Steve Carell Has Been Happily Married for Over 30 Years, and He Says That There's No Secret

Actor Steve Carell is starring in a new HBO series, The Rooster, which will premiere on March 8, 2026. The show centers on Steve's character and his relationship with his adult daughter. However, Steve said that his relationship with his real-life daughter doesn't have too many similarities with his character's daughter, per Hello.

In real life, Steve has two kids, Elisabeth Anne "Annie" Carell (25), and John Carell (22), whom he shares with his wife, Nancy Carell. Here's what we know about Nancy and Steve's family life.

The pair first met when Nancy attended an improv class Steve was teaching at The Second City comedy theater in Chicago. On an Ellen appearance in 2015, Steve admitted that they were both nervous about asking each other out, per Fox News. Nancy worked at the bar across the street from the theater, and Steve would stop by to see her.

Steve told The Guardian that he wasn't sure whether she liked him at first. He said, "She kind of checked all the boxes in my head, but I thought she hated me because she was very quiet around me." He added, "I thought she for sure knew that I was full of it, and I later found out that she was just as nervous as I was and trying to act cool."

Steve and Nancy got married in August of 1995. Steve told The Guardian, "People say, 'What's the secret to a marriage?' There's no secret – I think you get lucky."

Steve also said that he and his wife share a sense of humor. When accepting an award at the Golden Globe Awards in 2006, Steve read a hilarious acceptance speech written from his wife's perspective.

Nancy and Steve worked together on The Daily Show for some time before Steve left to star in The Office. Nancy appeared in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, and she was one of Michael's romantic interests on The Office. She played the real estate agent Carol Stills, who helps Michael buy his condo.

Steve and Nancy co-created the comedy Angie Tribeca, which starred Rashida Jones and ran for four seasons.

In 2013, he told The Guardian that after having his first kid, he actually became more successful in auditions because his daughter was the new center of his world. "I'll never forget the first audition after my daughter was born. I nailed it because I didn't care anymore. Before that, I hadn't had great success auditioning for TV shows; it was spotty at best, but for that audition, it wasn't a life or death thing," he said.

Steve elaborated, saying, "All I wanted to do was get home to my baby and it changed my perspective on my career and on the world, on who I was. The world was so much bigger than me, or any of my concerns and so much richer too. Having children is by far the most important and best thing that we ever did."