Jeff Bridges Revealed It Was ‘Love At First Sight’ With His Wife Who Had A Broken Nose & Opened Up About The Key To Their Decades-Long Love

Dec 24, 2023

Jeff Bridges is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. As the recipient of numerous awards, honors and accolades, it’s no surprise that Jeff has maintained a successful career for his adult life. Along with that, he has also found everlasting love with his longtime wife.

Jeff was born on Dec. 4, 1949, in Los Angeles, California, into a home of celebrities. He is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and actress and writer Dorothy Bridges. Jeff’s older brother, Beau Bridges, is also an actor. Growing up with such a talented and esteemed family, Jeff learned the ins and outs of the entertainment industry early on, touring alongside his father for stage productions and even appearing alongside him and Beau in the television series “Sea Hunt.”

Jeff’s career only escalated from that point on, as he went on to star in numerous critically acclaimed productions. A handful of the many films Jeff has starred in include “Crazy Heart,” “True Grit,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Iron Man.”

While the actor has had his fair share of success, he has also faced a few hardships during his lifetime. In October 2020, he announced that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Almost a year later, Jeff said his cancer was in remission.

Through all of the ups and downs, Jeff has had the help and companionship of his longtime wife, Susan Geston. On June 5, 1977, Jeff and Geston tied the knot, and the pair went on to have three daughters: Isabelle, Jessica and Haley Bridges. The pair have been married for a total of 46 years and are still going incredibly strong. Read on to find out more about their beautiful love story.

Jeff was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1949 and has starred in several high-profile films such as "Starman," "The Big Lebowski," "The Contender," and "True Grit." He has been nominated for an Academy Award seven times and took home the Best Actor award in 2010 for his role in "Crazy Heart."

Jeff was exposed to the entertainment world at a young age thanks to his father Lloyd Bridges, who was an actor himself and starred in the TV series “Sea Hunt” and later had roles in the movie comedies “Airplane!” and “Hot Shots!” His mother Dorothy Bridges was an "occasional actress who appeared in several film and television productions with family members," according to LA Times. 

Dorothy was a major influence in Jeff's life and was reportedly the first drama teacher in Jeff and his siblings' life. When Jeff turned 21, he, along with his brother Beau and sister Lucinda Bridges, received an incredible gift from his mother, according to HuffPost. 

"Every day, she would write in this journal," Jeff said about his mother. "When each of her children turned 21, each of us was given a biography of our lives from our mother’s point of view, in her own hand. She would go through her journal and every time my name was mentioned, she would transcribe that... It’s wild to read my life from my mom’s point of view." 

Dorothy was an amazing mother to her children in many ways, and Jeff also described that growing up, he and his siblings got to play a game called "Time" with her.

"Every day, for an hour I could count on my mom having ‘Time’ with me," Jeff said. "’Time’ would be anything I wanted to do with her. I could say, 'Let’s go and do your makeup and I want to make you up like a clown.' (Or,) 'You’re the astronaut under this table and I’m the monster from space.'"

Dorothy also made sure to dedicate all her time to her kids during "Time." Jeff said, "She wouldn’t take any calls from her friends. If her friends called, she said, 'No, I’ll have to call you back. I’m having ‘Time’ with Jeff.'" He added, "It was just totally focused on whatever I wanted to do." Dorothy created a truly "wonderful relationship" with her kids and her passing at the age of 93 in February 2009 left a hole in the family's heart. 

Thankfully, through tough times, Jeff has always leaned on his beloved wife of 46 years, Susan Geston. In October 2020, Jeff revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer. During treatment, he also contracted Covid-19, which aggravated his condition that at one point, it was almost touch-and-go and he was put on a ventilator. Geston never left his side, even as the prognosis looked bleak. 

“We didn't know if he would recover,” she recalled, adding she told doctors to “‘Save his life. No matter what you have to do.’”

After an arduous fight, Jeff overcame both Covid-19 and cancer, which went into remission. In January 2021, he revealed that his tumor had "drastically shrunk." He then returned to work on the second season of “The Old Man.” He said after going “through a year and a half of this bizarre dream… It was great to be back with the gang.”

The support from his wife meant everything to Jeff. In Hollywood, marriages are not always strong, but Jeff and Geston have made it. Jeff admitted that it was "love at first sight" when he first laid eyes on Geston. Surprisingly, at the time, Geston wasn’t looking her best as she was still nursing some injuries from a recent car accident.

“I couldn't take my eyes off her. Not only was she gorgeous, but she had two black eyes and a recently broken nose. Something about her beauty and disfigurement kept me riveted,” Jeff said. Although Geston rebuffed his advances at first, they soon became inseparable. However, he still harbored some jitters about marriage.

“I couldn't bear to let the love of my life slip through my fingers, but at the same time I was afraid of declaring, "This is the one!" I was crazy in love, but I came from such great parents and didn't know if either Sue or I had that in us,” he confessed.

Fortunately, Jeff overcame his initial fears and has spent the last 46 years in married bliss. “I've learned so much from Sue. She points out ways that I defeat myself, and I do the same for her,” he said.

Jeff revealed the secret to their long-lasting love to People, stating the key ingredient was mutual respect.

“We are quite different as people, and we celebrate that rather than making it drive us apart. I respect her wisdom,” he said. Jeff and Geston’s kids also see the love their parents have for each other.

“They love each other, but they like each other, they spend time together,” daughter Isabelle said. “They make an effort to ask each other questions about what the other is interested in.”

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