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Sutton Foster: Career, Family, and Hugh Jackman Connection

Henry Noah Smith Walker • 2026-10-09 • Reviewed by Sofia Lindberg

There are few Broadway actors whose personal timeline reads like a court docket — but Sutton Foster’s now does. The two-time Tony winner (Harper’s Bazaar), who starred opposite Hugh Jackman in the Broadway revival of The Music Man (Elle), filed for divorce from screenwriter Ted Griffin in October 2024, according to Us Weekly; the verified record — her career, her daughter, the legal dates — deserves a closer look than the rumor mill gives it.

Born: March 18, 1975, Statesboro, Georgia ·
Broadway debut: Les Misérables understudy, 2000 ·
Tony Awards: 2 — Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes ·
Recent Broadway role: Marian Paroo in The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman ·
Daughter: adopted in 2017 with then-husband Ted Griffin

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • Foster filed for divorce from Ted Griffin in (Us Weekly). (People)
  • Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness announced their separation in (People).
  • Foster has won two Tony Awards (InStyle). (People)
2What’s unclear
  • Custody arrangements for Foster’s daughter have not been confirmed publicly. (Page Six)
  • The joint Jackman-Furness statement gave no single cause for the split (Page Six).
  • Whether Emily was adopted or born in 2017 — outlets differ (InStyle).
3Timeline signal
  • : Foster filed for divorce (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • : Foster and Jackman photographed holding hands (Elle).
  • : Furness filed for divorce from Jackman (Page Six).
4What’s next
  • Final divorce dates will be set by court records, not media reports.
  • A public statement from Foster or Jackman would be the first official relationship confirmation.
  • Jackman continues to urge skin checks after repeated basal cell carcinoma treatments (People).

What this means: the cards separate what is documented from what is still unresolved.

Key facts at a glance

Seven facts, one pattern: the public record is exact on dates and titles, and quiet on the private reasons behind them.

Fact Detail
Full name Sutton Lenore Foster (Newsweek)
Born March 18, 1975 (Harper’s Bazaar)
Birthplace Statesboro, Georgia, USA (Newsweek)
Broadway debut Les Misérables understudy, 2000 (Elle)
Tony Awards 2 — Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes (Harper’s Bazaar)
Notable TV role Liza Miller in Younger (InStyle)
Daughter Emily, born March 2017; adoption reported by some outlets (Newsweek; InStyle)

The pattern: the table separates the documented record from the private reasons that remain unstated.

What is Sutton Foster’s full name?

Foster’s full legal name is Sutton Lenore Foster (Newsweek) — a detail that matters because it is the name on the divorce filing. She was born March 18, 1975, in Statesboro, Georgia (Harper’s Bazaar), and she built her reputation somewhere far less verified than a gossip page: on stage.

What is Sutton Foster known for?

  • Broadway debut: Eponine understudy in Les Misérables in 2000 (Elle).
  • First Tony: Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002); second Tony: Anything Goes (2011) (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • Television: Liza Miller on Younger, the role that made her a streaming-era name (InStyle).
  • Stage comeback: Marian Paroo in The Music Man opposite Hugh Jackman (Elle).

Those credits explain the “two-time Tony winner” label that appears in almost every headline about her. They also explain why the public keeps asking about her private life: Foster spent two decades as a beloved theater professional before her name started appearing in gossip columns.

The implication: the legal name, the stage name, and the tabloid name are the same person — which makes the verified details in this article harder to dismiss.

Has Sutton Foster had a baby?

Yes — Foster has one daughter, Emily (Newsweek). Emily was born in March 2017, and some outlets report that Foster and her then-husband, screenwriter Ted Griffin, adopted her that same year (InStyle). The distinction between birth and adoption is not cosmetic — it changes the story of how Foster became a parent.

Who has custody of Sutton Foster’s daughter?

The catch

No custody arrangement has been confirmed by a court record, a named representative, or a statement from Foster or Griffin. Any article that claims to know where Emily lives is working from inference, not evidence.

The divorce filing in October 2024 (Harper’s Bazaar) opened the custody question. But no custody document has been made public, and neither Foster nor Griffin has commented through a named representative.

What this means: the confirmed answer stops at “Emily exists.” Anything beyond that — school, schedule, custody — is inference until a document or a spokesperson says otherwise.

When did Sutton Foster leave her husband?

Foster married screenwriter Ted Griffin in 2014 (Harper’s Bazaar). By the time the divorce filing became public, the marriage had run nearly a decade — Us Weekly noted that Foster filed days before what would have been the couple’s 10th wedding anniversary (Us Weekly).

  • — Married Ted Griffin (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Daughter Emily born; adoption reported (Newsweek; InStyle).
  • — Foster filed for divorce (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Filing came days before the couple’s 10th anniversary (Us Weekly).

The dates line up cleanly: married in 2014, daughter in 2017, filing in 2024. What the dates don’t show is any public explanation from either person about why the marriage ended.

The pattern: the legal record gives exact dates; the personal record stays empty. That asymmetry is the whole story so far.

Why did Hugh Jackman’s wife leave him?

The question assumes a version of events that the record doesn’t support. Jackman and Furness announced their separation in September 2023 in a joint statement (Page Six) that framed the decision as mutual and asked for privacy. No cause was given, and neither has added a public cause since.

What is Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife saying about him?

  • Neither Furness nor a representative has made a public accusation against Jackman.
  • Her only public legal step has been the divorce filing reported in May 2025 (Page Six).
  • The filing is a standard step in ending a marriage announced as separated 20 months earlier; it is not evidence of a specific grievance.

Silence is a statement only to people who want it to be one. On the record, Furness has said nothing about Jackman beyond the joint statement and the filing.

Are Hugh Jackman and his ex-wife still friends?

  • The joint statement described a “wonderful, loving marriage” and a “journey” that was shifting — a tone closer to amicable than hostile (Page Six).
  • Neither party has publicly discussed the other since the separation was announced.

Friendship is a private condition; the public record shows only two data points: a respectful statement and a legal filing.

What are the allegations against Hugh Jackman?

What to watch

Tabloid allegations about Jackman’s conduct have circulated since the separation announcement. None has been confirmed in a court filing, an official statement, or an on-the-record accusation from Furness.

Coverage that repeats those claims usually attributes them to unnamed sources — a flag that the information is unverified. The distinction matters: a rumor repeated by a gossip page is still a rumor until a named source or a legal document supports it.

The trade-off: a story with named sources looks slower and less dramatic. It also survives contact with the court docket.

Bottom line: The Jackman-Furness split is documented by a joint statement and a 2025 divorce filing — not by any confirmed allegation. Unnamed-source stories don’t change the record.

The catch: the public record has a date for the filing, not a reason for the separation.

Are Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster friends?

Foster and Jackman were colleagues before they were headline material. They co-starred in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, which ran from December 2021 to January 2023 (Elle), and Newsweek places the deepening of their connection during that collaboration, which began in 2021 (Newsweek).

By January 2025, the connection was visible. Photographs of Foster and Jackman holding hands in Santa Monica on January 6, 2025 (Elle), ended the speculation phase, and People reported that the two were romantically involved (People).

How do Hugh Jackman’s kids feel about Sutton Foster?

The gap

Hugh Jackman’s children have not publicly commented on Sutton Foster. Any headline claiming to know their feelings is not sourced to the kids or their parents — treat it as projection.

Jackman and Furness share children; neither child has commented publicly on Foster. Coverage that claims to know the children’s feelings is not sourced to the children or their parents.

What this means: the kids’ silence is not evidence of approval or disapproval. It is exactly what privacy looks like.

Bottom line: The Jackman-Foster connection is confirmed by photographs and reporting, but the official label is still unwritten — and the children’s silence is not evidence.

The implication: what is visible and what is said are still two different records.

What happened between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman?

The Ryan Reynolds question keeps following Jackman because his most visible public partnership — outside his marriage — is the running comedy-fight with Reynolds. The two actors co-starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and later in Deadpool & Wolverine, and their social-media exchanges turned a friendship into a promotional bit (People).

  • The rivalry is a bit, not a feud; both actors have leaned into it for years.
  • Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) put the joke on screen, with the pair playing their public dynamic as a marketing engine.

For readers arriving from Foster-related searches, the Reynolds context matters for one reason: Jackman is extremely good at controlling his public narrative. That is why the Foster story looks different — it is being told through photographs and court dates, not through Jackman’s own framing.

The implication: the same performer who turned a fake feud with Reynolds into box office has stayed silent on the most-covered relationship question of his career. That silence is itself the story.

What is Hugh Jackman diagnosed with?

Hugh Jackman has been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a common and treatable form of skin cancer (People). He has been open about repeat diagnoses and has used his platform to tell people to wear sunscreen and get skin checks (People).

Why this matters

Basal cell carcinoma is common and treatable — which means Jackman’s public updates are closer to a public-health announcement than a medical crisis. Headlines that frame the diagnosis as a scare story are choosing drama over dermatology.

The diagnosis is in the confirmed column; the prognosis is not. Jackman has not disclosed details beyond the diagnosis and the treatments, and no medical commentary from his team is on the record.

The takeaway: treat the diagnosis as real, repeated, and treatable. The scare framing says more about the headline-writer than about the patient.

The full timeline: Foster, Griffin, Jackman, Furness

  • — Sutton Lenore Foster born in Statesboro, Georgia (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Broadway debut as Eponine understudy in Les Misérables (Elle).
  • — Tony Award for Thoroughly Modern Millie (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Tony Award for Anything Goes (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Married screenwriter Ted Griffin (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Daughter Emily born; adoption reported by some outlets (Newsweek; InStyle).
  • — The Music Man revival opens; Foster and Jackman co-star (Elle).
  • — Jackman and Furness announce separation (Page Six).
  • — Foster files for divorce from Griffin (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • — Foster and Jackman photographed holding hands (Elle).
  • — Furness files for divorce from Jackman, per Page Six (Page Six).

Read the entries in pairs and the story is calmer: a marriage ends, a separation becomes a filing, a friendship becomes a photograph. Collapse them into a single timeline and the tabloid plot appears.

The pattern: every item on this list is datable. The items that aren’t datable — motives, feelings, custody details — are the ones missing from the list.

What’s confirmed, what’s still unclear

One way to read the coverage: the confirmed column is full of dates and titles; the unclear column is full of motives and custody details.

Confirmed

  • Sutton Lenore Foster is her full legal name (Newsweek).
  • She won Tony Awards for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • She has a daughter, Emily, born March 2017 (Newsweek).
  • She filed for divorce from Ted Griffin in October 2024 (Harper’s Bazaar).
  • Jackman and Furness separated in September 2023 (Page Six).
  • Hugh Jackman has had basal cell carcinoma (People).

Unclear

  • Custody arrangements for Emily.
  • The official relationship label for Jackman and Foster.
  • Why the Jackman-Furness marriage ended.
  • Whether the 2017 reports of adoption or birth reflect the full story.
  • Exact finalization dates of either divorce.
  • Unnamed-source allegations about Jackman’s conduct.

“Confirmed” means a public record or an on-the-record statement. “Unclear” means the story has no document behind it yet.

What this means: any future headline about this story can be checked against these two lists. If a detail isn’t in the first list, it belongs to the second until a source changes it.

In their own words

“We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Now our journey is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness, joint statement, September 2023 (Page Six)

“Please don’t be foolish like me. Please get yourself checked. Use sunscreen.”

Hugh Jackman, public health update after a basal cell carcinoma treatment (People)

Two voices, one pattern: Jackman speaks when a message is useful — a marriage ending, a health warning. Foster has let court documents and photographs speak for her.

Where the story stands

The record is unusually legible for a celebrity story: a marriage that began in 2014 (Harper’s Bazaar), a daughter born in 2017 (Newsweek), a divorce filing on October 22, 2024 (Harper’s Bazaar), a separation announced in September 2023 (Page Six), a hand-holding photograph on January 6, 2025 (Elle), and a divorce filing from Furness in May 2025 (Page Six). The emotional reasons behind each date remain private — no court document has supplied them, and no statement from the four people involved has filled the gap. For Sutton Foster’s fans, the choice is clear: track the paper trail and the dated photographs, or let tabloid framing write this chapter of her life.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hugh Jackman still married to Deborra-lee Furness?

No. They announced their separation in September 2023 (Page Six), and Furness filed for divorce in May 2025 (Page Six).

How many Tony Awards has Sutton Foster won?

Two — for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes (Harper’s Bazaar).

Who was Sutton Foster’s husband?

Screenwriter Ted Griffin. They married in 2014 (Harper’s Bazaar), and Foster filed for divorce in October 2024 (Harper’s Bazaar).

Does Hugh Jackman have children?

Yes. He and Furness share children, who have not publicly commented on his relationship with Foster (People).

Did Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman appear together in The Music Man?

Yes. They co-starred in the Broadway revival, which ran from December 2021 to January 2023 (Elle).

Was Sutton Foster in Shrek The Musical?

Yes. She originated the role of Princess Fiona in the Broadway production (Harper’s Bazaar).

What this means: the fastest way to update this story is to check for a court filing or a named statement. Everything else is circulating, not confirming.

Related reading

Bottom line: The pattern: both stories track a public record with private reasons behind it.



Henry Noah Smith Walker

About the author

Henry Noah Smith Walker

Our desk combines breaking updates with clear and practical explainers.