Woody Harrelson is the epitome of a television actor making a successful transition to the big screen. The 60-year-old Texas native became a household name in the late 80s with his hilarious turn as the dim-witted, good-natured Woody on the sitcom Cheers before heading off for the movies. It wasn’t long before he was awarded with Oscar nominations for his work in 1997’s The People Vs. Larry Flynt, 2010’s The Messenger and 2018’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. While he may not have taken home the big prize, he certainly cemented himself as an A-list actor. More recently, he can be seen in Solo: A Stars Wars Story and the superhero flick Venom.
In his personal life, Woody has also had quite the trajectory. In 1985, he married the daughter of the iconic playwright Neil Simon, Nancy Simon. However, the wedding was reportedly only a joke between the pair and their union was never intended to last. They “whimsically married in Tijuana in 1985 intending to divorce the following day, but when the couple returned to the storefront marriage/divorce parlor, they found it closed because it was Sunday,” according to Turner Classic Movies. The marriage ended up lasting 10 months. “We had to get a summary dissolution through Jacoby and Meyers. I think at the time Neil was a little bit worried I might try to go after her money,” Woody recalled to USA Today, per TCM.
Two years after the sham nuptials ended, Woody would begin dating Laura Louie, whom he would later marry in 2008. And they are still going from strength to strength today! Find out all the woman who captured the actor’s heart, below!
Laura Louie is of Asian descent.
Laura was born in 1965 to parents who were both Asian. Not much else is known about Laura’s background or her early life, as she is a very private person.
She was Woody’s personal assistant when they met.
In 1987, Laura was first introduced to Woody when hse was hired to be his personal assistant on Cheers. After dropping the gig, she would go on to start her own businesses. Her first company called Yoganics delivered organic food around Texas, but it was closed in 2015. Laura then started a similar brand with a similar name called Yoganics Hawaii. The company is based on Maui and provides yoga classes and organic food to its customers.
Laura is the proud mother of three children with Woody.
Although Laura and Woody didn’t officially wed until 2008, the couple welcomed three children in the meantime. She gave birth to their first daughter, Deni Montana, on March 5, 1994. Their second daughter, Zoe Giordano, arrived on September 22, 1996. An entire decade passed before Zoe was to have a younger sister to call their own. Woody and Laura welcomed their third daughter, Makani Ravello, on June 3, 2006.
They lived on a commune in Hawaii.
Laura and Woody lived in a eco-village/sustainable community of about 200 people on Maui. “It’s a really beautiful place,” Woody told SFGate in 2005. “Everybody cares about this Earth and they’re all biodynamic farmers and just really cool people. It’s really a loving community and I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
He added, “Nobody in our neighborhood has any power lines — we’re all solar. At the end of the night when the lights go out you just look out at the valley and the only lights are stars.”