Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke: Marriage, Divorce & Their Backgrounds
They met on the set of Gattaca in 1997, married a year later, and spent seven years as one of Hollywood’s most fascinating couples — a Swedish-American ice queen and a Texas-born indie darling. But the marriage of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke ended in a divorce that people are still dissecting twenty years later.
Here is their full story: where they come from, how they fell in love, and where they are now.
The Quick Answer
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke met on the set of Gattaca (1997), married in May 1998, and divorced in 2005. They had two children together: Maya Hawke (born 1998), now a Stranger Things star, and Levon Hawke (born 2002). The divorce was contentious, with infidelity rumors on both sides, and Hawke later married Ryan Shawhughes in 2008.
Who Is Uma Thurman?
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970, in Boston) became a global star with Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) and the Kill Bill films (2003–04). Her name comes from a Hindu goddess — fitting for a family steeped in Buddhism.
Her background is genuinely unusual: her father, Robert Thurman, is one of America’s leading Buddhist scholars (the first Westerner ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk), and her mother, Nena von Schlebrügge, was a Swedish baroness, model, and former wife of psychedelic guru Timothy Leary. Uma’s ancestry is Swedish, Danish, German, English, Scottish, and Irish.
Who Is Ethan Hawke?
Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970, in Austin, Texas) broke out with Dead Poets Society (1989), then defined indie cinema with Reality Bites (1994) and the Before trilogy, later earning Oscar nominations for Training Day (2001) and Boyhood (2014).
Hawke’s roots are deeply American: English, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Cornish, and distant German ancestry, plus a distant cousin in playwright Tennessee Williams. Raised by his mother in Texas and New Jersey after his parents divorced, he became a writer-director as well as an actor.
The Love Story
Gattaca (1997) was supposed to be a modest sci-fi film. Instead it became the set where Uma Thurman — then divorced from Gary Oldman — and Ethan Hawke, Hollywood’s brooding poet, fell in love. By May 1998 they were married, and that July their daughter Maya was born.
For a few years, they were the golden couple: Kill Bill-era Uma and Before Sunset-era Ethan, trading quotes about art and commitment. Their son Levon arrived in 2002. But by 2003 the cracks showed. Rumors of affairs swirled on both sides — notably Hawke’s rumored relationship with nanny-turned-wife Ryan Shawhughes, and Thurman’s alleged dalliance with Paris hotelier André Balazs.
The divorce was finalized in 2005. Thurman later said the marriage simply didn’t work; Hawke has called it “humiliating” and blamed his own infidelity, admitting: “I had such an adolescent view of what love was.”
After the Split
Both rebuilt. Hawke married Ryan Shawhughes in 2008; they have two daughters, and Hawke has spoken openly about how much calmer and happier his second marriage is. He remains one of cinema’s most respected actor-directors.
Thurman was engaged (twice) to financier Arpad Busson, with whom she had a daughter, Luna, in 2012; that relationship ended too. She has kept acting steadily — from Imposters to a scene-stealing turn in Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) — and remains a fashion icon.
Their children are now the headline: Maya Hawke is a genuine star (Stranger Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, three music albums), and Levon Hawke graduated from Brown and is acting (The Crowded Room). Maya has said both parents taught her that fame is “not something to chase.”
Why Their Backgrounds Matter
This was never a typical Hollywood marriage. Uma brought Buddhist philosophy, Swedish aristocratic reserve, and a childhood spent around monks; Ethan brought Texas grit, Tennessee Williams literary lineage, and indie-film soul. Their children’s names tell the story: Maya (Hindu/Buddhist roots via Uma’s name), Levon (named after The Band’s Levon Helm, a hero of Ethan’s).
Whatever went wrong in the marriage, the fusion produced two compelling young artists who carry both lineages visibly — the cool Scandinavian remove and the warm American storyteller.
Relationship Timeline
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Both born — Uma (Apr 29, Boston), Ethan (Nov 6, Austin) |
| 1997 | Meet on the set of Gattaca |
| 1998 | Marry (May); daughter Maya born (Jul 8) |
| 2002 | Son Levon born (Jan 15) |
| 2003–04 | Separation rumors; infidelity allegations |
| 2005 | Divorce finalized |
| 2008 | Hawke marries Ryan Shawhughes |
| 2012 | Thurman has daughter Luna with Arpad Busson |
| 2017+ | Maya Hawke becomes a star; Levon starts acting |
FAQs
Why did Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke divorce?
The marriage broke down amid infidelity rumors on both sides. Hawke has publicly blamed his own immaturity and unfaithfulness, calling the marriage’s failure “humiliating.”
How did Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke meet?
On the set of the sci-fi film Gattaca (1997), where they co-starred as genetically engineered lovers.
Do Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke have children?
Yes — two: actress/musician Maya Hawke (born 1998) and actor Levon Hawke (born 2002).
Who is Ethan Hawke married to now?
Ryan Shawhughes, since 2008. They have two daughters together.
What is Uma Thurman’s ethnicity?
Swedish, Danish, German, English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry — her mother was a Swedish baroness and model, her father a Buddhist scholar.
More Hollywood relationships: Joey King and Jacob Elordi — the Kissing Booth romance and its fallout.
Final Word
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s marriage was seven years of high art, high drama, and a painful ending — but it also gave the world Maya and Levon Hawke. Two Scandinavian-tinged American dreamers who fell in love over science fiction and raised a family that became its own Hollywood story. Some unions don’t last, but the art they leave behind does.
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