Bob Odenkirk, 63, and His Wife, Naomi, Are Partners in Life and Comedy—All About Their Decades-Long Marriage and ’90s Meet-Cute

From the cult ’90s comedy of Mr. Show to the intense and morally complex world of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul to the butt-kicking movie Nobody and its sequel, Bob Odenkirk has a wonderfully eclectic array of movies and shows to his name, and his newest project, Normal, is no exception. In the Western-flavored film, Odenkirk plays a sheriff who arrives in a fictional Minnesota town and uncovers a crime ring. The film, which costars Happy Days icon Henry Winkler as the mayor, is an ideal showcase for Odenkirk’s unexpected action heroism.

When he’s not making us laugh or fighting bad guys (often at the same time!), the prolific actor, comedian, writer and director keeps things low-key offscreen, and has been married to producer Naomi Odenkirk for nearly 30 years. Read on to learn about their relationship and their many creative collaborations.

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Love at first sight in the ’90s comedy world

The ’90s comedy world was notoriously small and filled with all sorts of rising stars and surprising pairings. Early in his career, Bob Odenkirk dated Janeane Garafalo, his castmate on The Ben Stiller Show. Garofalo introduced him to David Cross, who became his comedy partner on Mr. Show.

While performing at a comedy club, Odenkirk had another fateful encounter, as his future wife, Naomi Yomtov, was in the audience—and she immediately knew that they were meant to be together. As Odenkirk recounted in a Wall Street Journal interview, when they began dating, “Right from the start it had been awesome, and I was having such a great time with her and three weeks in, she goes, ‘Okay, let me tell you a story. A year and a half before we went out on a date, I saw you and I had this flash of insight that we’re going to get married, and I told my roommate and I told my mother.’”

Initially, Odenkirk was a bit embarrassed by this revelation, admitting, “No guy wants to hear this. I’m like, so was the last three weeks just this person trying to fulfill this Braveheart destiny moment?” but the couple’s chemistry turned out to be very real, and they got married in 1997.

Bob and Naomi Odenkirk’s creative collaborations

Shortly after marrying Bob Odenkirk, Naomi became a talent manager—and yes, he’s one of her clients! In his Wall Street Journal interview, Odenkirk said while there were some initial challenges with mixing the personal and the professional, he sees Naomi as “a really smart, informed person with a point of view” and admires her judgment.

Naomi Odenkirk’s company, OPE Partners, produced Bob’s new movie, Normal, and they previously produced Nobody. Naomi has an impressive roster of comedian clients outside of her husband, including Jenna Fischer (The Office), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave) and her production company has helmed other comedies, including the 2023 Jennifer Lawrence movie No Hard Feelings.

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Bob and Naomi married when Mr. Show was in its third season, and after the show ended, she published Mr. Show: What Happened? a 2002 book about the sketch comedy show and what went on behind the scenes. When Mr. Show was revived as the Netflix series W/ Bob & David in 2015, Naomi served as an executive producer, and she’s producing their forthcoming documentary Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu.

Clearly, comedy is a family affair for the Odenkirks, and their children, Nate and Erin, have also gotten in on the fun. Nate is a comedy writer who has written many humor pieces for The New Yorker, while Erin is an artist who illustrated her dad’s 2023 children’s book Zilot & Other Important Rhymes. Bob is very proud of his kids’ achievements, and he sweetly said, “Yes, I can entertain myself with trying to write a good movie, trying to act well in a project. But there’s nothing that meant anything like being a dad to me.”

Overcoming a health scare with a ‘pretty damn great’ family

In 2021, Bob Odenkirk suffered a near-death experience when he had a heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul. While he made a full recovery, it was a traumatic time, and confronting his mortality gave him an even deeper appreciation of his wife and children. As he put it, “The epiphany was simply that my life is pretty damn great, and I should appreciate it and the people around me.”

Odenkirk has played some wacky characters over the years, and he admitted that when he was younger, he wasn’t the friendliest person, but he’s stayed admirably grounded in his personal life. Over the course of three decades, Bob and Naomi Odenkirk have proven that working with a spouse, while sometimes difficult, can be deeply rewarding. Normal is sure to be great evidence of this truth, and we can’t wait to see what other fun projects the comedic couple has on the horizon.