Linda Cardellini, best known for Freaks and Geeks and her Emmy-winning role in DTF St. Louis, is being refreshingly candid about whether she still sees marriage in her future. After spending 13 years engaged to Steven Rodriguez, Cardellini says the couple remains unsure about making their relationship official with a wedding.
Linda Cardellini reveals whether she and Steven Rodriguez plan to finally get married
Already a winner at the 2026 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, the actress discussed her long-term relationship during an exclusive Live From E!: 2026 Emmys interview. “We’ve done all the hard stuff,” Cardellini shared. “We’re doing all the real stuff.”
Cardellini and Rodriguez, who are parents to 14-year-old daughter Lilah-Rose, may not have marriage at the top of their list. Instead, Cardellini joked that a huge celebration could be the one thing still left to tackle. “We have giant families,” she said. “So that’s an enormous party that we’ve been planning for 16 years.”
Their story, meanwhile, began long before the couple became engaged. They knew each other as children after meeting in elementary school, with Cardellini then 11 and Rodriguez 12 1/2. Their relationship took a romantic turn years later, after Rodriguez relocated to Los Angeles.
Looking back in 2015, Cardellini told Into the Gloss, “We had been friends for a long time, and then one day 10 years ago, somebody mentioned to me that he had moved to L.A. to do makeup.” Rodriguez has continued to be part of Cardellini’s professional life as well, doing her makeup for red-carpet events and editorial shoots.
The pair have generally chosen to keep their relationship away from the spotlight. However, Cardellini has openly described the significance of having Rodriguez in her life. “I was never a party person who had tons of friends. I have a lot of close friends and I keep them for a long time,” she told The Cut in 2019. “My other half, he’s one of them.”
