Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving divorced after 3 years, 9 months of marriage. The settlement was reportedly about $100M. See the full timeline.
Figures are reported estimates. Last updated Oct 2026.
Their prenup, written on a napkin, was thrown out by the judge.
Steven Spielberg, the director of Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T., and Amy Irving, an actress known for Carrie and Yentl, began a relationship in the early 1980s and married on 27 November 1985. Irving, who came from a theatrical family, was a respected actress in her own right, and she earned an Academy Award nomination for Yentl. The couple had one son, Max, born in 1985. Spielberg was at that point already one of the most commercially successful film-makers in history.
Spielberg's fortune came from directing and producing some of the highest-grossing films in the world. Jaws (1975) created the summer blockbuster, and the Indiana Jones series, E.T. and Jurassic Park followed. He took significant profit participation in his films, which meant that his earnings rose as the box-office totals grew. In 1994 he co-founded the film studio DreamWorks with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The marriage to Irving took place early in this rise, with the biggest earnings still to come.
The couple married in 1985, and the marriage was short, ending with a separation in 1988 and a divorce finalized in 1989, after about four years. Spielberg later married the actress Kate Capshaw in 1991, whom he had met on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the two have raised a large family. Irving has acted in film and theater and had a later marriage to the Brazilian director Bruno Barreto.
The settlement was reported at about $100 million, which was among the largest of its time. It was said to include half of Spielberg's wealth at that point and was agreed in 1989, shortly after the divorce was filed. The terms were confidential, and the figure is based on press reports. A story that the original prenuptial agreement had been written on a napkin was widely repeated, but it proved to be unenforceable in the California court.
Spielberg's team reportedly believed that an informal prenuptial agreement, written on a piece of paper at the time of the wedding, would limit Irving's claim. A California judge disagreed and found that the agreement was not valid, so community property rules applied and the marital estate was divided in half. The estimated value of Spielberg's holdings and expected income, including future film profits, made the sum extremely large for a marriage that had lasted only four years.
The divorce did not slow Spielberg's career. He directed Schindler's List and Jurassic Park in 1993 and won his first Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for the former. His wealth grew considerably in the years that followed, and he later became a billionaire. The case is often credited with encouraging more careful drafting of prenuptial agreements in Hollywood, as a result of the failure of the napkin agreement.
The Spielberg case belongs to the group of high-value Hollywood divorces that includes those of Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. What sets it apart is its brevity: roughly $100 million in four years of marriage is among the highest rates of any case on this list. It also stands out as a cautionary tale about informal prenuptial agreements, which courts are often reluctant to enforce.
Spielberg and Irving's son Max became a film-maker and writer. The story of the napkin prenup became so well known that it was repeated in many commentaries on divorce law. The couple met when Irving was cast in Spielberg's circle, and the relationship began while she was working in Hollywood. The reported $100 million sum is an estimate, and it should be noted that some sources give lower figures.
Amy Irving's reported settlement was about $100 million.
They married in 1985 and divorced in 1989, a marriage of roughly 4 years.
No prenuptial agreement was reported.
Yes, the family is reported to include 1 children.
Reported assets include: Real estate, film royalties, Amblin Entertainment stake.
Spielberg's team reportedly believed that an informal prenuptial agreement, written on a piece of paper at the time of the wedding, would limit Irving's claim. A California judge disagreed and found that the agreement was not valid, so community property rules applied and the marital estate was divided in half.