Annie Potts and James Hayman.Photo:Annie Potts Instagram
Annie Potts Instagram
Annie Pottsand her husband, James Hayman, have spent decades in Hollywood.
TheYoung Sheldonactress’ lengthy career includes beloved roles asMolly Ringwald’s cool-girl mentor Iona inPretty in Pink,Ghostbusterssecretary Janine — who Potts has also reprised inrecent reboots— and Mary Jo Shively in the sitcomDesigning Women.
Hayman is no stranger to Hollywood either, though the Emmy-nominated director and producer is on the other side of the camera. In fact, Potts and Hayman met on the set of the early 1990s filmBreaking the Rules, where Hayman served as cinematographer, and Potts starred alongsideJason Batemanand C. Thomas Howell.
When she met Hayman, Potts was raising her son, Clay Senechal, whom she shares with ex-husband and director B. Scott Senechal. Ina 2018 interview, Potts said that as a single mother, she knew Hayman was special because of his instant bond with her child.
Potts and Hayman got married in 1990 and have since welcomed two children together and two grandchildren. After more than 30 years of marriage, they keep their relationship largely private except for the occasional heartfelt shout-out on social media and interviews.
So who is Annie Potts’ husband? Here’s everything to know about James Hayman and his relationship with the actress.
He’s a photographer, producer and director
James Hayman on the set of “NCIS: New Orleans'.Skip Bolen/CBS/Getty
Skip Bolen/CBS/Getty
The producer and director first started taking photos at the age of 16 after his uncle gave him a camera, he toldLens Magazinein 2021.
Despite Hayman diving into producing and directing professionally, he still practices street photography, taking his images through a “humanist” lens and interacting with his subjects.
“When I first started taking pictures, I thought the role of the photographer was to be invisible, to document moments unbeknownst to the subject,” Hayman toldNinu Ninain 2021. “But in the past 6 or 7 years, I’ve melded my interest in narrative as a director with my photography practice. I began allowing the moments to become a two-way street: me observing and my subjects responding to me.”
When the publication asked about his greatest influences and inspirations, he listed Picasso, Gordon Parks,Steven Spielbergand “my wife, Annie Potts.”
They met on set
Potts and Hayman met on the set ofBreaking the Rules, an indie film they both worked on in the late 1980s. Potts talked toGlamourin 2022 about their meeting and how she bonded with Hayman over a shared love for the work they were doing.
“It’s all we talked about. He was very inclusive to me about his process and made me interested in the work he was doing,” she said. “I’d always felt people were like, ‘You don’t need to know about that stuff,’ whether it was lighting or the cameras, but I was interested in it. So we meshed over that.”
Although Potts told the outlet that wasn’t looking for a relationship amid a successful career and fulfilling parenthood journey, she decided to give Hayman a chance. The two married in 1990, and have been together for over three decades.
In February 2023, Hayman shared his love for Pottson Instagram, posting a black-and-white photo of himself kissing Potts on the cheek with the caption, “My one & Only, Happy Valentine’s Day Darlin.’ ”
They have two children together
Annie Potts and James Hayman with their kids Harry and Doc.Frank Trapper/Corbis/Getty
Frank Trapper/Corbis/Getty
“Now that they’re proper grown ups, they’re really close. Honestly, their relationships are everything I’d hoped — they love each other, they support each other, they make each other laugh,” Potts said on theReally Famouspodcast in 2019. “The youngest and the oldest are both writers, and they always put their work past their brother first.”
Potts has worked with her son Clay on one of his projects, voicing a character in the animated Netflix movieArlo the Alligator Boy, which he co-wrote. She teased the movie in a birthday post to her son in 2021.
Along with a slideshow of throwback and present-day photos of the two together, Pottscaptioned the postwith the message, “My wonderful son Clay turns 40 today. He is everything I dreamed he would be. ❤️❤️ (PS Watch his movie Arlo the Alligator Boy now streaming on #Netflix! I’m one of the voices… 😍).”
They have worked on multiple movies
Annie Potts and James Hayman attending a party for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ on July 30, 1992 in Los Angeles, California.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Potts and Hayman met on a film set, but they have also worked on several projects together since.
Hayman produced the showDangerous Minds, starring Potts — which was based on the eponymous movie starringMichelle Pfeiffer. After the show ended, Potts told theTampa Bay Timesin late 1997 thatDangerous Mindswas the work she was most proud of, though it lasted just one season.
“I think that you just have to get yourself in the mindset just to enjoy the process of it,” she said. “It’s like life: you can’t think about how long it’s going to last. It’s living every day to the fullest.”
Hayman also directed multiple episodes ofAny Day Now, a Lifetime drama about two childhood best friends and the early-aughts CBS showJoan of Arcadia— both of which featured Potts in significant roles.
They live in Los Angeles
In 2019, Potts and Hayman bought their home in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles from actressKirsten Dunst, according to theLos Angeles Times. The biggest draw for Potts was that the bones of the home reminded her of the couple’s former home in New Orleans, she toldArchitectural Digestin 2023.
Starting in 2014, Potts had been splitting her time between New Orleans — where Hayman was living while filmingNCIS: New Orleans— and a rental property in L.A., where she was filmingYoung Sheldon.
“One of the reasons that our relationship works long distance is that we’re both workaholics,” Potts said on theReally Famouspodcast in 2019.
After five years of back and forth and a few years into herYoung Sheldonrole, Potts decided to put down more permanent roots in L.A. The couple bought and renovated the home in Toluca Lake, and Potts toldReally Famousthat Hayman joined her there afterNCISwrapped in 2021.
“What I love the most about New Orleans is that everybody cooks real good, and most people have got the design thing down,” she toldArchitectural Digestin 2023. “They love to mix the modern with the old and it just rocks. It’s like eye candy.”
They give back to their community
Annie Potts and James Hayman take a selfie.Annie Potts Instagram
Potts and Hayman both use their platforms for good, giving back through multiple different organizations.
Through his photography, Hayman works to benefit the communities and people he photographs. He shot images during the time he spent time in Guatemala assisting with disaster relief for the United Nations in the late ’70s, and more recently used his photographs to shed light on underserved groups in New Orleans. He also donates his time to local nonprofits likePack Essentials.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Potts and Hayman joined another couple to found the now-inactive All Are One Fund, which collected donations of COVID-19 pandemic stimulus money and redistributed it to families in need.
“We’re all in this crazy world together, and people are falling off the cliff right in front of us,” Potts toldThe Washington Postin 2020, discussing why they started the project. “How can you not be moved to respond?”
For this part, Hayman toldThe Overviewmagazine in 2021 that All Are One was the philanthropic project that he is “most proud of.”
source: people.com
