Who Is Greta Gerwig's Partner, Noah Baumbach?

Greta Gerwig's journey from a struggling actor to a prominent writer-director has been truly remarkable. She started her career appearing in indie films and gained recognition for her performances. However, it was her passion for storytelling that led Gerwig to work behind the camera. In 2006, her life took a turn after she watched a film directed by a woman who was a similar age to her. As Gerwig told Time, "I thought, Wait, are we allowed to do that? Who told you you could? Nobody told her. She was just gonna do it, like the guys were doing it." 

She was even more motivated when Kathryn Bigelow, who broke the glass ceiling herself, won an Academy Award for Best Director in 2010. Gerwig's own Oscar nomination for Best Director, for "Lady Bird" starring Saoirse Ronan, was a historic achievement, as she was one of just seven women to have received this prestigious honor as of 2023. Admittedly, she worked hard because she felt responsible for representing women. "If they have a bad experience with me, if I don't know what I'm doing, if I'm unprepared ... it's going to make it that much harder for the next woman,'" Gerwig explained to Vanity Fair.

She has achieved a lot in her career thus far and, behind her success, is Gerwig's loving and endearing partner, Noah Baumbach. Just like Gerwig, Baumbach is a distinguished filmmaker, best known for his films "The Squid and The Whale," and "Marriage Story." He's also collaborated with Gerwig on multiple occasions. 

Noah Baumbach is the son of Jonathan Baumbach, a novelist and film critic, and Georgia Brown, a former critic for the Village Voice. Baumbach is an acclaimed filmmaker known for his introspective and witty storytelling, but his journey in the film industry was not without its challenges. In the late '90s, Baumbach released his first two films, "Kicking and Screaming" and "Mr. Jealousy," before going on hiatus. Sadly, filming these two movies left Baumbach at a crossroads in his creative journey. 

At the 2022 BFI London Film Festival, he shared, "[The way] I experienced it at the time is that I was having trouble getting things made. I think, also, I didn't really know what I wanted to make. And I think maybe, in some ways, my ambitions sort of exceeded my ability," (via Variety). However, instead of letting these setbacks define him, Baumbach used this period of uncertainty to reflect and grow as an artist. He took a break from directing to navigate his creativity as a writer. 

In 2005, Baumbach returned in a big way with "The Squid and the Whale," which he wrote and directed. It marked a turning point in his career since Baumbach soon began being recognized for his ability to find humor in unpleasant experiences. In the end, Baumbach acknowledged that he had a hard time during his temporary retreat from the limelight but it ultimately allowed him to gain a new perspective. 

Greta Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach, have become a dynamic Hollywood power couple. Over the years, they have kept their home life firmly under wraps, though Gerwig occasionally shares stories about their two sons from time to time. The "Little Women" director revealed in her interview with The New York Times that their eldest, Harold, made a Barbie-themed cake to celebrate her latest directorial effort. During a separate chat with Elle UK, she gushed about her second son and said, "He's a little Schmoo. I don't know if you can tell energy from the picture, but that's very much his energy."

While they are now a family of four, the couple's long-time relationship started after various on-screen partnerships. They first worked together on "Greenberg," in 2010, in which Gerwig starred, and they collaborated again two years later, on "Frances Ha." Looking back on their journey co-writing the screenplay, Baumbach shared at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival: "What I didn't know is that Greta was this incredible writer, I mean, I had a feeling she'd be a great collaborator, but that writing really was kind of her thing when she was in college," (via Variety).  

The talented duo has since teamed up on several other projects, including "Barbie." While it was speculated for years that they were together, it was only in 2018 that they made their relationship public — notably, long after Baumbach's divorce from actor Jennifer Jason Leigh was finalized.