Joanna Lumley's life away from the cameras – from music star husband to 'miracle' son
Joanna Lumley is a national treasure. From her unforgettable stint in Absolutely Fabulous to her jet-setting travel shows, making the glamorous star a regular on our screens for half a century.
Away from the glitz and glam of her show business work life, Joanna lives with her husband, Stephen Barlow, with the duo having been married for nearly 30 years. The 78-year-old is also a proud mother and grandmother and she has described spending time with her family as "absolute heaven".
Meet the popular star's family below...
Husband
Joanna, 78, is married to conductor Stephen Barlow. The two wed in 1986, and after 38 years of marriage, they're still going strong. While the pair reportedly knew each other growing up, it wasn't until Joanna was 31 that she and Stephen hit it off while attending a mutual friend's wedding.
Recalling their first encounter, Stephen said: "Jo looked amazing in a turquoise coat. I'd never seen anything so glamorous and statuesque," while Joanna herself said of the meeting: "I felt like I'd had a kind of electric shock; it wasn't a matter of falling instantly in love, it was the impact of a colossal shock, completely memorable."
In 2019, Joanna opened up about how her extensive travels affect her relationship with her husband. "We are both independent. I love being on my own. When I'm away, I don't even phone home," she revealed during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
"Incidentally I come from a different generation where we couldn't usually afford to phone home, so I've never been used to it. I like to write a postcard. I won't phone, that takes your travelling head away from you… You don't want people to keep phoning. If you're on the other side of the world it's always the wrong time."
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In an interview with the Radio Times in 2024, she reflected on the longevity of her marriage to Stephen. When asked about the secret to a long marriage, she replied: "I think, respect your partner and always treat them as the most important person in the world." She also confessed that she was picking up on his television viewing habits, explaining: "You get fond of what your partner likes. I've become fonder of car racing because he likes that."
Before meeting Stephen, Joanna was briefly married to 'Allo 'Allo! creator Jeremy Lloyd during the 1970s, but their marriage was dissolved with a no-fault divorce after just a few months. Speaking of their brief union, Joanna once joked: "He was witty, tall and charming ‒ we should have just had a raging affair."
Children
At 21, Joanna gave birth to her only child, a son named Jamie Lumley. The actress has a very close relationship with her son, who she raised as a single mother after she split from his father, the photographer Michael Claydon.
The star was previously told by doctors that she could never get pregnant and speaking to the Guardian about her son, she described him as a "miracle". She told the publication: "Doctors had told me I could never have children, so I went on working until I was six months pregnant because they kept saying I wasn't pregnant. Jamie was born at seven-and-a-half months. It was a miracle for me."
Now 57, Jamie has two daughters of his own, Alice, 22, and Emily, 21, who Joanna dotes on. Speaking to Northern Echo back in 2018, Joanna described it as "absolute heaven" when her beloved granddaughters come to stay with her.
Speaking exclusively to HELLO! in December 2023, Joanna shared her top parenting tip. "My advice to new parents would be to give your children unconditional love, it's the greatest gift we have as a parent," she said. "I also remember my parents giving me advice when I was young - it didn't seem to make much sense at the time, but it has always stayed with me and now makes complete sense!"
