Ron Howard and his wife, Cheryl Howard have been together since high school. Here's everything we know about Cheryl and her relationship with the director.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleRon Howard is well-known for being a part of the movie, The Shootist. During his appearance on the Talking Pictures podcast, the Oscar-winning director reflected on the interesting time he had making the film alongside John Wayne. According to him, even 50 years later, the movie still “holds up well.” Now, amid the focus on Ron, many have become curious to know about his wife, Cheryl Howard, and their enduring love.
Cheryl Howard was born in December 1953 to parents Charles and Vivian Alley in Glendale, California. Cheryl has often opened up about how her father had inspired her adventurous spirit. Reportedly, Cheryl’s father was a chemical and aerospace engineer, an amateur astronomer, and a marksman.
On her website, Cheryl wrote that he was also “the first Caucasian to survive a climb to the top of Mt. Fujiyama in the winter, and at the time of his death he was purported to be the oldest competitive aerobatic pilot in the world.” Opening up about how he inspired her interest in “travel and the exotic,” she wrote:
“I flew planes, soloing on my 16th birthday, shot guns from the age of five, and raised a variety of wild animals in my home: monkeys, an anteater, skunks, a proverbial zoo.”
In 2005, Cheryl published a novel named In the Face of Jinn, inspired by her travels to the Middle East. She initially got the idea to write the book from discussions with her friend and martial arts instructor, Ali Nazam, who is from Pakistan. Apart from being a published author, she holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology and a Master's degree in screenwriting. On her website, Cheryl mentioned that it was Ron Howard’s “passion for story” that drew them together. She wrote:
"Although Ronny doesn't quite share my enthusiasm for the Middle East and Central Asia (he was a bit nervous when he first learned of my desire to travel there), he has always supported my need to suss out a story."
For those unaware, Cheryl and Ron first met when they were attending John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of their first date on Instagram, Ron posted a photo of himself wearing socks with his wife’s face on them in November 2020. In the caption, he wrote that their first date was on November 1, 1970, when they went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s It's a Mad Mad Mad World. Following this, they went to get pizza at the now-defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake.
Ron further shared that he and Cheryl would be celebrating the anniversary by going out on a drive in the same ‘70 VW Bug he picked his wife up in 5 decades ago. He said, “It runs great. So do we.”
Despite their relationship having begun in high school, Ron had to propose three times before she finally accepted. The same was revealed by the couple’s eldest daughter, Bryce, during her February 2024 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. Revealing why Cheryl rejected Ron’s proposal twice before, Bryce said, “Because she was like, ‘I wanna go to school first. I'm not ready to be on your train yet.’ She's really strong.”
It was after five years of dating that Ron and Cheryl tied the knot on June 7, 1975, in Burbank. According to reports, their wedding was attended by several of Ron’s co-stars, including Andy Griffith and Tom Bosley. Ron revealed the secret to his long-lasting marriage to Cheryl during their 44th anniversary. He was quoted as saying:
"People say, 'How'd you do it?' There's no technique. There's no tactic, other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there's an element of luck because people either grow together or they don't, and I don't think you can force that."
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