Who Is Donald Sutherland's Wife? All About Francine Racette

Donald Sutherland and his wife Francine Racette got married in 1972

Donald Sutherland had been married to his wife for over 50 years before his death on June 20, 2024.

The Hunger Games star died in Miami at 88 years old after a long illness, his rep confirmed to PEOPLE. The actor was survived by his wife, Francine Racette, and his five children: Kiefer, Rachel, Roeg, Rossif and Angus.

Sutherland and Racette met while working on 1974 Western Alien Thunder together, and the two wed in 1972. Sutherland had been previously married two times, welcoming two of his children, Kiefer and Rachel, with his ex-wife, Shirley Douglas.

Related: Donald Sutherland's 5 Children: All About His Sons and Daughter

“She’s an extraordinary human,” he told The Guardian of Racette in March 2008. “I think it's like Joanne Woodward said, ‘Beauty goes and sex goes but my husband makes me laugh every single day.’ And so does my wife. We laugh all the time.”

So who is Donald Sutherland’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Francine Racette and her relationship with the late actor.

She grew up in Canada

Racette was born in Quebec and grew up in Canada. French is her first language and she has mainly starred in French-spoken films after graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1966.

She is an actress

Like her husband, Racette is also an actor, having starred in a number of productions such as Au revoir les enfants, Lumière and The Disappearance. In 1977, she was nominated for a César award for best supporting actress for her work in Lumière.

“She was courted by intellectuals,” Sutherland told The Guardian of his wife’s career. “[Playwright] Jean-Paul Sartre? She was his actress. She was [director] Frédéric Rossif's muse.”

They got married in 1972

Sutherland split from his second wife, Shirley Douglas, in 1970. He had a relationship with actress Jane Fonda from then to 1972, until meeting Racette on the set of Alien Thunder.

The couple got married in 1972.

They welcomed three children together

Before he married Racette, Sutherland was already a father to twins Kiefer and Rachel with Douglas, who were born in 1966. Two years after he and Racette tied the knot, they welcomed their first son together, Roeg, on Feb. 5, 1974. Sutherland and Racette then had two more sons together: Rossif, born on Sept. 25, 1978, and Angus born on Sept. 3, 1982.

Sutherland and Racette named each of their children after famous directors they revered.

"I love filmmakers, I really do," Sutherland said at the 2019 Lumière Film Festival, per Variety. "They are part of my life, and I named my four sons after directors I worked with."

All of Sutherland’s children ultimately worked in film and television, with Kiefer and Rossif following in his footsteps as actors and the rest working behind the scenes. Rachel is a production manager, while Roeg works for talent and sports agency Creative Artists Agency in the company's Media Finance division. Sutherland’s youngest, Angus, works behind the camera as well.

Sutherland said no matter where he lives, he is with his wife

Though Sutherland’s job took him around the world for filming and promotion, his priority was always to live with his wife, he told GQ in November 2014.

“When people ask me where I live, I say, ‘I live with my wife,’ ” he said. “I don’t know whether I live in Paris, New York, or Miami. I live with my wife.”

He added that he makes that distinction because his wife is his main inspiration and guide.

“My inspiration, my judgment, it comes from my wife,” Sutherland said. “She has ... truth. And it’s humbling. And so it’s necessary that whatever ertions I make meet with her ... not necessarily her approval, but at least her acceptance.”

Racette occasionally advised him in his career

While starring in the U.S. adaptation of the play Enigma Variations in 1999, Sutherland told the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t listen to his wife about adapting a play before, and he didn’t plan on making the same mistake twice.

He said a few years before Enigma, a friend of Racette’s in Paris tried to cast him in a new play that was being prepared for translation, but he refused — and the play ended up being a great success.

“I went and looked at it and said, ‘There’s no way this play is going to run,’ and I said, ‘What is the title again?’ ” he told LA Times in 1999. “They said, La Cage aux Folles. I said, ‘It will never work in the United States.’ So, I decided to go with my wife’s opinion this time.”

A few years later, when Racette suggested he take the lead role in Enigma Variations and acquire English translation rights, he agreed.

She was by his side when he found out he was receiving an honorary Academy Award

When Sutherland found out he was going to be bestowed with an honorary Academy Award in 2018, he was eating a bowl of spaghetti while in Rome with Racette.

While on the red carpet for the Oscars, Sutherland told Ryan Seacrest that when he got the call, he didn’t recognize the number and at first gave a brusque “Hello” when he picked up. When he realized it was the president of the Academy and that he was being honored, he was shocked.

“We hung up and we sat there and then we didn’t say anything,” he said. “My wife turned to me and she said, ‘We’re going to have to lose weight.’ ”

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