Phyllis Fierro and Ralph Macchio Have Been Married for 34 Years — A Look inside Their Marriage

“The Karate Kid” star Ralph Macchio and his wife, Phyllis Fierro, have a unique love story. They have been married for over three decades but have known each other most of their lives.

Macchio rose to stardom in 1984 when he portrayed Daniel “Daniel-san” LaRusso in “The Karate Kid.” He reprised his role in two other films and is now one of the stars of “Cobra Kai,” a sequel TV series.

While Daniel-san was a teenager in the film, Macchio was actually 23 years old when the first movie hit theaters. In fact, he married Phyllis Fierro only three years later.

RALPH MACCHIO’S WIFE

The couple met at one of his cousins’ sweet 16 birthday party at his grandmother’s house. At the time, he was just 15 years old and had never worked on films.

Macchio and Fierro clicked immediately, tied the knot on April 5, 1987 – when Macchio was already a rising Hollywood star and teen idol – and have been pretty much inseparable ever since.

The couple started having children after being married for five years. Their first kid, a daughter named Julia, was born in 1992. Daniel, their only son, named after Macchio’s “Karate Kid” character, joined the family in 1996.

Phyllis Fierro and Ralph Macchio, who have been married for 34 years, have two very different careers – she’s a nurse and he’s an actor. Their kids decided to follow in Macchio’s footsteps, and he couldn't be prouder.

RALPH MACCHIO’S CHILDREN

In Julia’s case, she is a singer and actress known for “Girl Most Likely” and “Stella’s Last Weekend.” Before focusing primarily on her acting career, she danced competitively.

As a nurse practitioner, Fierro worked hard during the pandemic.

Speaking of Julia, Macchio once admitted he had an “epic parent fail” with her. He decided to show Julia the first installment of “Karate Kid” when she was five years old, as that’s when she began asking questions about his fame.

He thought she would be proud of him. However, he forgot Daniel-san spends most of the movie getting punched and tossed around by bullies. After a while, Julia was “possibly running out of the room.”

On the other hand, Daniel is a composer and actor. He's appeared in “From the Heart of the Crowd,” “The Wrecks,” and “That Was Then.” For some time, Ralph Macchio’s son didn’t like being named after his father's character.

The young actor would ask his father, “did you have to?” As years went by, he accepted it. Now, he’s proud of it. Macchio said that unlike “Ralph,” “Daniel” was a classic name.

PRAISING PHYLLIS FIERRO

The “Cobra Kai” star is undoubtedly happy with his long and successful acting career, but he’s taken a “one foot in, one foot out” approach to Hollywood so that he could have a normal family life. He added:

“Without [Phyllis Fierro] and without the foundation and the family we established, 'one foot in, one foot out' would have been very, very difficult on my own."

As a nurse practitioner, Fierro worked hard during the pandemic. Macchio once explained that his wife was mainly focused on palliative medicine – the medical care that relieves pain.

The actor also labeled what his wife has been doing during the past year as “hero work,” adding that he is very proud of her. Talking to Drew Barrymore in her show, he described Fierro as “one of the heroes of the families.”

Nowadays, Phyllis Fierro’s husband is focused on “Cobra Kai.” He confessed that one of the best aspects of the show being so successful is that his children are enjoying it.