Kevin James found his queen, Steffiana de la Cruz, in the early 2000s.
In 2004, a few years after James met a Filipina model on a blind date, the couple tied the knot and have been good ever since.
Sharing four children with de la Cruz, the comedian took the opportunity to talk about his wife’s parenting skills in his 2018 Netflix special. Never Do not give up — especially when it comes to her putting their kids to bed.
“My wife is so good at it because she wants to be there,” James said. “By the way, when she gets there, they’re comfortable. When they’re comfortable, they relax and go to sleep. She’s out eight minutes later. Glitter shoots through the door.”
So who is Kevin James’ wife? Here’s everything you need to know about Steffiana de la Cruz and her relationship with Paul Blart: Mall cop star.
She started dating James in 2001
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James and his wife met in 2001 when they were set up on a blind date. Although details about their first date together are scarce, things apparently went well.
That same year, the comedian talked about de la Cruz in his stand-up special Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuffjoking about a comment she made.
“I talked to her on the phone and I travel a lot, you know I’m here in New York now and she was in LA at the time, and she lives there,” James said. “I talked to her on the phone and she said, ‘God, I miss you,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I know, I miss you, too.’ And she said, ‘I wish I could be there with you… If I only had a magic carpet, I’d be there in about two hours.’ ”
“‘What? Did you just say magic carpet? If we’re okay with that [she has] magic carpet,” added James, “how are you going to get two hours? What, do you have a vacation in Dallas?’ ”
According to James, de la Cruz replied, “‘Well, I don’t want to go too fast, I don’t want to fall.’ ”
The two continued to date, eventually getting engaged in October 2003.
She and James married in 2004
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James and de la Cruz tied the knot on June 19, 2004, less than a year after the actor popped the question. They exchanged vows at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Dana Point, California, in front of family and friends. Famous guests included Ray Romano and Clint Eastwood.
“Kevin was really nervous. He was sweating,” a wedding guest told PEOPLE at the time.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their wedding guests enjoyed a reception held at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach that included a 90-minute set by Eddie Money (James joined in on “Take Me Home Tonight”). Wedding planner Mindy Weiss told PEOPLE there was “all kinds of food,” served buffet style, including McDonald’s.
In June 2020, James shared a sweet photo on Instagram in honor of the couple’s 16th wedding anniversary. “16 years ago today! You’re all I need… and kids… and pizza on Friday nights… and pasta on Sundays… but that’s it… you, kids, pizza, pasta. Love you … Deo Gratias,” he captioned the image.
She and James have four children
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On September 30, 2005, James and de la Cruz welcomed their first child together, daughter Sienna-Marie. Almost two years later, the couple had another girl, Shea Joelle, whose name is – per Parade — was inspired by the home of the New York Mets (James’ favorite baseball team), Shea Stadium.
In April 2011, the Golubčićs welcomed their first son, Kannon Valentine, on Easter Sunday in Boston. Then, four years later, their daughter Sistine Sabella joined the family.
When he was promoting his sitcom, Kevin can wait, the prankster admitted that he drew components from his real life when creating the series. “They are all elements of me in these characters,” he told PEOPLE in 2016. “This one [is] a little more because of my family life… with some exaggerations.”
James also spoke about his children, saying: “My eldest daughter does kickboxing. I have three daughters and a little boy, but [Sienna-Marie]She’s tough—she’s strong… I’m not going to lie: she’s going to hurt you.”
Their son is a talented pianist
James and de la Cruz’s son learned to play the piano at an early age and has been practicing ever since.
In September 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, James shared a video on Instagram of Kannon performing Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”
“Stay strong New York,” James captioned the post. “My family and I send our love to our fellow New Yorkers and everyone around the world. Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and other heroes on the front lines. God bless them.”
She is an actress
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De la Cruz worked as an actress, with more than a dozen credits to her name.
She had roles Pacific Blue and Die gang in the mid-90s and Stealing Harvard 2002. Although her career began years before she met James, the two have collaborated on projects and appeared in several television shows and movies together.
De la Cruz was involved King of Queens four times during the series’ nine seasons, portraying a different character every time. In addition, she had small roles in both Paul Blart: Mall cop movies and Zookeeper (2011), and appeared in two episodes Kevin can wait.
She is friends with Leah Remini
Leah Remini’s Instagram
It’s no secret that James is very close to Leah Remini. The two worked together on King of Queens and on again Kevin can wait, but their on-screen romance turned into a real-life friendship that has lasted decades.
Remini also developed a relationship with de la Cruz over the years. In fact, Remini shared a photo of the two at an event in 2018.
“@officialkevinjames beautiful wife, Steffiana de la Cruz is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Great show Kevin! Thank you #TheParamount for the hospitality,” Remini captioned the post.
She has no social networks
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De la Cruz does not have public social media accounts, and while James is not very active on social media, he is known to pay tribute to his wife on special occasions.
“My amazing wife … 13 years today!!!❤️❤️❤️ DEO GRATIAS!” he captioned a photo of de la Cruz kissing him on the cheek in honor of their 13th wedding anniversary.
On Valentine’s Day 2020, James shared a selfie of him and his wife eating a heart-shaped donut together.
“Happy Valentine’s Day my love… Nothing will ever come between us… I love you all… even you,” he wrote.
James mentioned her in his latest comedy special
James poked fun at de la Cruz—and her gift for gab—in his comedy special Regardless.
“My wife is great. I love her very much. We get along great. We’ve been together for 20 years,” he said, before joking that his wife talks too much. “I’ve already said every word I’m going to say to her in every combination. She knows everything about me. I know everything about her. We don’t need to talk anymore. We can complete the rest of our lives with gestures.”
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Source: HIS Education