and black heels. She accessorized with drop earrings and a black handbag.
Three days later, the couple attended the BAFTA awards ceremony together at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Murphy, who presented the Best Actress award, wore a black double-breasted jacket with a white shirt and tie. McGuinness opted for a black one-shoulder jumpsuit and statement earrings, finishing her look with a red lip.
