He tried to keep his addiction a secret. But when Samuel L. Jackson hit rock bottom,
he risked losing his wife and his daughter. He knew that if things didn't change,
he'd be alone forever. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson , have been together for
fifty years, but making their marriage work has not been easy.
Stay tuned, Juicers, because we're going to take a deep dive into Samuel
L. Jackson's marriage and how his wife stood by his side through the worst moments of his life.
Today, Samuel L. Jackson is one of the highest-grossing actors ever and one of the most
popular actors of his time. But he wasn't so lucky in his youth. Growing up, the actor only met his
father twice in his whole life, and the only thing he knew about him was that he was an alcoholic.
As a teen, Samuel also butted heads with the law and was convicted of unlawful confinement, which
stopped him from studying at university in the late 1960s. It all happened after Jackson ended
up holding Martin Luther King Jr.'s father hostage on the Morehouse College campus in Atlanta.
He became increasingly involved with the civil rights movement and was even an usher at Martin
Luther King Jr.'s funeral in 1968. Fired up by the assassination of MLK Jr, the actor
and a group of friends held the college board of trustees - of which MLK Sr was a member- hostage
and demanded reform of the school curriculum. The school did eventually change its policy,
but Jackson was convicted of unlawful confinement, a second-degree felony.
That made sense to me, you know? Somebody hits you; you hit them back."
He explained years later in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
He was suspended for two years before returning to college and earning his Bachelor of Arts in
Drama in 1972. During his time in college, he met a student from another university,
LaTanya Richardson. They shared the same devotion to advocacy, and acting
and, before they knew it, had fallen in love with each other.
They began dating and have "been trying to be revolutionary ever since," as Jackson described.
"We met in a revolutionary situation, and we get involved in revolutionary situations all
the time," he noted, sharing how important it was that they both agreed they'd never "compromise
who we are to do the things we do. It's imperative that we be who we are," he explained.
But it took another 10 years before Jackson popped the question.
Reminiscing about their engagement, Richardson recalled telling her then-boyfriend,
"My grandfather is very ill and he's going to die and he's very concerned that we are not married,
so we have to get married now so that he can walk me down the aisle."
So, after a decade of dating, Jackson proposed, and they tied the knot in 1980. The ceremony was
a private one and intimate, but Jackson shared a glimpse inside in a throwback Instagram post
in 2019. He shared a photo of himself and Richardson cutting their wedding cake;
he wrote, "You're my rock and reason to get up every day and work on giving you the best
I have to offer." He gushed, "You are Love, walking, talking, challenging and everlasting!"
They later welcomed their first and only child, daughter Zoe Jackson, in 1982. But the beginning
of their marriage was shrouded by Samuel's growing addiction to illegal substances.
The actor confessed that he spent a lot of his adulthood using drugs in one form or another.
At the time, it seemed as though his addiction wasn't a secret, and his wife knew all about it.
Unfortunately, no one really knew the full extent of what was going on behind closed
doors and in Jackson's mind. All Richardson understood was that their home was a "Villa
in Hell" because Jackson was away a lot with work,
and when he would finally come home, he was very snappy and irritable.
Jackson did his best to maintain a good reputation at work
because he showed up on time, knew his lines, and hit his marks.
So while he was putting his best foot forward, no one thought that anything else was going on.
Little did they know, the actor's addiction was only growing stronger, and he was losing control.
In 1990, Jackson's good friend, Ruben Santiago-Hudson
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq3uuDHiwwU - 0.29), had a bachelor party. It was then
that his addiction took a turn for the worst, and Jackson hit rock bottom. It was a day of partying
with tequila, followed by the thought that he needed some drugs to carry him through the event.
After making his illegal purchase, he went home and passed out before taking anything.
It was that very moment that would prove to those he loved the most
exactly how much of a problem Jackson's addiction had become.
His wife and daughter, who was just 8 years old at the time,
walked in the next morning only to find Jackson still unconscious and clutching
his drugs. Richardson knew she had to take control of the situation and get her husband
the help that he needed. So she contacted a rehab center and organized for Jackson to be checked in.
Within 24 hours, he was in rehab had Richardson's words to keep him there. "I
threatened to leave him if he didn't see the rehab through," she explained. She knew that
leaving him would be the hardest thing to do because she loved him so much, "But,
I resented him too. I hated it when he slurred his words. A wife hates to see her husband be weak."
So, fearing that he would lose everything he held dear to his heart, he got his act together. He
completed his stay in rehab and has maintained a life of sobriety, all thanks to his wife.
She stood by his side and supported him during the darkest and most difficult time of his life.
But she made sure to draw the line when things got out of hand.
She couldn't risk their daughter getting caught up in the drama, and she needed to protect her too.
Today, they've been together for forty-two years,
and the couple has been honest about what it takes to make their marriage work.
Richardson explained that she and her husband rely on love, faith, and forgiveness. "You
have to have a big heart and the Lord. You can't do this without the Lord," she said,
explaining that's because "you're going to have to turn to somebody, something — because men,
they are different. They're cut from a different cloth." Conceding that there
will always be tough times, she advised on the importance of not holding onto grudges.
"No matter what, don't let the sun go down on your wrath. I'd be gritting my teeth,
saying, 'OK good night, I love you. I love you.' And I'd go to sleep.
You're going to have to forget a lot." She shared.
She also explained that it's important to maintain a personal life outside of your marriage.
Richardson said that just because you have a baby doesn't mean that you should stop working.
Letting your child see how hard you work inspires them to work in their life too
and aspire to bigger and greater things.
Jackson also shared his thoughts on what's kept them together for four decades
and said that it boils down to something simple, saying, "We still love each other."
As for how they've managed to avoid the Hollywood curse and stay together amidst the fame,
he credited their shared foundation in the arts and their ability to be
understanding of one another's needs and aspirations.
"You know, we both come from the theater. She's on Broadway right now doing To Kill a Mockingbird,
I'm out in the world doing movies. We understand the bond
we have …" He added that they share their experiences, their love for the theater,
and for their daughter. All of these things help them stay connected.
In August of 2020, the pair celebrated their landmark 40th wedding anniversary.
Jackson took to Instagram to gush over his wife and their time together.
He captioned, "50 years ago we started dancing, it was all fun and games. 40
years ago today, shit got real! The slow drag of our lives pressed together, I led sometimes,
sometimes she did. We finally found that rhythm where there was no leader, we moved as one,"
Decades-long unions are rare, especially in Hollywood, and that's because they're not easy.
As Samuel and LaTanya have proved to us all, it is possible to be happily married for over 40 years,
but reaching such a great milestone requires effort from both sides.
They went through an incredibly difficult time at the beginning of their marriage,
but Richardson stood by him, and she forgave him.
"We're still glued together, hip to hip, holding each other up,
not covering as much of the floor, but owning and loving the space that's ours." Samuel gushed.
As for Jackson, he's embraced his life of sobriety completely, and he credits his
wife for getting him through his struggle with addiction. With her support, he's become one of
the world's most successful actors, and he knows he couldn't have done it without her by his side.
The actor's success and recovery are an inspiration, and we couldn't be happier for him.
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