Who Is Kyle Chandler’s Wife? All About Kathryn Chandler

Actor Kyle Chandler’s wife, Kathryn, is more than his partner — she’s his best friend.

The Friday Night Lights star and his wife of nearly 30 years prefer to keep their relationship low-key.

While Kyle may be best known for his onscreen relationship with Connie Britton as Coach Eric and Tami Taylor on FNL, his real-life marriage is also a success story.

Kathryn has long been a grounding force for the actor, helping him navigate fame while remaining true to himself.

“She knows who I really am and still appreciates me,” Kyle told Men’s Health of their close relationship in 2010. “Here I have a new show, the critics are going crazy, and for a minute you think, ‘How can I reinvent myself?’ But success is attached to being who you are. My wife knows I’m a complete idiot, and she reminds me every day that success is meaningless if I’m pretending to be someone I’m not.”

For the actor, his marriage is sacred, and so is the firm foundation of trust he and Kathryn have built.

“We trust each other — absolutely, 100 percent. We run into some pretty tough arguments sometimes, but the idea is that at the end of the day, my wife and I realize that we’ll always be holding each other’s hand,” Kyle explained to Good Housekeeping in 2008. “This is a lifelong relationship, and after 12 years she hasn’t gotten rid of me yet.”

Here’s everything to know about Kyle Chandler’s wife, Kathryn Chandler.

They met at a dog park

Kyle and Kathryn met at a California dog park in the mid-1990s.

“There’s a place in Los Angeles called Dog Park,” Kathryn told the Chicago Sun-Times in 1999. “I would take my little Jack Russell terrier there, and sometimes I’d run into Kyle and his dog. So we would kind of smile at each other and do the triple take, but we wouldn’t really do anything about it.”

Kathryn decided to take things into her own hands and told her dog — who she revealed typically didn’t listen to her instructions — to jump on Kyle, which the pooch then did, leading to a conversation between the two pet owners.

Kyle made a grand gesture of love after a few breakups

The couple was on-again, off-again for a time, but after a trip to Pico de Orizaba in Mexico and subsequent altitude sickness on Kyle’s part, he realized his relationship was strong enough to go the distance.

“Kathryn continued on, and I stayed back and had this dream of intense love,” the actor told Men’s Health of the moment he knew it was time to propose.

“I know it sounds corny, but when we got back home, I bought a bottle of wine and some candles, went to her place, and told her I couldn’t live without her.”

Kyle and Kathryn married in 1995.

They have two children

The Chandlers are proud parents to two daughters, Sydney, born in February 1996, and Sawyer born in November 2001.

Sydney is following in her dad’s footsteps and working as an actress. She has appeared in various movies and TV shows, including as Violet in 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling and as rocker Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders in the television miniseries, Pistol.

Although Sawyer hasn’t made it to the big screen yet, she has worked with her dad. In 2013, she and Kyle lobbied against shark finning, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

In 2021, Kyle’s older daughter gave his youngest a birthday shoutout on Instagram.

“Sawyer Quinn Chandler. Wish I were home to scream HAPPY BIRTHDAY into your face … I love you so much it’s ridiculous,” she began her caption, which was posted alongside a black and white photograph of Sawyer.

“You — terrify me in the best of ways. Your intelligence. Your creativity. Your compassion. Your heart. You are on FIRE, sis. Never doubt yourself. I have always and will always look up to you. You have saved me in so many ways over the years. Thank YOU for being here. For inspiring all of us with your innate passion for life and adventure. Celebrate today and every day. Slap the bag & hit the pipe. I loveth you,” Sydney concluded the sweet birthday tribute.

The family lives in Texas

After years in Los Angeles, Kathryn, Kyle and their daughters moved to a 33-acre ranch outside of Austin, Texas, according to Men’s Journal, where animals, and in particular dogs, are a big part of their lives.

“Every time I come home, we have another dog,” Kyle told the outlet in 2017. “It’s cool. You build a fire on the property and just sit out there, and the dogs stay with you. It’s a good feeling.”

Prior to the move, the family resided in Topanga Canyon, where Kyle said they lived a very quiet life.

“I like to live simply,” the Godzilla star explained to Men’s Health in 2010. “My wife is my best friend. We don’t go to parties. I believe kids are supposed to get dirty and have fun. When we have people over the house, I’ll fire up the grill outside and we’ll have good food, but it’s potluck. I love what I do, but I don’t need the lavish lifestyle that’s supposed to go with it.”

They run a nonprofit in Texas

Kathryn started a nonprofit, Patriots’ Hall, in Dripping Springs, Texas of which she is a founding board member. Kyle also serves on Patriots’ Hall’s advisory board. According to the organization’s website, it’s a place for veterans “of all ages and military service to explore therapeutic workshops, art classes, weekend campouts, education and employment seminars, family gatherings,” and more.

As Kathryn explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show, “There’s so many veterans and families in Texas — the densest is actually right where we’re in the center of.”

She added that Patriot’s Hall was created as a place, “Just for them to get off the computers, get together, cook, get therapy… That was my brainchild, and then community has just stepped up.”

“It’s changed our entire community,” Kathryn added.

She and Kyle love to travel

Travel has become an important part of the Chandlers’ marriage after raising their children. “We’ve been married for 27 years. Now it’s that time where the kids have stepped out of the house and we have more time together,” Kyle explained of their empty-nester lifestyle during a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Instead of a relaxing beach vacation, he revealed that couple opted for a backpacking trip across the Camino de Santiago in Spain — a 500-mile walk, complete with sleeping in bunk beds in hostels. Kyle told Clarkson that they didn’t make it the whole way, but they had “the time of our lives” regardless.