Who is Cillian Murphy's wife Yvonne McGuinness?
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy appeared on the 2026 IFTAs red carpet with his wife of over two decades, Yvonne McGuinness.
Cillian is up for Best Actor for his role as a teacher of troubled youths in Steve.
Cork native Cillian was joined on the red carpet by his rarely-seen other half, Yvonne.
Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness attend the 2026 Irish Film & Television (IFTA) Awards for Film & Drama at Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Pic: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Who is Yvonne McGuinness?
Yvonne is an Irish visual artist who works across a variety of media such as video installation and print. She is originally from Kilkenny but is now based in Dublin. She holds a Master of Arts degree from London’s Royal College of Art.
Her work has been seen across Ireland and the UK.
She is behind a number of short films, such as This is Between Us (2011) and 2012 flicks Charlie’s Place and Procession.
Yvonne is also the niece of Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness.
Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness. Pic: VIP Ireland
How did Yvonne and Cillian meet?
Yvonne and Cillian met in 1996. Cillian played the role of a teenager in Enda Walsh’s play Disco Pigs, which opened in Cork around that time before going on tour for 18 months. Cillian previously revealed that Yvonne had actually accompanied him on that tour.
Speaking to The Guardian, he lauded that period of his life as ‘the most important’ as he discussed the people he met as well as meeting his wife.
The couple tied the knot in 2004 and then moved to London so Yvonne could pursue her education at the Royal College of Art.
Yvonne McGuinness and Cillian Murphy. Pic: Earl Gibson III/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images
Welcoming their children
Yvonne and Cillian welcomed their two sons, Malachy and Arran, in December 2005 and July 2007, respectively. The boys were raised in London until 2015, when the family moved back to Dublin.
Cillian was filming The Wind That Shakes The Barley when Yvonne was pregnant with their first son. He played Damien O’Donovan.
Cillian has previously joked that the reason behind their move back to Ireland was due to the boys developing ‘posh English accents.’
Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast, the Cork man noted that the pair had ‘wanted the kids to be Irish.’
He said: ‘They were preteens and they had very posh English accents and I wasn’t appreciating that too much.’
Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness in 2014. Pic: VIP Ireland
Family life
With the family now living in Dublin, Cillian has previously noted that he does not ‘need’ to live in Hollywood, adding he would be ‘tremendously far away’ from his family.
Previously accepting the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, Murphy took the chance once again to extend his gratitude to his family.
‘Two-thirds of them are sitting down there,’ he said, as he added that one of his sons had to stay at home for exams.
‘Just thanks for putting up with me — putting up with the half me and the shadow me and the absent me, the remains of me when I’m doing a film like this or work in general.
‘You’re always there.’
