Inside Sam Elliott and Wife Katharine Ross’ Enduring Love Story: From Co-Stars to Soulmates
The ‘Landman' star has been married to the legendary actress since 1984—here's their love story
Most people know Sam Elliott, an 81-year-old actor currently starring in Season 2 of Taylor Sheridan’s hit TV drama Landman. What they don’t know are details about his wife, Katharine Ross. To learn more about who she is, her marriage to Sam and details on their kids, keep reading.
Who is Katharine Ross?
Ross is an 85-year-old retired actress best known for her work in Gunsmoke (1964 to 1965), The Graduate (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Stepford Wives (1975), The Colbys (1985 to 1987) and Donnie Darko (2001). She is also an avid horseback rider, which is something that has been showcased in some of her films.
“I first fell in love with horses at the age of 7 on a pony ride, going around in circles, grinning from ear to ear as I was jumping about on this very uncomfortable ride. I rode in the films Rodeo Girl, The Legacy and Shadow Riders. My own horse was the first thing I bought after I did my first movie, Shenandoah,” she told Cowboys and Indians Magazine in 2016.
“[Being horseback] kind of takes you away from your problems or whatever is bothering you. I feel very fortunate that I can get away into nature and take a great ride, and always come back feeling much better than when I started out,” she continued.
Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross’ love story
Sam and Ross met on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, however they didn’t really get to know each other until the 1978 film The Legacy. Following that, Ross left then husband Gaetano Lisi, and decided to give things a go with Sam. They dated for about five years before getting married in 1984.
“I think really what it boils down to is we love each other, and we work at it. And I think more importantly than anything, it takes wanting to be married,” Sam told NPR in 2017. “The two things that I wanted in my life were to have a movie career and to be married, to have a family. And it’s an embarrassment of riches that I’ve got both.”
Following their marriage, Sam and Ross have worked together several times over on a variety of projects, including Houston: The Legend of Texas and Conagher in 1986.
“I think we just like making movies and having that creative experience together is the best. It’s just fun. It’s a whole different kind of energy to go home with someone you’re working with rather than go home to somebody who isn’t working,” Sam told the Los Angeles Times in 2016. “It’s a totally positive experience.”
Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross’ daughter
Just one month after getting married in 1984, Elliott and Ross welcomed daughter Cleo Rose Elliott. She is currently 41-years-old and working as a musician, which she says her parents are “totally supportive of.”
“They’re just happy I don’t want to be an actor,” she told The Malibu Times in December 2008, per Closer Weekly.
The family isn’t without their problems, though. According to a People magazine article, Cleo attacked her mother with scissors in 2011.
At the time of the incident, Ross claimed Cleo used “enough force to pierce my skin through my shirt and leave me with marks that are still visible today.”
Ross filed a restraining order but, beyond that, the details of their relationship remain murky. They were seen together in 2018, but it’s unclear if/when exactly the issues were resolved.
Despite all of that though Sam and Ross are still going strong, with more than 40 years of marriage under their belts. Cheers to that!
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