Who Is Billy Crystal's Wife? All About Janice Crystal

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice have been married for over 50 years

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice Crystal have been married for more than five decades.

The couple met in New York in the summer of 1966 and married on June 4, 1970—long before Billy had his big break in When Harry met Sally. Billy credited Janice for his successful career, noting that she made him work harder on his comedic skills shortly after their first child, Jennifer, was born in 1973.

“She’s kind, she’s funny, she’s smart,” Billy told PEOPLE of his wife in February 2020. “She just keeps getting better and better.”

In 2023, Billy and Janice celebrated their 53rd anniversary; they now share two daughters and four grandchildren.

Billy Crystal says his nearly 50-year marriage ‘just keeps getting better and better’

From meeting as teenagers to celebrating more than five decades of marriage, here’s everything you need to know about Billy Crystal’s wife Janice and her relationship with the actor.

They are teenage loves

Janice Crystal and Billy Crystal during the 8th Annual Cable ACE Awards.

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Billy and Janice met as teenagers living in Long Beach, New York.

After graduating from Long Beach High School in 1965, where he was voted “Most Popular”, Billy attended Marshall University in West Virginia where he played baseball.

During the summer before his sophomore year, Billy got a job at a summer camp, where he met Janice.

“This girl walks by … and I said, ‘I’m going to marry her.’ And I did, four years later,” he said, recalling the first time he saw Janice on WTF with Marc Maron’s podcast.

Meeting Janice influenced Billy’s decision to stay in New York. “I really liked her right away,” he said. “You know, I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a long distance relationship – they don’t work.”

Billy began his sophomore year as a transfer student at Nassau Community College on Long Island, where he took acting classes that made him feel like “home.” He eventually transferred to NYU, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film.

They got married in 1970

Billy Crystal and Janice Crystal smiling in 1988.

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Billy and Janice were married on June 4, 1970. During the May 2021 interview. The Kelly Clarkson Showadvised Billy for a long and happy marriage.

“We laugh, we joke, we’re still learning from each other,” he told host Kelly Clarkson. “We still love being together … We just have a lot of fun and we’re always discovering new things about each other. And I think the most important thing is to always be curious and learn more about each other.”

Billy also credited his parents’ relationship as something he strived to replicate.

“My parents always looked like they loved being together,” he said Sydney Morning Herald in 2016. “I took that from them, and that’s who my wife and I are. I still feel like we’re walking.”

They say that laughter is also the key to their lasting marriage

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice Crystal during the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science honors Billy Crystal.

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Being a long-time couple in Hollywood, Billy and Janice’s relationship is appreciated by many — and people often ask them about the secrets to a lasting marriage.

“What is the secret of a 50-year marriage? We’re seeing other people,” Billy joked in an interview with PEOPLE and his Getting up, falling down actor Ben Schwartz.

“Constantly?” Ben asked laughing.

“Constantly. I’m insatiable,” Billy replied.

Ben went on to praise Billy for the example he set in his relationship with Janice, saying, “It’s very difficult in this industry that when you get a bit of a hot streak… Nobody’s going to tell you to say no,” referring to taking on more than what one can bear.

Ben continued: “But he found a way to make sure that family was the most important thing, to devote his time to his children, to his grandchildren, to his wife, and that’s something that’s most important, that’s something I learned from Billy.”

“And that’s how it works,” added Billy, smiling.

They share two children

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice Crystal pose with their daughters Lindsay and Jennifer.

Robin Platzer/FilmMagic

Janice welcomed her first daughter with Billy, Jennifer Crystal Foley, on January 26, 1973.

During his appearance at the 2021 The Kelly Clarkson ShowBilly talked about how much time he spent at home with Jennifer when she was a baby and how formative that was for their relationship.

“I was Mr. Mom long before it was popular,” he joked, referring to the fact that he became Jennifer’s primary caregiver during the days when Janice went to work.

“I look at it as a real turning point in my life, not only as a father, but as a human being,” he continued. “It gave me perspective on what we’re here for and what you’re responsible for, and to love someone so selflessly and take care of her and make sure she’s healthy and happy and educated, even in those early days… forever us connected.”

On October 21, 1977, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Lindsay Crystal.

“I think my wife and I were good parents because we didn’t want to be friends with our kids,” Billy said Guard in 2013. “We knew we had to be their parents. A lot of parents today are trying to be friends with their kids, and I don’t think that’s working.”

He continued: “And we listened to them and were patient; we just always maintained the right amount of authority. I think we laughed a lot and let them express themselves. We really loved being parents.”

They are the grandparents of four grandchildren

Billy Crystal and his family attend the Hand and Footprint Awards Ceremony: Billy Crystal at the 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival 2019.

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Janice and Billy became grandparents when their daughter Jennifer gave birth to her first child, Ella Ryan Foley.

“When my daughter Jenny was pregnant with our first grandchild, Ella, it was very profound for me because Jenny is my first-born daughter,” Billy told Guard.

“One night I wrote down all the things I was waiting to do with my little granddaughter, and it became a book, I already know I love you“, he continued, talking about the children’s book he wrote in 2004.

Now Billy and Janice are grandparents to four grandchildren, as Jennifer gave birth to her second daughter, Dylan Frances Foley, in 2006, and Lindsay has two sons.

Billy also revealed a funny tidbit about what happened when his grandchildren got old enough to learn that he voices some of their favorite movie characters.

“When they realized I was Mike Wazowski Monsters Inc., I had to speak like him for six months. It drove me crazy,” he said Guard. “Then they saw The princess brideand I had to be Miracle Max for six months.”

On a more serious note, Billy shared that he cried when his grandchildren came to see him on Broadway in 2022 when he reprized his role as Buddy in Mr. on Saturday evenings.

“I am very proud of the fact that at the age of 74 I made my debut in a musical comedy in front of my grandchildren at the premiere,” he said during May 2022. appearance on View. “That was the biggest thrill of all.”

Billy added: “I kept thinking about where I started and how these kids who had never seen me live on stage before… had never seen me perform — especially this character, who’s my age now, this is me — and I cried all the time.”

They celebrated their 50th anniversary in a unique way

Billy Crystal and Janice Crystal attend The Paley Honors: Gala Tribute to LGBTQ.

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Billy and Janice celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2020, which was made more difficult due to the precautions taken against the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, their children and grandchildren had a solution to ensure they still had the opportunity to celebrate the milestone.

Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel in an interview from home, Billy revealed that his and Janice’s children and grandchildren surprised them with an anniversary dinner.

“They made a small outdoor restaurant for us, and my grandchildren… They were waiters and waitresses, they took care of us. And we had a very romantic dinner, just the two of us,” he shared further Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

When asked if he tips his waiters, Billy said, “No.”

He joked, “Honestly, the service was slow.”

She worked on film and in the theater

Billy Crystal and Janice Crystal attend the Gala Opening of Caruso’s Palisades Village.

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Janice and Billy shared a love of comedy and theater even before he had his big break as an actor. When she was in her early 20s and still living in her hometown of Long Beach, NY, Janice worked as an assistant dean of theater at a junior college on Long Island.

Janice worked as a producer on a film special Billy Crystal: 700 Sundayswhich earned a 2014 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Special. It is based on Billy’s autobiographical book of the same name and a Broadway one-man show (which won a Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event in 2005) after the book’s release.

However, Janice is not always behind the scenes. She had a small role in the 2021 film Here todaywhich Billy co-wrote, directed and starred in. Janice also spent time on stage, starring in a 1981 production of Cabaret performed in Akron, Ohio with Billy.

She was the first supporter of Billy’s comedy career

Billy Crystal and wife Janice Crystal during the 50th Golden Globe Awards.

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Billy worked as a substitute teacher at his old high school while waiting for his big break.

Speaking to Clarkson, Billy revealed that he might quit teaching and do comedy full-time because of his wife’s support early in his career.

“It’s always been my dream and it’s what I’ve worked hard for, and I was already a young father – my daughter was already 6 months old,” he said, noting that time was spent traveling back and forth to the city to perform he took a toll in comedy clubs when he was already working.

Janice decided to go back to work and leave Billy to stay at home with their daughter Jennifer so he could spend his nights doing comedy.

“’Go to the city and be the comedian I know you can be,’ Janice told Billy, as he recalled Kelly. “It was the greatest gift of her selflessness as a young mother with a 6-month-old child, believe me.”

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Source: HIS Education