Michael Keaton’s Wife, Caroline McWilliams: Everything To Know About His Late Spouse

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Michael Keaton is known for his numerous film roles, playing the title roles in Beetlejuice, Batman Begins, and, most recently, as the villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming. But fans may not know too much about the actor’s personal life.

Michael was married Caroline McWilliams in 1982 but the pair divorced in 1990. Although he dated Friends star Courtney Cox from 1990 to 1995, he hasn’t been publicly linked to anyone else in a serious relationship capacity since then. Here we take a look at his first and only marriage to Caroline and what you need to know about the actress he loved for eight years.

She’s Best Known For Her Role In ‘Guiding Light’ 

Like her then-husband, Caroline was an actor and got her start in television. Her career began on the well-known and long-running soap opera Guiding Light as Janet Mason Norris from 1969 to 1975. After she ended her run on the show, she also appeared in episodes of hit shows like Kojak, Barney Miller and The Incredible Hulk. Caroline also had a role in the sitcom Soap in 1978 and 1979, moving on to be in 49 episodes of Benson thereafter. She went on to appear in various TV pilots in the ’80s, ultimately finding a role on Nearly Departed which was a short-lived 1989 sitcom.

Caroline continued to act through the ’90s, finding roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Home Improvement. In addition to starring in the 1990 movie Mermaids, Caroline’s last role was as Helene Steele in three episodes of Judging Amy in 2002 and 2003.

She & Michael Share A Son Together & They Remained Close 

Although the former couple was only married about eight years, they share one son together, named Sean Maxwell Douglas. Born May 27, 1983, Sean went on to become a songwriter and producer, winning awards and writing for various singers like Jessie J, Demi Lovato, Chris Brown, Madonna, and more. He notably won a Grammy for his work on Lizzo‘s Cuz I Love You and co-wrote Thomas Rhett‘s song “Die a Happy Man” which won a slew of awards, including the CMA award for Single of the Year.

In addition to being proud of their son, before her death, Michael and Caroline remained close even after their divorce, Michael told ELLE magazine in 2010. He noted his sister and brother also lost former spouses and told him it would be “harder than you think.”

“And the feelings that came up were odd, but not in a bad way, necessarily, because we had remained close,” he stated. “She was a remarkable mom. Sean is the great guy he is because of her—we’ve always been tight, but now the bond’s even tighter. We’re the family now.”

She Died Of Multiple Myeloma 

In February 2010, Caroline’s family told the Los Angeles Times that she had died from complications of multiple myeloma, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is a cancer that comes from malignant plasma cells. While normal cells are in bone marrow and the immune system needs them, when they grow out of control, they “produce a tumor called plasmacytoma.” When an individual has one single plasma cell tumor, it’s called an isolated plasmacytoma, but when they have more than one, it’s multiple myeloma.

Caroline was survived by of course Michael and their son Sean as well as her sisters Kelly-Jo Dvareckas, Norma Liedtke and Patti McWilliams.