- Linda Cardellini is a famous actress known for her roles in Netflix’s Dead to Me, Scooby-Doo (2002), Freaks and Geeks, and more.
- She is engaged to Steven Rodriguez.
- The beauty formerly dated her costar Jason Segel.
- Linda starred in the Netflix series Dead to Me alongside Christina Applegate from 2019 until the show’s final season in Nov. 2022.
Linda Cardellini, 47, has taken on some of the most iconic roles in Hollywood, including Velma Dinkley in the 2002 film Scooby-Doo. On the small screen, she starred in the hit TV series Freaks and Geeks from 1999 to 2000, and most recently in Netflix’s series Dead to Me. The 47-year-old keeps much of her life out of the public eye, but she has been engaged to Steven Rodriguez since 2013. Below is everything to know about him, their relationship, and her previous relationship with Jason Segel, 42.
Who Is Steven Rodriguez?
Steven is Linda’s longtime partner, who she has loved since their childhood. Steven previously worked as an actor but later moved on to become a celebrity makeup artist, per Oprah Daily. The Mad Men actress met her leading man when she was only 10 years old, and he was 11 years old. And in 2013, Linda opened up to PEOPLE about the first time she laid eyes on Steven, “He was 11. He was the new kid at my school,” she said. “He could do amazing bike tricks and I was impressed. Not afraid to say it.”
Although they knew each other since they were children, the pair did not reconnect romantically until 2010. “We’ve been friends for years and years,” Linda told the outlet, “and it was not even three years that we got together and realized that we should’ve been doing that all along … It didn’t take long to figure out we were amazing friends and we could probably be great partners.”
How Long Have They Been Engaged?
After getting together in 2010, it was only a matter of time until Linda and her beau were happily engaged. By 2013, the makeup artist officially popped the question, about one year after they welcomed their daughter, Lilah-Rose Rodriguez, 10. “I was surprised that it was happening at that moment,” The Curse of La Llorona actress said on The View at the time. “We were actually with some of the people I love most: my sister, and my cousins and one of my best friends Maura [Tierney] . . . and we were sitting, and he started getting choked up and then got on his knee. It was very beautiful.”
When she was expecting her bundle of joy, Linda spoke to Access Hollywood about her pregnancy. “Morning sickness was terrible the first four months,” the proud mom said. “It was awful. I was kind of a monster! … Now I feel great, and it’s amazing and I can feel kicking and it’s a totally unbelievable experience. It’s a little bit like Alien in science fiction and then also it’s a crazy miracle.”
When Did Linda Date Jason Segel?
Before getting engaged to Steven, however, Linda dated her former Freaks and Geeks costar Jason Segel from 2001 to 2007, per Who Dated Who. The two were good friends during the show, which filmed from 1999 until 2000, but later reconnected and dated. The How I Met Your Mother star revealed to The New York Times that a breakup even inspired the hilarious breakup scene in the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Although he did not mention Linda by name, they broke up the year prior. “I was trying to experience [the breakup] viscerally, as a person,” he told the outlet. “But all I could think was: ‘This is hilarious. I cannot wait for her to leave so I can write this down.’”
Also, in 2008, Jason told The Los Angeles Times that the film was not necessarily inspired by anyone in particular. “I can’t control what people think,” he said. “I was still very much a child [then], and this was more an amalgamation of a lot of different relationships and breakups I’ve had. People are bound to talk, but she was a great girlfriend.” Linda and Jason appeared on numerous red carpets together during their relationship, but ultimately called it quits in 2007.