Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson have been married for 41 years – thanks to the pact they made to stay together forever when they said “I do.”
“In the beginning, we always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother, since everybody likes to pretend that that’s not the dynamic of the African American family. That it’s just children out here being raised by women, which we know is false,” LaTanya told People in a joint interview published on Wednesday.
“In order to change that narrative, we made a decision to say, ‘We are going to stay together no matter what. We’ll figure it out.’”
Her husband echoed that sentiment, telling the outlet, “It’s two people who respect each other, love each other and look out for each other.”
The actress, 72, and actor, 73, said “I do” in 1980 and promised to take their vows seriously.Ron Galella Collection via GettyThe lovebirds met in 1970 while they were both attending college in Atlanta. They tied the knot a decade later, promising to take their vows seriously.
LaTanya’s pledge to stay by her husband’s side “in good times and in bad” was especially put to the test in the late 1980s when the actor’s drug addiction began to spiral.
Samuel credits his wife for getting him to rehab in the early 1990s and taking care of their family while he got himself clean. The movie star has now been in recovery for more than 30 years.
“She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be,” he gushed.
The two are parents to 39-year-old daughter Zoe Jackson.Ron Galella Collection via GettyAfter he got out of treatment, Samuel landed a starring role in Spike Lee’s 1991 movie, “Jungle Fever,” and his career took off. To date, his films have raked in nearly $18.5 billion worldwide.
“Coming from the kind of backgrounds we come from, and the people that raised us, we learn that we’re not better than anybody else,” the humble actor explained. “A job is a job. We were fortunate enough to have a job.”
LaTanya – who scored a Tony nomination in 2014 for her starring role in “A Raisin in the Sun” – noted that her husband is truly a one-of-a-kind actor because he “loves every job” he does. “’Snakes on a Plane,’ I’m like, ‘Really?’” she joked.
Every July is a no-work month for Jackson and Richardson, who use the time for family bonding.WireImageDespite “how busy” they still are in their “seventh decade,” the couple always makes time for family.
The two revealed that every July, they stop working to spend quality time together with their 39-year-old daughter, Zoe.
