Hollywood's untold love story: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach -

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach first entered Hollywood’s radar with the ever-quirky indie comedy ‘Frances Ha,’ but their well-hidden love story stretches far beyond the confines of that now-cult film.

The pair are two of the hottest directors right now, since Gerwig's 2017 film ‘Lady Bird’ in 2019's ‘Little Women’ earned her multiple Oscar nominations, and Baumbach’s 2019 ‘Marriage Story’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver also earned him a nod from the Academy. They've taken it to the next level in 2023 by collaborating on Gerwig's immensely promoted 'Barbie' movie, which they co-wrote and she directed. 'Barbie' made history on its first weekend as the biggest box office debut from a female director, and is now plowing ahead to reach the rare milestone of US$1 billion in ticket sales. 

Indeed, they’ve always made a brilliant and charming filmmaking team, but somewhere along the way they also found out they were soulmates, though they managed to keep that a secret for quite a while. Click through to read Hollywood’s untold story of a couple who fell in love making movies.

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A couple, a writing team, and a Hollywood machine -

This power couple's relationship surpasses a decade, yet they've managed to keep their personal lives relatively secret. The intimacies of their own love story have, however, inevitably made their way into their brilliant films.

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'Greenberg' (2010) - Their story starts here. The screenplay for this film was written by both Baumbach and his then-wife, actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. The two had married in 2005 and had a son around the time of this film's release.

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'Greenberg' (2010) -

The film, regarded as one of the best dramas of 2010, was directed by Baumbach, and both Gerwig and Leigh were in the cast, alongside one of Baumbach's favorites, Ben Stiller.

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Their first meeting - Baumbach and Gerwig first met in the casting process for this film in 2009. That same year Baumbach was just entering his 40s, and Gerwig turned 26.

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Leigh soon filed for divorce - The year 'Greenberg' was released, and seven months after the birth of their son, Leigh filed for divorce.

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Baumbach reportedly doesn't write for actors -

Leigh has said that her roles in his films were not specifically written for her, as she explained Baumbach does not like to write roles with actors in mind.

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Then again… -

Gerwig told The New Yorker that after working on 'Greenberg,' she and Baumbach had talked about working together again with him directing and her as an actor. 

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They fell in love brainstorming ideas over email - Gerwig had emailed Baumbach a list of ideas, she remembered: "He loved it. He said, 'I can totally see this in a movie and I can see what kind of movie it is. Let's keep going.'" Their ideas eventually became 'Frances Ha.'

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They tried dating while writing -

But, the New Yorker reports, it actually didn't work at first, and Gerwig started a relationship with someone else. 

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Then production on 'Frances Ha' began - In 2011, a month after 'Frances Ha' started production, Gerwig broke up with her boyfriend and admitted she was in love with Baumbach. They became an official couple.

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No foul play -

In a joint interview, they made it clear that their romance began after Baumbach's marriage was over. 

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'Frances Ha' (2012) - They co-wrote the screenplay for 'Frances Ha,' he directed, and she starred in it, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for her efforts.

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Romantic and professional love - Baumbach laid on the love for the first time in a 2013 interview: "Greta's one of the funniest people I'd ever met, both as an actor and a person, and she also has this incredible vulnerability."

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They both also fell in love with Frances -

Through the writing process, they both became attached to this endearing, strange, wonderful character, and became protective of her. "Even though it's a small scope, it is a hero's journey." Gerwig said.

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He admired her as an actress - Baumbach admired the way Gerwig could do things other actors couldn't: "I could have her running down the street, and then start dancing down the street, in a way that felt like it came from the moment, because she can do that."

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'While We're Young' (2014) - Noah Baumbach's film, starring Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, and Adam Driver, was received well critically, but few could have guessed how difficult the process was.

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Jennifer Jason Leigh had dropped out - She was supposed to work on the film with Baumbach, but after she filed for divorce, she decided to exit the project.

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Greta Gerwig also dropped out -

Gerwig was supposed to star in the film but was forced to withdraw because of a scheduling conflict.

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He cast her in his unaired TV pilot 'The Corrections' -

Baumbach created an HBO pilot based on Jonathan Franzen's novel, but it was canceled in 2012. He later said that when he asked Gerwig how he could have got it wrong, she responded, "You don't really watch TV," and he replied, "You're right."

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'Mistress America' (2015) - The pair teamed up again to write the screenplay for 'Mistress America,' and Baumbach directed the film while Gerwig starred in it.

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They write better together -

Gerwig described their work together as similar to being in a band: "I'm certainly not comparing myself to Lennon and McCartney, but they wrote great stuff on their own, and when they wrote together they made something greater than the sum of its parts."

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'Lady Bird' (2017) -

While filming her directorial debut 'Lady Bird,' Gerwig told Entertainment Weekly, she would consult with Baumbach on "nerdy inside-baseball stuff" like certain cuts and things that "really only other directors know."

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She forgot to thank him in her Golden Globes speech -

While accepting her Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay in 2018, Gerwig forgot to thank Baumbach in her speech, but she told 'The View' that he wasn't upset. 

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It was quite funny, actually - She said she'd prepared an entire speech, but "I looked at Oprah and I was like, 'It's gone!'...I had a whole thing about him. He's my favorite writer and my favorite first reader."

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He needed no thanks - She explained, "I got off stage and … then as I was coming back to the table, he was already looking at me and he said, 'Please don't feel bad, please don't feel bad!'"

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No more hiding at the 2018 Oscars - With Gerwig's directorial debut earning five Oscar nominations, with two for Gerwig herself, the couple made a loud and proud appearance together on the red carpet. 

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And then they had a baby - In March 2019, it was announced that Gerwig gave birth to their son, the surprise of which was extra poignant since no one knew she was pregnant.

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They're good at hiding -

They've always largely portrayed their relationship as professional, and even in a 2018 interview with the Guardian, Gerwig only referred to her partner with a formal "Baumbach" or "Noah Baumbach."

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'Marriage Story' and 'Little Women' (2019) -

The power couple really hit their stride in 2019 with Baumbach's 'Marriage Story' and Gerwig's 'Little Women.' They were both critically acclaimed and featured heavily on the awards circuit.

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'White Noise' (2022) -

Although Gerwig is one of the hottest directors in Hollywood right now, she still finds time to act in Baumbach's projects. In 2022, she starred in his film 'White Noise' alongside Adam Driver. 

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'Barbie' 2023 -

In 2022, the hype started to build for Gerwig's monumental 'Barbie' movie. Gerwig directed and wrote the screenplay, with Baumbach co-writing. The incredible cast and crew along with the tantalizing promotion have made 'Barbie' the cinematic event of 2023. 

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Baby no. 2 -

While all of this was in the works, Gerwig was pregnant and gave birth to their second son in February 2023. 

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The ultimate low-key power couple -

Gerwig and Baumbach are killing it in every possible way, yet they don't flaunt their success like many Hollywood "it" couples do. Somehow, they've managed to reach the top while staying down to earth. 

See also: Celebrities' secrets to long-lasting relationships.

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