Who Is Bruce Springsteen's First Wife? All About Julianne Phillips Nicole BrieseOctober 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM 0 Ron Galella Collection via Getty Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
- - Who Is Bruce Springsteen's First Wife? All About Julianne Phillips
Nicole BrieseOctober 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
0
Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. -
Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips in May 1985
They separated in 1988 and divorced in 1989
Phillips is widely believed to have inspired songs on Springsteen's album Tunnel of Love
Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips were married for four years in the 1980s.
After meeting at one of Springsteen's concerts, the couple wed in May 1985, separated in 1988 and divorced in 1989. The rocker addressed their split in a January 1997 profile with The New York Times.
''My first wife's one of the best people I've ever met," he said. "She's lovely, intelligent — a great person. But we were pretty different, and I realized I didn't know how to be married."
Phillips has remained largely private about both her time with Springsteen and their subsequent split. However, she does credit the singer with helping her to expand her horizons, telling Peter Ames Carlin in his 2012 biography Bruce, "The period was a time of incredible growth and introspection for me. I will forever give that credit to Bruce."
Springsteen went on to wed his backup singer Patti Scialfa on June 8, 1991. They share three children together.
So, who was Bruce Springsteen's first wife? Here's everything to know about Julianne Phillips.
She was born in Illinois and raised in Oregon
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty
Julianne Phillips attends the first annual Friends for Life Awards in New York City, circa 1985.
According to Bruce, Phillips was the youngest of six children born to her parents, Bill and Ann Phillips.
She was born in Evanston, Ill., and raised in Lake Oswego, Ore., where she would eventually wed Springsteen.
She is a model and actress
Kypros/Getty
Julianne Phillips, circa 1993.
Phillips had a successful career prior to meeting Springsteen. After working as an assistant manager at an L.A. department store, per The Morning Call, she began a career as a model in New York City. In 1982, she signed with Elite Modeling Agency, she told the Chicago Tribune in August 2021.
Her modeling career led her to acting — by accident.
"My agency sent out the wrong audition card," she told the Chicago Tribune. "There was another Julianne there, and they got us mixed up. The TV department decided they'd better take a look at me."
She later starred in several TV movies, including 1984's Summer Fantasy and His Mistress. She later starred in 1986's A Fine Mess alongside Ted Danson and 1989's Fletch Lives with Chevy Chase.
Springsteen and Phillips were introduced by his agent
Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty
Bruce Springsteen carrying Julianne Phillips.
Phillips was introduced to Springsteen at one of his L.A. concerts in October 1984 by his booking agent, Barry Bell.
"I knew people who knew a lot of actors, so I got to know Julianne," Bell later told Carlin in Bruce. According to the agent, he had a hunch the two would hit it off.
He continued, "I brought her to a show, introduced her to Bruce. I figured she'd be right for him because she was very down to earth. And the rest is history."
Springsteen and Phillips wed in 1985
Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Julianne Phillips and Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen and Phillips had a whirlwind romance. The Los Angeles Times reported that the pair tied the knot on May 13, 1985, just seven months after meeting at his concert.
The "Born in the U.S.A." singer and model exchanged vows at Phillips' hometown Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church shortly after midnight, with the groom in a blue suit and the bride in an antique ankle-length gown paired with a bouquet of gardenias. Phillips' older sister Mary served as her matron of honor, per the outlet.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the ceremony was moved up by two days in order to avoid paparazzi. As a result, the nuptials were extremely intimate, with just 40 of the couple's closest friends and family members in attendance, including Springsteen's bandmates Steven Van Zandt and Clarence Clemons.
"It was a very happy event," Phillips' sister-in-law Jane Phillips told the outlet.
The Spokesman-Review reported that their reception was held on a five-acre estate in Tualatin, Ore.
She made a cameo in the "Glory Days" video
Ebet Roberts/Redferns
Bruce Springsteen performing on stage.
Springsteen's work and home lives collided in 1985 when Phillips made a cameo near the end of his "Glory Days" music video.
The actress can be seen waving to her then-husband from a car where she's waiting to pick him up from a baseball field near the end of the video.
It was Phillips' second music video appearance: In 1984, she was featured in the music video for 38 Special's "If I'd Been the One."
She may have inspired one of Springsteen's albums
Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips.
Many fans believe that Springsteen's 1987 album, Tunnel of Love, which touches on the difficulties of relationships, was inspired, in part, by his crumbling marriage to Phillips.
The track "One Step Up" laments a faltering romance, with lyrics such as, "We've given each other some hard lessons lately / But we ain't learnin' / We're the same sad story that's a fact." On "Ain't Got You," Springsteen sings, "Well, I got all the riches, baby, any man ever knew / But the only thing I ain't got, honey, I ain't got you."
While Springsteen has never directly cited Phillips as his muse, Van Zandt confirmed to The Times in July 2021 that several songs on the album were inspired by Springsteen's life.
"He was trying to be honest about his situation in ['Ain't Got You'], but sometimes you can be too honest," the guitarist said.
Springsteen and Phillips separated in 1988 and divorced in 1989
Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips.
Springsteen and Phillips had been dealing with issues in their relationship since their wedding, as emotions that the rocker previously hadn't dealt with "were uncovered by trying to have an adult life with a partner," he told Carlin in Bruce. Springsteen has previously spoken about experiencing depression, per Vanity Fair.
Springsteen detailed those issues in his 2016 memoir, Born to Run, writing, "Following our wedding, I was struck by a series of severe anxiety attacks. I tried to hide them as best I could and that was a mistake. I also had ... paranoid delusions that scared me."
One anxiety was that his new bride was using him to get ahead. "A part of me tried to convince myself she was simply using me to further her career," he wrote, per Rolling Stone. "Nothing could've been further from the truth. Julianne loved me and didn't have a malicious bone in her body."
The two privately separated in 1988; that same year, in June, Springsteen and Scialfa were photographed at a hotel in Rome.
"I dealt with Julie's and my separation abysmally," he wrote in Born to Run, per Express. "We released no press statement, causing furore, pain and 'scandal' when the news leaked out. I made a tough thing more heartbreaking than necessary."
He continued, "I placed her in a terribly difficult position ... and I failed her as a husband and a partner."
According to United Press International, Phillips filed for divorce in August 1988, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on March 1, 1989.
In the 2012 biography Bruce, Springsteen told Carlin that he still felt "badly" about the way things played out, saying, "I didn't protect Juli ... it was cruel for people to find out the way they did."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: EVENING MAG
Full Article on Source: EVENING MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities
