A long-married Hollywood pair — something of a rarity in the celebrity world — were spotted stepping out together for a relaxed walk in Los Angeles.
The couple first crossed paths while working on a miniseries and went on to marry in 1982, well before either had reached the major fame that would later define their careers.
By the 1990s, he had become known to television audiences as the charming leading man of a hit sitcom created by the writing duo who would later bring Friends to the screen.
She, meanwhile, built an impressive film résumé during that same decade, appearing opposite Kevin Costner in Revenge, Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans and Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys.
Years later, both found fresh waves of viewers during television’s so-called Golden Age, with her starring in the ABC drama Revenge — not connected to the earlier film — and him appearing on Private Practice.
Seen enjoying their recent morning outing in California, the 67-year-old actress and her 70-year-old husband looked every bit the picture of an enduring Hollywood marriage.
Can you work out who they are?
A long-lasting Hollywood couple were seen enjoying a low-key stroll in Los Angeles this week
They met on a miniseries and exchanged vows in 1982, years before either of them achieved the heights of stardom they were later to enjoy
When they were seen on their morning walk in Santa Monica, the 67-year-old actress and her 70-year-old husband were the picture of marital bliss
They are Madeleine Stowe, who was pitted against Emily VanCamp on the hit drama series Revenge, and Brian Benben, star of the HBO sitcom Dream On.
When they surfaced this month, Stowe cut a stylish figure in a straw hat that cast a shadow over her still luminously youthful complexion.
Her lithe physique draped in a flowing white top and loose-fitted jeans, she let her dark hair tumble over her shoulders and rounded off the look with sneakers.
Benben, meanwhile, layered up in a white hoodie over a shirt, slipping into a comfortable-looking set of sweats for his workout.
The Daily Mail has contacted Stowe and Benben’s representatives for comment.
The couple were first introduced at the start of their respective careers, when they worked together on the 1981 miniseries The Gangster Chronicles.
The following year, they made their way down the aisle, commencing a long-running marriage that produced their daughter May in 1996.
In 1983, Benben acted with Sean Penn, Val Kilmer, Kevin Bacon and Jackie Earle Haley in the Broadway production of the acclaimed Scots play The Slab Boys, but a venture that might have been a launchpad to stardom instead closed within two months.
It was Stowe who achieved her breakthrough first in Stakeout, a smash hit 1987 buddy cop comedy in Hollywood starring Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez.
They are Madeleine Stowe, from the hit drama series Revenge, and Brian Benben, star of the HBO sitcom Dream On. Above, at the Eyes Wide Shut premiere in 1999
Stowe’s lithe physique draped in a flowing white top and loose-fitted jeans
And she let her dark hair tumble over her shoulders and rounded off the look with sneakers
Benben, meanwhile, layered up in a white hoodie over a shirt, slipping into a comfortable-looking set of sweats for his workout
The tangled battle of wills on Revenge between Stowe’s character Victoria Greyson (right) and Emily VanCamp’s protagonist Emily Thorne (left) proved catnip to viewers
In 1990, Benben’s star rose with Dream On, a sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who four years later struck gold with Friends
In 1990, Stowe featured in the movie Revenge – no relation to the TV series – in which she acted with Kevin Costner (right), Anthony Quinn, Sally Kirkland and Miguel Ferrer
(From left) Stowe, Jodhi May, Steven Waddington and Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans, the 1992 film of James Fenimore Cooper’s classic 19th century novel
In 1990, Benben’s own star rose with Dream On, a sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who four years later struck gold with Friends.
Dream On starred Benben as a dashing divorcé whose travails are interspersed with clips from old movies and TV shows, in a nod to the way the media people consume as children can influence their perception of adult life.
The show ran an impressive six seasons on HBO, with a cast including Wendie Malick – later of Hot in Cleveland – as Benben’s onscreen love interest, while Renee Taylor – best known as the title character’s mother on The Nanny – played his mother.
Meanwhile Stowe was embarking on a prodigious run in 1990s cinema, kicking off with Revenge, the neo-noir from True Romance director Tony Scott starring her with Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Sally Kirkland and Miguel Ferrer.
That same year, 1990, also saw her play alongside Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel in The Two Jakes, the tepidly received sequel to Roman Polanski’s classic Chinatown.
In 1992, she could be seen in The Last of the Mohicans, an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s classic 19th century novel starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the white son of a Native American chief and Stowe as his love interest.
Stowe was among the dazzling ensemble cast of the 1998 romantic comedy Playing By Heart, amid a cavalcade of boldface names like Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson, Dennis Quaid, Jon Stewart, Ryan Phillippe and Anthony Edwards.
She worked with Ray Liotta and Kurt Russell in Unlawful Entry, Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys and John Travolta in The General’s Daughter during her glittering 1990s.
She worked with Ray Liotta and Kurt Russell in Unlawful Entry, Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys (above) and John Travolta in The General’s Daughter during her glittering 1990s
That same year, 1990, she also starred alongside Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel in The Two Jakes, the tepidly received sequel to Roman Polanski’s classic Chinatown
Her career slowed somewhat in the 2000s, while Benben landed one of his most enduring roles, that of psychiatrist Sheldon Wallace on Private Practice
In 1998, Stowe said that ‘one of the great beauties of getting older is that when you’re with the right person – as I am with Brian – you just don’t ever wanna lose that person.’ Above, in 1997
Her career slowed somewhat in the 2000s, while Benben landed one of his most enduring roles, that of psychiatrist Sheldon Wallace on Private Practice.
He joined the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off in the second season in 2008 and remained on the show throughout the remainder of its run until 2013.
By that year, Stowe had begun playing the role for which she retains her most devoted fanbase to this day – the ruthless and venal Victoria Greyson, ‘Queen of the Hamptons’ and the main villain of the hit ABC show Revenge.
The tangled battle of wills between Victoria Greyson and Emily VanCamp’s protagonist Emily Thorne proved catnip to viewers through the show’s four seasons from 2011 to 2015, earning Stowe a Golden Globe nomination into the bargain.
Stowe and Benben have generally drawn a veil of privacy over their home life, although a rare exception occurred 16 years into their marriage.
She was promoting Playing By Heart, in which her character has an affair, and was asked how any potential infidelity might impact her real-life romance with Benben.
‘I don’t even wanna think about it,’ she told interviewer Bobbie Wygant with a laugh. ‘I don’t know what would happen. It’s inconceivable to me. This is the person I wanna be with for the rest of my life, so I don’t even entertain those thoughts.’
She added: ‘When you’re younger, you don’t necessarily realize that you’re as happy as you are, and one of the great beauties of getting older is that when you’re with the right person – as I am with Brian – you just don’t ever wanna lose that person.’
Stowe reflected that ‘as we hurtle onward towards the ends of our lives, eventually, the idea of being away from him is just unthinkable to me.’
