Denzel Washington is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Celebrity marriages don’t tend to last very long on average.
For the Washingtons to have been married for over 40 years, it could almost be considered a miracle.
Pauletta is an accomplished performer in her own right.
After graduating fromFordham University with a B.A.
“Denzel and his friends came at the very end of the party,” Pauletta said.
“We spoke again, we were reintroduced.
The next night, I attended a play.
I got there late, so I snuck in and just sat down.
I didn’t look at who was around me.
At intermission, the lights came up and we were sitting next to each other.”
For decades, women have swooned over Denzel he was even named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1996.
However, Denzel got off to a rocky start in his courtship with Pauletta.
Pauletta interjected, “He turns to me and says, ‘I have no money’ …
I paid for it.”
Despite not having enough for cab fare, the play was the spark that grew into their 40-year flame.
That I saw first.
And then I thought, hmmm, not a bad package, you know?"
Proposing to Pauletta also wasn’t an easy task, either.
After John David was born, they welcomed Katia in 1986 and twins Malcolm and Olivia in 1991.
All four children have since followed their parent’s footsteps into the entertainment world.
For instance, all four children (and mom Pauletta!)
worked on the movie “The Piano Lesson.”
As the eldest child, John David struggled with this at times early in his life.
It’s difficult to be Pauletta Washington’s son."
She’s my auditioning partner.
She says when it’s not good enough, she says when I’m ready.
‘Work on this.’
That kind of thing.
She helped me get ‘Ballers.’
We worked a lot on that."
As far as his relationship with dad Denzel goes, that’s always been a little more complicated.
“So that anxiety, that sort of resentment, I just funneled it through football.
And like they say, it was helmet syndrome.
They can’t see my face, it’s just the last name.
So it’s like, ‘Who’s that Washington kid out there?'”
