Baz Luhrmann says he understands the public fascination with his 29-year marriage to wife Catherine Martin as he explains ‘it’s camp and not traditional in so many ways but it’s an absolutely real relationship’

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Baz Luhrmann says his 29-year marriage to Catherine Martin isn’t conventional – he describes it as ‘camp’ – but it’s a genuinely loving and authentic connection.

In a recent interview on Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast, the 63-year-old Australian director openly shared details about their marriage and the secrets to its success.

Award-winning production designer Catherine, 61, works on all of Baz’s movies. 

Baz acknowledges that although he and his partner prefer to keep their relationship private, he gets why people are interested in it.

I get why people see what they do. My work is very over-the-top and theatrical, and there’s a playful, exaggerated quality to our connection as well. I lean into that dramatic style, but it always comes from a genuine place.

People are always asking CM and me when we got married! I tell them I honestly don’t remember – it feels like we’ve always been together, and that’s what matters. It’s a genuine relationship.

I deeply love her, and I can’t imagine life without her. We’re very different people, but we truly understand each other, and our relationship works for us, even if it’s not conventional. My kids often tease me about it.

The couple have two children; Lillian, 22, and William, 20.  

When Elizabeth asked how their kids playfully bother them, Baz explained that they often tease him, which he finds keeps him humble. He added that sometimes they jokingly call him RuPaul.

You know, what I love about us is that even though we have so much fun together, it’s built on something really solid. It’s a true partnership, a real commitment where we both agree to support each other and make things work. I think that’s what marriage is all about – a promise to be good to each other. And it’s understanding that some things will naturally evolve, while other core parts of us will always remain the same.

‘But weddings are actually advertisements to everybody else that you are together.’ 

Baz is a highly successful and uniquely creative director in Hollywood.

He first became well-known for his work on films like Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Romeo + Juliet (1996), and later achieved even greater success with the innovative musical Moulin Rouge! (2001).

Baz is also behind The Great Gatsby (2013) and Elvis (2022).  

Baz explains that he and CM collaborate on films, each bringing their own strengths – she focuses on her design work, while he handles the visual aspects. They work very closely together on the films themselves, built on a foundation of deep trust and love that has grown over time. He emphasizes that this level of trust allows them to work seamlessly together.

We’re each other’s confidantes – the people we rely on when we need to share something deeply personal that we can’t talk about with anyone else.

The couple frequently spends time apart, as Baz lives in New York and Catherine lives on the Gold Coast.

The director remembers first meeting her while searching for a designer. She was working with a colleague at the time.

I returned to drama school, and she visited the flat I was living in – it was above a brothel in Kings Cross.

Okay, so it was a totally weird trade – I gave up two pieces of my furniture for a single croissant! But get this – the person I traded with and I immediately launched into a conversation about Bertolt Brecht and Madonna. Seriously, it was the most amazing, random exchange ever. I mean, who connects those two?! It felt like fate, honestly.

The initial meeting was only scheduled for an hour, but we ended up talking for around three, and we’re still in touch today. I need to build a real connection with the people I work closely with, and that’s how I gauge whether a collaboration is worthwhile. Is there an ongoing dialogue? Is the creative process still happening?

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2026-02-25 03:40