All About Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen's Wife and Bandmate

During his decades-long career, Bruce Springsteen had his wife Patti Scialfa by his side.

The pair met at a local bar in the early 80s and quickly developed a friendship. Scialfa, who is also a musician, then joined the music legend and the E Street Band on their 1984 Born on tour in the USA as backing vocals.

Although the two musicians had chemistry on stage, their relationship did not become romantic until 1988 after the “Dancing in the Dark” singer divorced his first wife, Julianne Phillips.

Springsteen and Scialfa quickly fell in love and married in 1991. They have since had three children and continue to perform together.

So who is Bruce Springsteen’s wife? From her relationship with an iconic musician to her solo music career, here’s everything you need to know about Patti Scialfa.

She was born in New Jersey, where she started playing music through her grandfather

Patti Scialfa Instagram

Like her husband, Scialfa was born and raised in New Jersey. Born in Deal, Monmouth County, Scialfa is of Northern Irish descent from her mother and Sicilian from her father, Springsteen said at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards.

In an interview with New Jersey MonthlyScialfa credited her maternal grandfather with teaching her music. She explained that whenever her grandparents were babysitting, they would play the piano together.

“He’d be composing, working out melodies, and he’d say, ‘Which end do you like — this one? Or this one, when the notes go here?’ ” she recalled. “My opinion actually mattered to him. It was an era where kids needed to be seen, not heard, so that was really powerful for me.”

She met Springsteen in a bar

Because they grew up close to each other and only four years apart, Scialfa and Springsteen moved in similar social circles when they were younger, she said. New Jersey Monthly. Before their first official meeting, Scialfa knew of Springsteen because he had a reputation as “the fastest guitar player.”

The couple first met in the early 1980s at a bar and music venue called the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Scialfa would often sing at the venue with a friend’s band. Springsteen approached her and told her he liked her voice, after which they became good friends.

“It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We drank beer together, sat at the table and talked. After that, every Sunday I went down there and sang, and sometimes he would be there. He knew I lived in New York and didn’t have a car, so he would offer to drop me off at my mom’s,” she said.

She graduated from New York University

Patti Scialfa Instagram

After graduating from Asbury Park High School, where her teachers considered her “very quiet” and “intelligent,” she entered the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music Jazz Conservatory. She started studying jazz vocals, but after three years she moved to New York.

Scialfa transferred to New York University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 1975.

She married Springsteen in 1991

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Springsteen’s first wife, Julianne Phillips, filed for divorce in August 1988 and their divorce was finalized in 1989. After Phillips and Springsteen separated, he and Scialfa began living together in New Jersey; they later moved to NYC and Los Angeles. “Patti has been in love with Bruce for as long as I can remember,” her high school art teacher Curtis K. Smith told PEOPLE in 1988.

In 1991, Scialfa and Springsteen were married at their home in Beverly Hills, California. Scialfa often posts on social media to mark her wedding anniversary; in June 2022, she shared a photo of the couple riding horses for their 31st wedding anniversary.

She has three children with Springsteen

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Scialfa and Springsteen have three grown children together. Their first son, Evan James, was born in 1990, and their daughter, Jessica Rae, was born in 1991. They had their youngest son, Samuel Ryan, in 1994.

Evan is also a musician and has joined his father on stage several times, while Jessica is an Olympic equestrian. Sam became a firefighter in Jersey City, New Jersey in 2020. Both Scialfa and Springsteen were active parents, playing guitar, writing music, and making breakfast with their kids.

Scialfa and Springsteen became grandparents for the first time in 2022, when their son Sam had his first child. The proud grandmother shared a photo of Sam with her partner and their daughter with the caption “walking baby. Lily Harper Springsteen”.

She supports Springsteen’s mental health

Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

In 2016, Springsteen said he began living with periods of depression during his 60s. “It creeps up on you. I got to the point where I didn’t want to get out of bed, you know?” he explained during an interview with Sunday morning.

He credited Scialfi as his main source of support during his bouts of depression: “You don’t behave well at home and you’re hard on everyone. I hope not on the kids. I always try to hide that from the kids. But, you know, Patti really had to work with me through it… Her strength and the love she had was very important.”

She is a member of the E Street Band

Rob Verhorst/Redferns

Springsteen has played with the E Street Band since 1972, and Scialfa has been a member since 1984. At the time, she was the only female member of the band, backing vocals, tambourine and guitar.

“When we started rehearsing, I didn’t know he was going to give me a lot of work,” she told PEOPLE in 1988. “It happened slowly during rehearsals. Bruce was urging me to come. He was very patient, very willing to teach. He had a lot confidence in me.”

Nevertheless, the couple manages to separate their personal and professional lives. Springsteen said Diversity 2017, “When she gets on stage with the E Street Band, she’s a member of the E Street Band, and when we get off the stage, we’re husband and wife.”

In September 2024, while headlining the Sea.Hear.Now music festival in New Jersey, Springsteen invited Scialfa to join him for a duet. The pair performed “Tougher Than the Rest.”

She recorded solo albums

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In addition to his role in the E Street Band, Scialfa has a solo music career. She released her debut solo album, Rumble Doll1993 and her second album, 23rd Street Lullaby2004. Her third album, Play as it standslanded in 2007.

Her husband appeared as a special guest on her first solo tour, and her song “Town Called Heartbreak” was part of Springsteen’s set on his “Magic Tour” in 2007, as a husband-wife duet. Scialfa also performed on the final show of the 2004 “Vote for Change” tour, per Billboard.

She played herself in the film alongside her husband

Bruce Springsteen on stage with his wife Patti Scialfa. KMazur/WireImage

Although Scialfa and Springsteen are best known for their music, both appeared in the 2020 film. A broken poet like themselves.

According to Rolling Stonethe film is based on a short story written by singer, songwriter and author Elliott Murphy and follows a rock star who is presumed dead but reappears in Paris years later.

She was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame

Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty

In October 2023, Scialfa was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

“Street smart, fascinating, lovely, sexy, beautiful redhead with a sound all her own,” Springsteen told the audience as he introduced his wife. “This is long overdue, I love her. She’s a Jersey girl. Congratulations, honey!”

In 2018, she was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer

In 2018, Scialfa was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. She spoke about her diagnosis for the first time in the 2024 documentary. Travel Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

“This affects my immune system so I just have to be careful what I do and where I go,” she said. “Every once in a while I get to a show or two and get to sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat. It’s the new normal for me now and I’m okay with that.”

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Source: HIS Education