How Woody Harrelson’s Humble Wife Managed to Turn a Rebel Into a Loving Husband and Father

Quite often, celebrities try not to remember the stories that make them look bad. Hollywood star Woody Harrelson is not one of them. He openly talks about his troubled adolescence and says that he can be intolerable, and the public loves him for his honesty. And another thing he often says is that he owes his success to his wife, a humble woman, distant from the shiny world, that has supported him in all the fields of his life.

We at CHEERY have been fans of this actor for a long time, so we decided to find out more about his success story. And we were amazed at how true love can change a human being.

The unglamorous past of Woody Harrelson.

The childhood of the future actor was very far from the shiny world of show business. Woody and his 2 brothers were raised by a single mom, who worked a lot to provide for them. This is why Harrelson would agree to any job when he was a kid. The first place he worked was the Kings Island theme park.

The actor remembers that he had an explosive temper that was a lot of trouble for him and the people around him. He thought that living to the fullest meant being on the verge of danger. But at this dark time, he had the idea to connect his life with acting.

The gifts Hollywood gave him.

When he came to New York, he quickly realized that becoming successful won’t be easy. He decided to start working for any regional theater to meet the necessary people. After a year of attending auditions, he was finally offered a part in the NBC sitcom Cheers. The beginner actor wasn’t keen on working on tv, but there were no other offers, so he agreed. It’s hard to think of a better start for a career: he got an Emmy for this role, but the biggest gift he got after Cheers wasn’t the award.

When he was on Cheers in 1987, he met his future wife. Before that, he never believed in the concept of marriage. He thought that monogamy wasn’t for him, and he wasn’t cut out for a long-term relationship. For 3 years, Laura Louie worked as his assistant, and she became irreplaceable for him at work.

Once, he went to Africa for Christmas. And there, thousands of miles away, he finally realized that he was in love with Laura. He wrote a song for her where he told her about his feelings. And he was amazed when she heard the song and said, “Woody, I’ve been in love with you for the last two and a half years.”

“It’s an odd beast, fame. It’s got multiple personalities.”

After the success in Cheers, Woody had dozens of movie and series offers. In the 90s and the 2000s, he would do 2-3 projects a year and was also in theater plays. But together with fame and money, such fame brought a lot of problems for the family.

At a certain point, Woody got carried away. He started going to parties and appearing in tabloids. So, on one of those nights, he got photographed with 2 girls. This mistake could have cost him his family. As Harrelson honestly told the press later, he sincerely apologized to his wife for his behavior. He knew he couldn’t keep going like that. And Laura forgave him and stayed with him.

“My heart at that time needed her.”

Laura became Woody’s wife only 2 decades after the beginning of their relationship. For a long time, they lived without being officially married. They had 3 daughters during this period: Deni in 1994, Zoe in 1996, and Makani in 2006. The actor said that when his first child was born, his life made a 180-degree turn. Fatherhood was the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

“I remember my daughter Deni coming along, and she was so pure and caring of everybody and everything. And somehow, this little being managed to get around all the obstacles—the gun turrets, the walls, the moats, the sentries—that were wrapped around my heart. My heart at that time needed her,” — Harrelson says.

Laura was irreplaceable for Woody at the start of his career, then at home, and then she became his loyal ally in other fields of his life. By the 2010s, Harrelson found his calling that very far from the show business. He became an environmentalist. He set up a company, producing a paper that uses wheat straw rather than wood. 2 boxes of such paper save 1 tree.

His wife supported his new interest. Besides, inspired by his many years of vegetarianism, she created a company that delivers eco-friendly products. And when Woody wanted to live far from civilization, she just followed him. They started living in a commune in Hawaii in a house without electricity, and they enjoyed the stars every night. And there, thousands of miles from the shiny Hollywood, together with his wife and kids, Woody found true happiness.

“I went through a period of arrogance. But, luckily, this life and my family — my wife and my daughters, they kind of loved me into a better human being,” — Woody says about his family. He was a ladies’ man and a rebel and became a man, caring about his family and the future of the planet. This image looks way better on him.

What is your favorite Woody Harrelson film?