Meet Jack Black’s stunning talented wife and their two teenage sons
For almost as long as Jack Black has been a household name, he has had his wife Tanya Haden by his side.
Though the A Minecraft Movie actor’s first time on the screen dates back to when he was 13 years old in 1982, it wasn’t long after that he first crossed paths with his now wife.
Still, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the two started dating, but it didn’t take long until they eloped — and they have been together ever since.
They have since welcomed two children, sons Samuel and Thomas (Thomas is Jack’s birth name).
Learn all about Tanya, and her relationship with the School of Rock star, below.
© GettyTanya is a musician
Tanya, who is originally from New York, is a cellist and vocalist. Her father is the late jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and along with her sisters Rachel and Petra, who she is triplets with, she had a band called That Dog, plus they also performed as The Haden Triplets. They also have a brother, Josh, who is the leader of the rock band Spain.
Tanya received an MFA degree from California Institute of the Arts, where she majored in experimental animation, and has recorded with several LA-based bands.
Speaking with People in 2023, Jack said he would love to collaborate with his wife, and gushed: “She’s a creative force that we haven’t really done anything for a long time. And it would be fun to do something with her.”
© Getty ImagesThey met in high school
Though Tanya and Jack didn’t start dating until 2005, when they were in their early 30s, they actually first crossed paths over a decade prior to that, when both went to the famed Santa Monica private school Crossroads, where the likes of Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jonah Hill, Maya Rudolph, and Sean Astin, among others, also went.
Speaking to Parade in 2015, Jack confessed: “I didn’t date Tanya or talk to her or anything in high school,” adding: “I was pretty shy. I just watched her from afar. We only started dating like 20 years after high school.”
Last year, he also revealed while on Dax Shepard’s podcast that it was Tanya who made the first move. “She came up to me and said, ‘Hey, do you ever wanna go get dinner? I should give you my number,'” he recalled of when they bumped into each other at a mutual friend’s birthday party.
“I was like, ‘oh my God.’ Heaven opened up above my head, because it was like, this is the thing that I would always want to happen,” he endearingly noted.
© GettyThe two eloped
Though Tanya and Jack took almost 20 years to reconnect after knowing each other in high school, it didn’t take long for them to tie the knot.
The two started dating in March 2005, and eloped in March of the following year with a private ceremony in Big Sur, California.
© WireImageThey have two kids
Tanya and Jack officially have teenagers in the house! On June 10, 2006, they welcomed their first child together, Samuel Jason, who the family has nicknamed Sammy.
He was named in honor of the legendary Sammy Davis Jr., and it appears the name has taken hold, as Jack described his firstborn as “very musical” to The Guardian in 2011.
On May 23, 2008, the doting parents welcomed their second son, Thomas David, who goes by Tommy. And as for whether either of them will follow in their dad’s footsteps, he told Parade in 2023: “I’m not going to pressure them in any certain direction. I just like them to follow their passion and do what they’re interested in.”
