Who Is Louise Newbury? She Was Married to Bill Paxton for Nearly 30 Years

Louise Newbury was married to actor Bill Paxton for 30 years when he passed away at 61, leaving her with their two children, James and Lydia.

In 2017, beloved character actor Bill Paxton passed away at 61, leaving his wife, Louise Newbury Paxton, devastated by her loss. The actor's death left his wife and two children bereft and the film community in shock.

Bill Paxton the Actor was also Bill Paxton the Loving Husband of thirty years, and by knowing more about Louise Newbury Paxton, we can better understand the man he was.

Bill Paxton was born on May 17, 1955, in Texas. His father was a businessman and an actor, and Paxton followed in his footsteps. He studied acting in New York and moved to Los Angeles to further his career.

His big break came with a role in Carl Franklin's "One False Move" alongside Billy Bob Thornton. Paxton's career took off, and he starred in some of the most iconic sci-fi films with major stars.

He was in "The Terminator," with Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Aliens" with Sigourney Weaver, "Slipstream" with Mark Hamill, and "Edge of Tomorrow" with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, among many more. It was acting that would bring success and Louise Newbury into Bill Paxton's life.

Louise Newbury and Bill Paxton Met When She Was a Student

In 1983, Paxton was in London filming "The Lords of Discipline" when he stepped into a London bus and ran into fate in the shape of a young student named Louise Newbury. Paxton revealed:

"I saw a gal in a bus queue... She looks my way as she gets on the bus, and that was all the incentive I needed. I jumped on the bus, sat in front of her and I turned and said: 'Hi, how are you?'"

Paxton revealed that Newbury was startled that he was talking to her, but he was smitten at first sight, and he would remain devoted to her until the day he died.

The actor was briefly married in 1979 to a girl he'd met in Texas, Kelly Rowan.

Louise Newbury and Bill Paxton Had Two Children Together

The couple married in 1987, welcomed their first child, son James Paxton on February 23, 1994, and in 1997, their daughter Lydia was born. James has followed in his dad's footsteps to become an actor and even played the same role as Bill in the Marvel TV series, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Lydia, who was 19 and in college when her father passed away, graduated from Duke University in 2021. Newbury and Paxton's children are his greatest legacy. Paxton said of his love for Louise:

“I’ve seen her give birth. I was with her when her father died. Then we mixed our blood watching these two kids grow up.”

Louise Newbury Is Bill Paxton's Second Wife, but Who Was His First?

Newbury wasn't Paxton's first wife. The actor was briefly married in 1979 to a girl he'd met in Texas, Kelly Rowan. Paxton and Rowan were in love, but her mother disapproved. Paxton shared:

"Kelly called me up and you could hear her mother yelling at her in the background. That was when I went over there and we eloped. (...) We drove to California when she was twenty-one and I was twenty-four."

The marriage lasted less than a year, and Rowan moved back to Texas. She is now Kelly Greenwell, is a patron of the arts, and was part of the board of the Lone Star Film Society.