In a town where "til death do us part" usually means until the next sequel wraps, Billy Crystal is a total anomaly. We’re talking about a guy who met his wife when Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House. Honestly, it’s kinda wild. While most of his 70s-era comedy peers were navigating high-profile divorces or tabloid-ready scandals, Crystal was basically living a double life. By night, he was the guy making the entire country laugh on Saturday Night Live or the Oscars stage. By day? He was "Mr. Mom" in the 1970s, changing diapers and making school lunches.
People always ask how a guy who has hosted the Oscars nine times and starred in the biggest rom-com of all time stays so grounded. It’s not a mystery. It’s Janice.
That 1966 Summer Camp Vibe
Most people don't know that Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice Goldfinger, have been together since they were teenagers. It sounds like something out of a movie he’d star in, but the real story is better. They met in the summer of 1966. Billy was 18, Janice was 17, and they were both working at a summer camp in Long Beach, New York.
Billy saw her walking by and, in one of those moments that sounds like a line from When Harry Met Sally, told himself right then and there that he was going to marry her. He actually did it, too. Four years later, in June 1970, they tied the knot. That’s over 55 years of marriage. In Hollywood years, that’s basically several centuries.
What’s interesting is that Janice wasn't just a "supportive spouse" waiting in the wings. She’s a producer in her own right. She’s been the "weight in his shoes," as Billy often says, keeping him from drifting off into the ego-trap of superstardom. When Billy’s career was just starting to simmer in the early 70s, they made a choice to stay rooted.
✨ Don't miss: Shannon Tweed Net Worth: Why She is Much More Than a Rockstar Wife
Raising the Next Generation: Jennifer and Lindsay
While Billy was becoming a household name, he and Janice were raising two daughters, Jennifer and Lindsay. They didn't grow up as typical "Hollywood brats." Because Billy’s career didn't truly explode until he was in his late 30s—think Soap in the late 70s followed by his 1984 SNL run—the girls grew up seeing the work that goes into being a "success."
Jennifer Crystal Foley, born in 1973, actually caught the acting bug early. You might remember her from her recurring role as Rachel Taub on House or her work on Once and Again. She even appeared with her dad in City Slickers and Father's Day. But she’s always kept a low profile. She married her college boyfriend, Michael Foley, in 2000, and they have two daughters, Ella Ryan and Dylan Frances.
Then there’s Lindsay Crystal, born in 1977. She took a slightly different path, mostly moving behind the camera. She’s an Emmy-winning producer and director who worked on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She even directed her dad and Helen Mirren in that hilarious When Harry Met Sally 2 short for Funny or Die. Lindsay has two sons, making Billy and Janice grandparents of four.
The Reality of the "Mr. Mom" Years
Billy has been very vocal about the fact that when Jennifer was born in 1973, Janice was the one with the "real" job. Billy was a struggling stand-up comic. To make the family finances work, he spent his days as the primary caregiver.
🔗 Read more: Kellyanne Conway Age: Why Her 59th Year Matters More Than Ever
He’s mentioned in interviews that those years were the most formative of his life. It’s one thing to tell jokes to a crowd of strangers; it’s another thing entirely to be responsible for a tiny human who doesn't care if your timing is off. He credits that period with teaching him that there is something much more important than his own ambition.
"When you learn that you can love something much more than yourself, it was the greatest experience in my life as a person," Crystal told People recently.
Moving Forward After the 2025 Fire
Life hasn't been all red carpets and laughs lately. In January 2025, the Billy Crystal family faced a massive tragedy when their long-time home in the Pacific Palisades was destroyed in the devastating wildfires. They had lived in that house since 1979.
Imagine that for a second. Every memory, every script, every photo from the girls' childhood—gone in a single afternoon. Billy released a statement saying they were heartbroken, but it’s in these moments that you see why the "family first" mantra actually matters. He’s noted that while the loss of the physical house was a "rupture," having his daughters and grandchildren around is what actually kept him and Janice sane through the rebuilding process.
💡 You might also like: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Why the Crystal Marriage Actually Works
If you're looking for a "secret sauce" for a 50-plus year marriage, Billy usually boils it down to three things:
- Humor: Obviously. If you can't make each other laugh when the house is literally or figuratively on fire, you're in trouble.
- Separate Lives: He’s big on the idea that they aren't just "Billy and Janice." They are individuals with their own interests and work. Respecting that space is key.
- Common Goals: They decided early on that the family was the priority, not the career.
It’s rare to find a celebrity who is so genuinely satisfied with a "boring" home life. But for Billy, the Oscars and the movies are just the day job. The real life happens at the Sunday dinners with the grandkids.
Actionable Lessons from the Crystal Playbook
You don't have to be a multi-millionaire comedian to take a page out of the Billy Crystal family handbook. If you’re looking to build that kind of longevity in your own life, start with these specific shifts:
- Prioritize the "Mr. Mom" (or Mom) Moments: Don't view caregiving as a distraction from your "real" work or career. Crystal acknowledges that his time as a primary caregiver gave him the emotional depth that actually made him a better actor and writer later on.
- Maintain Your Own Identity: Long-term partnerships thrive when both people have their own "thing." Whether it’s a hobby or a separate career path, keeping that individual spark alive prevents the relationship from becoming stagnant.
- Laugh Through the Hard Stuff: It sounds cliché, but when your home of 40 years burns down—or you face any major life setback—the ability to find the absurdity or the light in the situation is a survival skill.
- Stay Curious About Your Partner: Billy often says they "still learn from each other." Never assume you know everything about the person sitting across from you at breakfast, even after fifty years.
The Billy Crystal family isn't a "perfect" Hollywood story because it isn't a Hollywood story at all. It’s a New York story about loyalty, hard work, and knowing when to hand the kids back to their parents so you can finally get a nap.