Sam Elliott's Real Life Love Story Is Like A Hollywood Movie

Celebrity | Movies

Sam Elliott's Real Life Love Story Is Like A Hollywood Movie

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Veteran actor Sam Elliott has shared the screen with a long list of talented actresses.

But in reality, the deep-voiced star only has eyes for one woman. (Sorry ladies.)

Most people have no idea that Elliott has been married to The Graduate star Katharine Ross for more than three decades.

In fact, they have a sweet love story that could be mistaken for the script of a Hollywood romance.

Actress Katharine Ross and actor Sam Elliott attend the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 30, 1981Getty

"All I could do was just watch Katharine come and go"

While Elliott and Ross first met on the set of a movie, they weren't exactly co stars yet.

Ross had a leading part in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, while Elliott said he was just "a shadow on the wall."

But he definitely took notice of his future wife.

"All I could do was just watch Katharine come and go," he remembered.

"I never spoke to her. I never would even think to speak to her."

Their actual introduction came on the set of the horror flick The Legacy, when Elliott was a little more confident in his star power.

The couple hit it off right away and tied the knot six years later.

Actors Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross attend the 45th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 23, 1988Getty

Ross actually helped Elliott land one of the biggest roles of his career on their honeymoon.

He had turned down an audition to play Cher's boyfriend in Mask to spend time with Ross. But she called his agent back and insisted Elliott would try out for the part.

When an interviewer asked whether it was Elliott's good looks, mustache, or voice that made him a catch, Ross said it was "probably all that and more."

While she was a four-time divorcee before meeting Elliott, the pair have been married more than 30 years now, and have an adult daughter named Cleo Rose.

Cher leaning against Sam Elliott in a scene from the film 'Mask', 1985.Getty

"She is a pretty stable girl who has been around the block"

Ross and Elliott are finally achieving a dream they've had for decades: sharing the screen with each other, and even playing husband and wife together.

The couple played exes in The Hero last year, and acted together in the play Love Letters, which Elliott called "one of the highlights of my career."

While staying happily married in Hollywood is next to impossible for most stars, these two make it look easy.

Actors Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross attend the 49th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 18, 1992Getty

"It is really hard, especially when one is working and the other is not," Elliott admits.

"I am working now more than I have ever worked, and Katharine is not working."

But the actor says his partner is "a pretty stable girl who has been around the block," and they have "mutual love and a mutual respect."

"There are peaks and valleys like everything else, but you have to push on."

Actors Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, and daughter Cleo Elliott attend the "Jurassic Park III" Universal City Premiere on July 16, 2001 Getty

The couple split their time between their properties in California and Oregon, and Ross plans to move them out of "La La Land" sometime in the future.

But while Elliott's heart belongs to Ross, he's still considered a Hollywood heartthrob. What does he think of being admired by his fans?

The actor says he can't help his silver fox looks, they just happen naturally.

Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross attend the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019Getty

"I try to keep myself in good physical condition," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"I am one of those guys who likes to dig in the yard. We've got three acres here in Malibu, so there's always work to do."

They seem like such a happy couple, here's hoping they have many more years together!

Head of Content, reality TV watcher and lover of cookies.