Who is Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy’s wife and why he likes to keep his life private

Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy, 47, has been married to his wife for 19 years and share two children. The Irish actor - who wowed fans as a hardened gangster Tom Shelby in Peaky Blinders and has left an indelible mark on Birmingham- has had a long career and his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, has been with him throughout.

The couple, who met 27 years ago, have made a family home for themselves in Dublin since moving from London in 2015. The Peaky Blinders star said the move was “the best thing we did.” Despite his global fame, the actor is grounded and devoted to his family.

Wife Yvonne and children Aran, 16, and Malachy, 17 rarely step into the spotlight. However, Cillian thanked his family in his acceptance speech Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama for his performance in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and - after he had walked the red carpet on his own - Yvonne and Aran joined him inside the awards. Murphy began his speech last night after a misplaced onstage kiss, saying: 'Oh, boy. First question, do I have lipstick all over my nose? I'm just going to leave it.'

Speaking to The Irish Times, he said: “The kids are of a certain age. I think if you live in a world capital – like New York or London or wherever – it’s excellent and exciting and stimulating in your 20s and 30s. Then there’s a point where the things that were excellent and stimulating are now a bit sort of tedious and draining. You want something quieter and that’s what we did.”

Who is his wife Yvonne McGuinness?

They met at one of his jazz funk band shows when he played guitar and sang for The Sons of Mr Green Genes. She decided to travel with him as he was touring for the play Disco Pigs, a dark Irish comedy around the same time.

McGuinness is a visual artist who creates art installations. She is originally from Kilkenny in Ireland and has a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art in London. She had a solo show atIlluminations Gallerycurated by Aoife Tunney,where she presented The Well (2017), a multi-screen film installation and Borders (2019)a series of photographic collages.

“Her work encompasses film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound and writing,” according to McGuinness’ website.

Both McGuinness and Murphy lived in London for years before whisking their family away to Dublin. “I don’t need to live in Los Angeles,” Murphy told PEOPLE in 2005. “I’d be tremendously far away from my family — I’d never see them.”

Why Cillian Murphy likes to keep his life private

The Opphenheimer star dislikes red carpets, talk shows, and the whole process of promoting a film. However, these aspects are seen as part and parcel of the job in present times. For Murphy, it is something to “endure”, he told The Guardian. He said: “I do them because you’re contractually obliged to. I just endure them. I’ve always found it difficult. I’ve said this so many, many times.”

However, he is aware that he is lucky to be able to do what he loves. “I want to just caveat this by saying, I’m so privileged. I’m so happy to be doing what I love. I’m really lucky. But I don’t enjoy the personality side of being an actor. I don’t understand why I should be entertaining and scintillating on a talkshow. I don’t know why all of a sudden that’s expected of me. Why?”

In his interview with The Irish Times, he had previously said: “I just like to do the work and that always seemed to me like the most sensible approach. I didn’t see myself as a personality. I see myself as an actor. I think those are two distinct jobs. And my job is to portray other people. The less that people know about me the better I can portray other people. That seems glaringly obvious and logical to me.” His latest film, Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, will release on July 21, 2023 in the UK.