Emilie Livingston
The retired Olympic gymnast Emilie Livingston has had an undeniably fascinating life, although many of the general public are only familiar with her marriage to the actor and musician Jeff Goldblum. Born on 4th January 1983, in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, Emilie moved to Russia at just ten years old so that she could train with Lusi Dimitrova and Irina Viner, some of the best rhythmic gymnasts and coaches in the country.
Aged 16-years-old, Emilie represented her home country at the 1999 Pan American Games, and brought a gold medal back to Canada. The next year, she placed 18th in the individual all-around competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics, held in Sydney, Australia. The skilled dancer and contortionist is a three-time national champion of Canada in the rhythmic gymnastics category, and her talents have led her to work with Rihanna and Emma Stone as their body doubles in the movie “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” and “La La Land”.
To prepare for her role in “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”, Emilie had to work hard to create a scene with different dancing skills – and to get back into shape just three months after giving birth. The Canadian dedicated much of her time to focusing on her back and hip flexibility and core strength, as well as doing aerial strength training.
Despite recognizing in a 2016 interview that being a full-time mother is hard work, Emilie never put her career on the backburner. Shortly after giving birth to her first son, the brunette also performed as a solo aerialist at the 88th Annual Oscar’s Ceremony, stunning viewers and the audience at home with her prowess.
Although Emilie was enrolled in ballet classes at just two years old, she would often sneak into her older sister’s dance classes when their mother was distracted. Eventually, she was placed in dance class and discovered her love for being on stage and displaying her creativity through movement. After seeing her first coach perform in Toronto, Emilie realized that rhythmic gymnastics could not only be a sport and passion, but a career. “I said, that’s what I want to do. I want to do this and make it to the Olympics,” she later told Vol Up 2.
Finding motivation in seeing other skilled aerialists and contortionists, Emilie learned new tricks and methods until it became second nature to her, much like rhythmic gymnastics. “You have to sacrifice things like prom and parties. Determination requires sacrifice… Start as young as you can, and follow your passion to the best of your ability,” she advised aspiring athletes, recognizing that there is a limited time-frame when it comes to competing at the Olympics or other high-level events.
While training for the Olympics, Emilie also struggled with being told that she was too thin and had an eating disorder, many times by her peers and competitor’s coaches. However, she was merely committed to a healthy lifestyle which she maintains to this day. Living in L.A. (which has been her home for over a decade) has also helped Emilie stay motivated, as there are many natural food stores and farmers’ markets around, and the good weather is helpful when it comes to doing outdoors exercise. Although she and Jeff avoid processed foods, and don’t drink or smoke, the brunette enjoys the occasional glass of wine.
Personal Life & Net Worth
Emilie and Jeff met at a gym in L.A. in 2011. “I saw her from across a crowded room, and I marched up to her, entranced, and began some kind of conversation,” the actor told Wired. In July 2014, they announced their engagement, marrying four months later in the famous Chateau Marmont hotel.
Many naysayers doubted that the marriage would last, due to the 30-year age gap and Jeff’s unlucky dating history. The “Jurassic Park” actor first tied the knot in 1980 with Patricia Gaul, who appeared in his 1985 movie “Silverado”. When the couple divorced, it didn’t take Jeff long to find love with his “Transylvania 6-5000” co-star, Geena Davis. There has often been speculation of the two relationships overlapping, as Jeff and Patricia divorced shortly after he worked with Geena – they married in 1987. After appearing together in “The Fly” and “Earth Girls Are Easy”, Geena filed for divorce in October 1990, finalized the following year.
Jeff Goldblum and Emilie Livingston welcome their second child! 👶🍼 https://t.co/mz8krOAG7c pic.twitter.com/OhzwDpwd2g
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) April 14, 2017
However, Jeff and Emilie have so far proven skeptics wrong. In July 2015, they welcomed their first son, Charlie Ocean. Their second son, River Joe, was born in April 2017. Although Jeff never thought that he’d have children prior to meeting Emilie, he has since embraced fatherhood to the fullest, often taking his sons along to movie premieres and other events. Despite their hectic schedules, Jeff and Emilie always make time to come together as a family, enjoying beach vacations in the Caribbean or something as simple as getting ice cream and sightseeing in New York City.
Jeff and Emilie have a combined net worth of approximately $40 million, more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. The actor has starred in some of the highest-grossing movies in history, such as “Independence Day”, “Jurassic Park”, and their sequels. His acting film debut came in 1974 with a minor role in “Death Wish”; in the late 1970s, he gained wider attention after appearing in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
After a slow decade, Jeff’s career resurgence came with roles in the Wes Anderson films “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, and “Isle of Dogs”. He is currently filming parts one and two of “Wicked”, which will be released in 2024 and 2025, and has no intentions of retiring anytime soon. Meanwhile, Emilie works as an intuitive stretch body movement coach, and has a selective roster of wealthy clients; the French-Canadian gymnast also shares her knowledge with her 60,000 Instagram followers in the way of Reels and posts.