Who Is David Schwimmer’s Wife? Inside His Marriage to Zoë Buckman

When people search for “David Schwimmer wife”, they’re usually trying to put a fuller story behind the actor who played Ross Geller on Friends. For many years, David Schwimmer’s wife was Zoë Buckman, a British artist and photographer. Although the couple quietly divorced in 2017, their relationship—and the family they built together—still fascinates fans who are used to seeing Schwimmer only as the neurotic, lovable Ross. In real life, he’s a devoted dad, a thoughtful collaborator, and an ex-husband who has worked hard to keep things respectful and private.

Who Is Zoë Buckman?

Zoë Buckman is far more than a celebrity spouse. She’s a multidisciplinary British artist, photographer, and writer whose work often focuses on feminism, gender-based violence, reproductive rights, and inherited trauma.

Buckman was born in Hackney, East London, in 1985, into a creative family: her mother, Jennie Buckman, was a playwright and acting teacher, and her father, Nick Blatchley, worked in government and public service. Growing up surrounded by theatre, storytelling, and politically engaged adults helped shape her sensibility as an artist.

After studying at the International Center of Photography in New York, she developed a visual language that mixes textiles, sculpture, photography, and found objects. Buckman’s pieces—like her series using vintage lingerie embroidered with rap lyrics or boxing gloves wrapped in delicate fabrics—often hold softness and violence in the same frame, making viewers think about how those tensions live in real women’s lives.

By the time most Friends fans even learned her name, she already had a serious art career with exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, and London.

How David Schwimmer and Zoë Buckman Met

The story of how David Schwimmer met his future wife starts in London, not Hollywood. In 2006–2007, Schwimmer was in the UK directing his feature film Run Fatboy Run, a romantic comedy starring Simon Pegg and Thandiwe Newton.

While he was there, he frequented the Cuckoo Club, a stylish London restaurant and bar. Buckman, then in her early twenties, was working there as a waitress. Multiple reports say that the two met at the club, hit it off, and started dating quietly while Schwimmer was still in London.

As their relationship grew more serious, Buckman left London and moved to the United States to be with him, eventually settling in New York, where she continued her studies and artistic career. The age difference between them—he was in his early forties, she in her early twenties—sparked some tabloid comments at the time, but both kept the relationship very low-profile, rarely walking red carpets together or courting publicity.

A Very Private Wedding

In an era of celebrity magazine exclusives and Instagram wedding reveals, Schwimmer and Buckman chose the opposite. In June 2010, they married in a small, private ceremony. The public didn’t even find out about it until that October, when Schwimmer’s rep quietly confirmed that the two had actually tied the knot months earlier.

It was the first marriage for both of them. The secrecy made sense: Schwimmer has talked openly about becoming uncomfortable with the level of fame he experienced during the Friends years, saying he found himself wanting to hide under a baseball cap and avoid being watched all the time. Keeping his wedding private was one way to reclaim a piece of his life away from the cameras.

Their day-to-day married life stayed just as quiet. They lived primarily in New York, where Zoë continued her art practice and David shifted between acting, directing, and theatre work.

Becoming Parents: Their Daughter, Cleo

In May 2011, Schwimmer and Buckman welcomed their daughter, Cleo Buckman Schwimmer, who was born in New York on Mother’s Day. Schwimmer has described Cleo’s arrival as one of the defining moments of his life, and he’s organized his work ever since around being present for her.

He has said in interviews that he limits travel as much as he can, framing this chapter of his life as “really about my daughter” and calling it the most meaningful part of his life.

Cleo, now a teenager, has grown up mostly out of the spotlight. Both parents avoid posting many photos of her, and when she does appear, it’s usually in carefully chosen images on Zoë’s Instagram or in brief mentions during interviews. Even those glimpses are memorable: for example, Buckman once shared pictures of herself shaving Cleo’s head, talking about how proud she was to see her daughter challenge beauty norms and embrace her own identity.

Schwimmer has also mentioned small details that paint a sweet portrait of their relationship—like the fact that Cleo is a self-declared vegetarian and that he cooks simple meals for her, despite insisting he’s not a brilliant cook.

Separation and Divorce

After nearly seven years of marriage, Schwimmer and Buckman announced in April 2017 that they had decided to take some time apart “with great love, respect and friendship.” Their joint statement emphasized that their priority was their daughter’s happiness and well-being, and they asked for privacy as they navigated the new chapter.

Later that year, the separation became a formal divorce. Sources and later reporting consistently describe the split as amicable: no public feuds, no messy legal battles, just a quiet restructuring of their family life.

Unlike many celebrity breakups, there were no tabloid exposés or dramatic accusations. In interviews since, Schwimmer has simply referred to Zoë as his ex-wife and co-parent, and Buckman has focused on her work, occasionally referencing the emotional territory of breakups and rebuilding in her art.

Co-Parenting and Staying Connected

One of the most striking things about Schwimmer and Buckman’s post-marriage relationship is how clearly they stayed committed to raising Cleo together.

They’ve been photographed attending events and protests side by side, including a Black Lives Matter march in New York in 2020, where they both shared the same image on social media and described each other as “co-parent” and “comrade.” The message was subtle but clear: they are no longer a romantic couple, but they remain a united front when it comes to their child and their values.

Schwimmer continues to live primarily in New York’s East Village, close to where Buckman is based, making co-parenting logistically easier. He has said that he sees this stage of life—being a present father in the same city—as more important than chasing as many roles as possible.

Meanwhile, Buckman’s work often touches on motherhood, femaleness, and trauma, and she has said that being a mother to Cleo has influenced her perspective on the world and the kinds of stories she wants to tell through art.

Zoë Buckman’s Life After the Marriage

Since the divorce, Buckman’s career has only grown. She’s had solo and group exhibitions in major galleries, with pieces collected by institutions and private collectors. Her art frequently combines domestic objects—like table linens, wedding dresses, boxing gloves, or vintage undergarments—with text or embroidery that references misogyny, rap lyrics, or personal history. The result is work that feels both intimate and political.

She also speaks and writes about topics like reproductive rights, consent, and resilience, often positioning herself as an artist-activist. Balancing that with single motherhood and co-parenting a child who splits time between two homes is part of the complex, modern life she’s built since her marriage to Schwimmer ended.

David Schwimmer’s Life Today

David Schwimmer continues to act, direct, and lend his voice to projects he cares about. Recent years have seen him appear in series like Intelligence and a new Goosebumps adaptation, where he plays the father of a teenager—something he said felt especially meaningful now that he is one in real life.

He’s also remained active in advocacy work around sexual harassment and survivors’ rights, serving on boards and supporting campaigns that echo the feminist causes Buckman explores in her art.

Whenever he does talk about his personal life, the throughline is Cleo. He emphasizes that his schedule, his travel, and even the roles he accepts are shaped around being present for his daughter as she grows up.