Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones: who is daughter Carys, how many children does actor have?

On Tuesday (16 May), Hollywood stars Michael Douglas, 78, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, hit the red carpet at the 76th Cannes Film Festival with their 20 year old daughter, Carys, in tow. The three were attending a showing of Jeanne du Barry, a new film written, directed, produced and starring French filmmaker Maïwenn and Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, A Nightmare on Elm Street). 

Douglas is best known for films like Basic Instinct, the Ant-Man films and Fatal Attraction, while you’ll likely recognise Zeta- Jones from the likes of the Netflix hit series Wednesday, Chicago and National Treasure: Edge of History. 

But how long have Douglas and Zeta-Jones been together for, and how many children do they have? This is everything you need to know. 

How long have Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones been together?

Douglas and Zeta-Jones have been together since March 1999, when they started dating. The two first met at the Deauville Film Festival in 1998, with Zeta-Jones promoting The Mask of Zorro, and Douglas doing the same for A Perfect Murder.

Talking about their first meeting, Douglas told the Jonathan Ross Show in 2016 that they met at the bar and was “a total gentleman”. He asked Zeta-Jones if she wanted to come back and join him for a night cap and, later on when they met again that night, he told her that he was going to be “the father of your children”.

Douglas said that Zeta-Jones responded by saying: “You know I’ve heard a lot about you, and I’ve seen a lot about you, and I think it’s time that I say goodnight.” 

Following up on Douglas’ “father of your children” comment, Zeta-Jones told Access in 2019: “You know what the worst thing is? He was right.” 

It was in December 1999 that the two got engaged whilst on a New Year’s Eve trip to Aspen, in Colorado, and the two officially got married on 18 November 2000 at the Plaza Hotel in New York. 

Their relationship hasn’t always been smooth sailing however, with Douglas and Zeta-Jones actually separating in August 2013, after 13 years of marriage. A source reportedly told People that the stress of Douglas’ cancer battle and Zeta-Jones’ own struggles with bipolar II had led to the couple “taking a break”. 

Prior to attending the Emmy Awards that same year, Douglas told People that he and Zeta-Jones were “working things out, talking, and we’ll see how she goes”. During the ceremony that evening, Douglas thanked Zeta-Jones during his acceptance speech for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Behind the Candelabra, saying: “I want to thank my wife Catherine for her support.”

By the end of April the following year, Douglas and Zeta-Jones appeared to have reconciled after they attended the Monte Cristo Awards together and in April 2015 Douglas told Ellen DeGenerous during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that they were “stronger than ever”.

He said: “I’m crazy about her. And yeah, I think every couple has their difficult times. The only problem is, as you well know, we’re all in the public eye, and it tends to get a little more exposed than most.”

Was he married before?

Prior to marrying Zeta-Jones, Douglas was married to Diandra Luker. The pair tied the knot in March of 1977, when Douglas was 32 and Luker was 19, just six weeks after they first met. Luker was a student at Georgetown’s Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service when they met, with Douglas proposing after just two weeks. 

Luker filed for divorce in 1995 and, as part of the divorce settlement, was awarded $45 million. Their divorce was finalised in 2000.  

Chatting to the Mirror in 2013, Douglas said that their marriage should have ended “eight or 10 years earlier”.

He said: “I know I’m going to get in trouble here. I have nothing against her and in fact I’m very fond of my first wife. But we should have ended that marriage eight or 10 years earlier. It took me too long to realise that if you go to a marriage counsellor to resolve problems, it’s in his interest to keep the marriage going.

“Because if I end the marriage, he’s got no business. I think Diandra would probably say the same thing. That’s the only clear regret I have.” 

How many children does Michael Douglas have?

All in all, Douglas is father to three children. He had his first child whilst married to Luker - his son, Cameron, who was born in 1987. 

Together, Douglas and Zeta-Jones have two children together, their son Dylan who was born on 8 August 2000 and daughter Carys, born 20 April 2003. 

Speaking to AARP in 2021, when asked what the hardest thing he has had to do as a parent, Douglas said: “Set boundaries, big and small. My older son, Cameron, was a drug addict and ended up serving seven and a half years in federal prison. That was hard, having to protect myself and my family and tell my older son that if you feel like I'm pulling away from you, I am, because I'm afraid you're either going to kill yourself or kill somebody else. That experience with Cameron I don't wish on anybody.”

Cameron detailed his struggles with drug addiction, which began when he was 13, in his 2019 memoir called Long Way Home. 

Douglas became a grandfather after Cameron and his longtime partner Viviene Thibes welcomed their daughter Lua together on 18 December 2017. Cameron then announced the arrival of their son, Ryder, on 22 December 2020 on Instagram. 

Last year, Douglas and Zeta-Jones’ son Dylan graduated from Brown University and, the year before, Carys and Zeta-Jones released a joint interview with Town and Country in which Carys said she saw a future in fashion for herself.

She said: “Fashion has been so important in my life, because my mom is like a fashion icon to me. I’m always looking through her closet.”