Entertainment
Inside Martin Freeman’s private life including age-gap romance with TV star more than 20 years younger-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro
A deep dive into the actor’s relationships and career.
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Martin Freeman is in a relationship with actress Rachel Benaissa (Picture: Getty)
Martin Freeman is back on our screens in the second season of the BBC hit show The Responder.
Metro.co.uk previously called the police drama a ‘career highlight’ for Martin, who has been a fixture on TV and films but prefers to keep his private life away from the public eye.
However, over the past three years, the 52-year-old has been supported at premieres and red-carpet events by his girlfriend and fellow actor Rachel Benaissa.
Prior to dating Rachel, who is at least two decades his junior, he was in a long-term relationship with Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington.
Here is everything you need to know about Martin’s private life and relationships.
Martin Freeman movies and TV shows
Martin has won acclaimed for his role in The Responder (Picture: BBC / Dancing Ledge)
Martin began acting professionally in the late 90s in episodes of The Bill and Casualty.
His breakthrough role was as Tim Canterbury in the Ricky Gervais BBC mockumentary The Office.
On TV, Martin went on to star as Dr John Watson in the global hit Sherlock alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.
His other TV credits include the comedy-crime drama series Fargo, Sky sitcom Breeders, and BBC police drama The Responder.
In film, Martin famously played Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit film trilogy and has also appeared in films including Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz.
Since 2016, he has portrayed Everett K Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the films Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the Disney Plus series Secret Invasion.
Who is Martin Freeman’s girlfriend?
Martin and Rachel are thought to have started dating in 2020 (Picture: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Martin’s girlfriend is French actress and writer Rachel Benaissa, who is thought to be aged 30 and is also known under the name Rachel Mariam.
She is best known for playing a small role in BBC hit Normal People, alongside Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones.
Rachel has also starred in Lindsay Lohan’s Netflix film Irish Wish, Aisling Bea’s sitcom This Way Up and an episode of Murder in Provence.
In addition to acting, Rachel also writes screenplays and recently came runner-up in Outstanding Screenplay’s TV pilot competition.
It is not clear when Rachel and Martin began dating but they were first spotted together in June 2020.
Since then, they have only made a handful of public appearances including attending the 2022 Bafta Awards together
Was Martin Freeman married to Amanda Abbington?
Martin was in a relationship with Amanda for 16 years (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
The couple met on the set of Men Only in 2000 and were in a long-term relationship for 16 years but they never married.
Martin has not directly spoken about their split in 2016 publicly but Amanda said in an interview with The Sunday Times they initially kept it secret.
She explained: ‘When we broke up nobody knew, we didn’t tell anybody except for a few key people because they had to know, because of the logistics of hotels and stuff.
‘It took six months for it to get out and a lot of that was while we were working on Sherlock…We were professional and we were going to get on and make a show and be civil to each other.
‘We still get on really well, we still really both admire each other as actors… he’s a great guy, but we just couldn’t live with each other anymore.’
Does Martin Freeman have any children?
Martin has two teenage children, pictured here with his girlfriend Rachel (Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images)
Martin has two children with Amanda, son Joe, around 18, and daughter Grace, around 15.
He previously spoke to Radio Times about co-parenting with Amanda.
Martin said: ‘Me and their mum [Amanda] don’t live together so there are times where they’re inevitably going to not be with you, or when they say, “Maybe not this weekend.”
‘It’s hard not to feel hurt when they start doing things that don’t involve you, even though you understand it and welcome it because it’s totally natural.’
What’s Martin Freeman’s net worth?
Martin has made millions thanks to his Hollywood career (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images )
Martin has never publicly disclosed his net worth but is thought to be worth $20 million (£15.9m) according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The Sun also reported that Martin was worth £15m due to his Hollywood success in films such as The Hobbit and Black Panther.
What’s Martin Freeman’s height and how old is he?
Martin has been acting steadily since his 20s (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for dunhill)
Martin is 5’7″ or 1.70cm, according to his IMDb page.
He was born on 8 September 1971, making him 52 years old.
Martin was raised in Hampshire and is the youngest of five siblings.
The Responder starts tonight on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm.
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