Cillian Murphy and wife Yvonne McGuinness make rare public appearance at Golden Globes

When Cillian Murphy took home his first Golden Globe award Jan. 7, he proudly sported the result of a celebratory kiss from wife Yvonne McGuinness.

"First question, do I have lipstick all over my nose?" he asked in his speech. "I'm just going to leave it."

The sweet moment after Murphy's best actor win for his performance in "Oppenheimer" marked a rare public appearance for the longtime couple.

While it's no secret that the actor's successful career consistently makes headlines, his personal life is a different story.

The 47-year-old is notoriously private about his family, but he has spoken on rare occasions about his relationship with McGuinness, his wife of nearly two decades.

Read on to learn more about their love story and home life.

How did Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness meet?

The lovebirds first crossed paths in the late 1990s when Murphy was starring in a play titled "Disco Pigs."

“That time, making ‘Disco Pigs,’ was kind of the most important period of my life,” he said during an interview with The Guardian in 2016. “The people I met there remain my closest friends … They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. And it was around the same time I met my wife."

McGuinness, who is an artist, went on tour with the play's cast, and they were on the road for 18 months, according to the article.

"It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was — we were all just kids, trying to find our way — but such a special, special time," Murphy said.

The couple reportedly got married in 2004.

Do Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness have any children?

Yes, the couple shares two teenage sons: Malachy, whom they welcomed in 2005, and Aran, born in 2007.

While chatting with the Guardian in 2016, Murphy discussed how moving from London to Ireland was partially motivated by his hopes for his children's upbringing.

"We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose. It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of thing. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls when they’re 15," he said.

During the same interview, the actor compared his sons to himself when he was their age.

"I had bravado. But, deep down… I don’t know, they seem better adjusted than I was. More sure of themselves. I’m happy about that. For me, it was something that took a long time to figure out: that it’s all right to be you, that it’s all right to be an individual," he said.

What does Yvonne McGuinness do for a living?

Murphy may have a highly successful acting career, but his wife is also quite accomplished in her field.

According to her personal website, she's an artist whose work includes “film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound and writing.”

"She has an interest in embodied experience of place and belonging by staging live, public, interventions and performances which create surreal and dynamic moments of interaction and connection to place, time and communities," her bio reads.

The couple is very private about their personal lives

Murphy and McGuinness are private when it comes to their personal lives, and photos of the couple are few and far between.

However, Murphy has spoken about his wife during a few interviews over the years, dating all the way back to 2005.

In 2019, the actor credited his wife with helping him balance his career and life at home during an interview with GQ.

"That work-life-balance thing is hard," he said. "I have an amazing wife, and I couldn’t do this without her and her understanding. But it is a struggle. I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.”

During a 2016 interview with the Guardian, Murphy applauded his wife for holding down the fort at home while he is away filming, especially when he was starring in "Peaky Blinders," which required long hours on set.

“It’s canceled life. You go home to your tiny apartment at the end of the day and you feed yourself for sustenance and you learn the lines for the next day and you try to get as much sleep as you possibly can. Which isn’t much. And then you get up and do it again," he said.

In 2005, the star told People his wife has kept him grounded throughout his career.

"It’s very important to have somebody like that," he said. "My life hasn’t changed in any way, really. I still have the same friends and we go to the same places."

Murphy and McGuinness make a rare appearance together at the 2024 Golden Globes

The couple stepped into the spotlight at the Golden Globes on Jan. 7, making a rare red carpet appearance together for the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

Murphy's performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb, earned him his second Golden Globe nomination and first since 2006. He was previously nominated for his work in the movie "Breakfast on Pluto."

His victory was part of a banner night for "Oppenheimer," which took home five awards that also included best motion picture and best director for Christopher Nolan.

Murphy and McGuinness enjoyed a sweet moment when she gave him a kiss on the nose and then tried to rub her lipstick off after he was announced as the winner.

"To my family, I'm the luckiest man and I love you," he said at the end of his acceptance speech.

The couple were also seen enjoying a candid moment together with Murphy's "Oppenheimer" co-star Robert Downey Jr. during the ceremony. Downey also took home a Golden Globe for best supporting actor.

Murphy beat an impressive field that also included Leonardo DiCaprio for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Bradley Cooper for "Maestro," Barry Keoghan for "Saltburn," Andrew Scott for "All of Us Strangers," and Colman Domingo for "Rustin."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com