Cillian Murphy Is a Married Man Who Likes to Keep Wife and Kids Private

Actor Cillian Murphy has been an under-the-radar Hollywood mainstay for decades. You may recognize him from movies such as Cold Mountain, 28 Days Later, Girl With a Pearl Earring, and as Scarecrow in the Batman movies, per IMDb. He's also the star of the hit show, Peaky Blinders.

In 2020, Cillian appeared in A Quiet Place II, and later secured the lead role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the film Oppenheimer, which releases on July 21, 2023. Per Variety, this film explores the story behind J. Robert Oppenheimer’s creation of the atomic bomb.

While the actor is gaining much attention for his on-screen abilities, he likes to keep his private life, well, private. But fans are anxious to know who Cillian Murphy's wife is and if he has any children. Here's what we know.

Cillian, who hails from Ireland, married an Irish woman and visual artist named Yvonne McGuinness almost two decades ago, per The Things.

According to multiple sources, the Inception star prefers to keep his personal life under wraps, hence, he hasn't opened up much about his marriage. Yvonne doesn't accompany him to red carpet events — and he definitely doesn't post about his family on Instagram (though it's difficult to weed out his real page — if he has one — from the several fan accounts that now exist).

That said, we know that Cillian met his wife Yvonne at a concert in the late ‘90s, at which the actor was performing with his band, hilariously called The Sons of Mr. Green Genes. The couple said “I do” in 2004, and went on to welcome two children. More about his kids in a moment. First, it’s important to note that in keeping with Cillian’s devotion to privacy, he and his family do not live anywhere near Hollywood.

The Murphys’ decision to reside in Europe — they lived in London for many years, and now call Ireland home — is also about the star’s devotion to his wife and kids. "I don't need to live in Los Angeles. I'd be tremendously far away from my family — I'd never see them,” Cillian told People in 2005.

Meanwhile, Yvonne’s job is rooted in Dublin, with her website describing that “her work encompasses film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound, and writing.”

Cillian and Yvonne are parents to two teenage sons named Malachy and Aran. In 2020, while speaking at the Unesco Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway, which works to help young people develop life skills, the actor shared a few thoughts about fatherhood, per The Irish Sun.

“Regarding empathy, I’m a father of two teenagers, and I once was young as well so I recognize how tricky it is as a young person today in society,” he said. “I think it’s a very complex time growing up, I think things are changing a lot at a very accelerated rate and I think the idea that empathy would form part of a curriculum is an excellent idea.”

Fittingly, in 2007, Cillian told People he hoped that becoming a dad helped him become a better person. He has also spoken about why raising his kids in his homeland is important, telling The Guardian in 2016, “We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose. It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted.” He also again stressed how much he values family life, saying that during time off from making movies, he loves nothing more than “being a dad.”