Inside Pierce Brosnan and Wife Keely Shaye Smith's Sweet Enduring Romance
Pierce Brosnan isn't just a former James Bond nor merely the hunky star of Mrs. Doubtfire or Mamma Mia!. He's also an incredibly doting and devoted husband and father. The Irish actor is a low-key family man, preferring to spend time at home with his wife and family rather than traipsing around Hollywood hotspots.
Get to know Pierce Brosnan's wife and find out what makes them both so irresistible, not just to each other, but to the world.
Who is Pierce Brosnan's wife?
Keely Shaye Smith is the apple of Pierce Brosnan's eye—and his wife of more than 20 years. She was a television correspondent and reporter.
How did Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith meet?
Brosnan met Smith in 1994 by chance: They were at a party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where Shaye Smith was set to interview actor Ted Danson. When Danson couldn't make it for their sitdown, she and Brosnan connected, and the rest was history.
“He was captivating. Tall, dark and handsome–everything that everybody would immediately be attracted to," Smith told PEOPLE. "He had this mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I thought, ‘Wow! Wow!'" They had their first date days later, sitting under the stars watching fireworks, listening to music and chatting.
"I understand why women find him sexy, because he is an appealing man," Smith said. "He really likes and appreciates women.”
Brosnan and Smith kept the flame going after he achieved worldwide fame as James Bond in Goldeneye. “Wherever I went in the world I missed her, and I’d send her tickets to come so we could be together," he recalled. "We just seemed to fit."
Related: Pierce Brosnan Reveals What It's Like to Be a Sex Symbol + Life After James Bond
Who is Pierce Brosnan's first wife?
Brosnan was married to actress Cassandra Harris, a former Bond Girl (she appeared in For Your Eyes Only) for 11 years, and he adopted her two children, daughter, Charlotte, and son, Chris. They also shared a son named, Sean. Harris passed away from ovarian cancer in 1991, and Charlotte succumbed to the same illness in 2013.
"When your partner gets cancer, then life changes. Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this changes," he told Cigar Aficionado. "Because you're dealing with death. You're dealing with the possibility of death and dying. And it was that way through the chemotherapy, through the first-look operation, the second look, the third look, the fourth look, the fifth look. Cassie was very positive about life. I mean, she had the most amazing energy and outlook on life. It was and is a terrible loss, and I see it reflected, from time to time, in my children."
Brosnan credited Smith with helping him cope with his grief after Harris' death.
“I know there’s hope and that you have to learn to get on with it. Ups and downs are what life is all about. But the memory of Cassie and her fight against cancer is never forgotten,” he said in an interview while promoting the movie Love Is All You Need. “Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. I think of Cassie all the time...Cancer is a very sad thing but you can always take something from every experience. This film is proof of that. I’ve always been a positive thinker. I suppose Keely is my North Star, always looking out for me.”
Related: Pierce Brosnan Opens Up About Overcoming 'Hardships' in 22-Year-Long Marriage
When did Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith get married?
Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith married in 2001 in a $1.5 million wedding in his native Ireland. His and Harris' daughter, Charlotte, was a bridesmaid, and the couple had an ice sculpture of Rodin's The Kiss as well as a fireworks display. Charlotte told PEOPLE in 2001 at the nuptials, “Just seeing the ultimate love that these two people have for each other was unbelievable. My dad found it again, and that makes me happy.”
Brosnan gushes about Smith frequently. He told PEOPLE, “I found a great woman in Keely Shaye. Not if I searched a million times over would I find one as good.”
Smith feels the same, saying of Brosnan, “He’s intelligent, captivating and his real beauty emanates from the soul. And, like a fine wine, he’s aging beautifully.”
He marked their 19th wedding anniversary in August 2020 with a sweet photo from their big day, writing, "Happy anniversary my love Keely ... my brown-eyed girl, should I fall behind wait for me ... as ever, my love."
Do Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith have children?
Smith and Brosnan share sons Dylan Thomas Brosnan, born in 1997, and Paris Beckett Brosnan, born in 2001.
Related: Pierce Brosnan Hits the Red Carpet With Lookalike Sons in Rare Public Appearance
Pierce Brosnan shared the secret to his happy marriage
In an interview with PEOPLE in 2017, Brosnan revealed the reason he and Shaye Smith are so happy is that they simply love spending quality time together. “My wife and I took a short road trip up to Santa Barbara—we were going for a romantic weekend and to look at houses and drink great wine. We didn’t listen to any music, but we just listened to the sounds of each other’s voices and sorted out the world,” he said. He added that his idea of a perfect day is a pretty regular one: “It was yesterday. I painted in my studio, then I went down and sat on the beach, read and did some drawing—and then I had lunch with Keely.” Afterward, Brosnan and Smith picked up their son from school and Brosnan painted some more before closing the day out together. “Around 5 o’clock, I went out and watched the sun go down. Keely sat beside me, we had a glass of champagne and talked about the day,” he said. “It’s very simple—and the best.”
Brosnan previously told Parade that he and Smith love domestic life.
"We have a beautiful garden. We have a wee cottage out there on the North Shore, and it sits on five acres, which Keely has groomed. She is a get-your-hands-dirty girl. She tells me what to do," he said. "I dig ditches for new plants, do the mulching. We do that together. It is a very simple life out there. We have built homes together. We designed a home in Malibu … well, she did, really. My attention span goes, while she is a perfectionist and consequently has built the boys and me these gorgeous homes. The bungalow in Kauai is where all the gardening is done. Our home in Malibu is on the beach, with a beautiful succulent garden."
Does Pierce Brosnan have grandchildren?
Yep. Make that four grandchildren. Brosnan's late daughter Charlotte, had two children, Isabella and Lucas. His son, Sean, has 7-year-old Marley May. Sean and his wife, Sanja Banic, just welcomed their second child, Brosnon's fourth grandchild.
Brosnan shared the baby news in an Instagram post on Nov. 18.
In the post, he said, "Jaxxon Elijah Brosnan, born 3:06pm 11/12/22… all good blessings to you my dearest grandson, welcome."
