Meg Ryan
Who was the spouse of Dennis Quaid from 1991 to 2001?
Dennis Quaid Early life . Dennis William Quaid was born in Houston , Texas , the son of Juanita B . Nita Quaid , a real estate agent , and William Rudy Quaid , an electrician . Quaid has English , Irish , Scots-Irish , and Cajun ( French ) ancestry . He attended Paul W . Horn Elementary School in Bellaire , and Pershing Middle School in Houston . He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire , Texas , and later in college , at the University of Houston , under drama coach Cecil Pickett , who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett . He was raised in the Baptist faith . He is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid . Career . Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career . He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away ( 1979 ) and earned good reviews for his role as astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff ( 1983 ) . Known for his grin , Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles . Quaid had starring roles in the films The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia ( 1981 ) , Jaws 3-D ( 1983 ) , Dreamscape ( 1984 ) , Enemy Mine ( 1985 ) , Innerspace ( 1987 ) and The Big Easy ( 1987 ) . He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire ! ( 1989 ) . In 1989 , he also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song Thing Called Love . Quaids career lost steam in the early 1990s , after he fought anorexia nervosa brought on when he lost 40 pounds to play the tuberculosis-afflicted Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp and recovered from a cocaine addiction . He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films , however . Quaid was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight ( 1997 ) . He starred in the lead role in the 1996 adventure film Dragonheart , the remake of The Parent Trap ( 1998 ) , playing the part of the twins father , and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stones Any Given Sunday ( 1999 ) . In 1998 , he made his debut as a film director with Everything That Rises a television movie western in which he also starred . Some of Quaids film credits include Frequency ( 2000 ) , The Rookie ( 2002 ) , Far from Heaven ( 2002 ) , Cold Creek Manor ( 2003 ) , Flight of the Phoenix ( 2004 ) , The Alamo ( 2004 ) , In Good Company ( 2004 ) , The Day After Tomorrow ( 2004 ) , Yours , Mine and Ours ( 2005 ) , Vantage Point ( 2008 ) , ( 2009 ) , and Pandorum ( 2009 ) . In 2009 , Quaid guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants , playing Mr . Krabs grandfather , Captain Redbeard . He portrayed U.S . President Bill Clinton , alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton , in the 2010 film The Special Relationship . In 2012 and 2013 , Quaid played Sheriff Ralph Lamb in the CBS TV drama series Vegas . In 2017 , he starred in A Dogs Purpose as Ethan Montgomery , billed as a celebration of the special connection between humans and their dogs . In 2018 , Quaid starred in I Can Only Imagine , where he played Arthur Millard , the father of singer and songwriter Bart Millard , and Kin , where he plays Hal , the father of the films two protagonists . In March 2018 , it was confirmed by director Sean McNamara that Quaid would portray President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic , titled Reagan , this would be the second time Quaid portrayed a U.S . president . The film was slated to have a summer 2019 release , however it is still in pre-production and was scheduled to begin filming in May 2020 , but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Personal life . Relationships and children . Quaid has been married four times and has three children . Quaid and his first wife , actress P . J . Soles , were married on November 25 , 1978 . The couple divorced in 1983 . On February 14 , 1991 , Quaid married actress Meg Ryan . Quaid and Ryan fell in love during the shooting of their second film together , D.O.A . Quaid and Ryan have a son , Jack Henry Quaid ( born April 24 , 1992 ) . Quaid and Ryan announced their separation on June 28 , 2000 , saying they had been separated six weeks by then . Their divorce was finalized July 16 , 2001 . Quaid dated model Shanna Moakler from February 2001 to October 2001 . Quaid married Texas real-estate agent Kimberly Buffington , on July 4 , 2004 , at his ranch in Paradise Valley , Montana . They have fraternal twins who were born via a surrogate on November 8 , 2007 , in Santa Monica , California . On November 18 , 2007 , hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaids ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin ( a blood thinner ) that was 1,000 times the common dosage for infants . The babies recovered , but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer , Baxter Healthcare , claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough . In May 2008 , the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , asking U.S . Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law . This incident led Quaid to become a patient-safety advocate , producing a series of documentaries on preventable medical errors that aired on the Discovery Channel as well as co-authoring a medical journal article addressing the positive influence of patient stories in motivating change in healthcare . The first documentary , , aired on the Discovery Channel in 2010 , and the second documentary , Surfing the Healthcare Tsunami : Bring Your Best Board , aired on the Discovery Channel in 2012 . Buffington filed for divorce from Quaid in March 2012 . Buffingtons attorney then withdrew the divorce papers on April 26 , 2012 . In the summer of 2012 , Quaid and Buffington moved to California . In October 2012 , Quaid and Buffington again decided to separate , and Buffington filed for legal separation , seeking joint legal and sole physical custody of the twins . After waiting to establish the required six months of residency in California , Quaid filed for divorce on November 30 , 2012 , asking for joint legal and physical custody of the children and offering to pay spousal support to Buffington . They then reconciled and the divorce was dismissed by September 2013 . On June 28 , 2016 , the couple announced in a joint statement that they were divorcing , with Kimberly asking for full physical custody and joint legal custody . The divorce was finalized on April 27 , 2018 . Following his separation from Buffington , Quaid dated model Santa Auzina from July 2016 to 2019 . On October 21 , 2019 , Quaid confirmed his engagement to Laura Savoie . They were scheduled to marry on April 4 , 2020 , but that date was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic . They were married on June 2 , 2020 , in Santa Barbara . Religion . Quaid is a Christian , writing the Christian song On My Way to Heaven dedicated to his mother and included in the film I Can Only Imagine , in which he starred . Interests . In addition to acting , Quaid is a musician and plays with his band , the Sharks . He wrote and performed the song Closer to You in the film The Big Easy ( 1987 ) . Quaid also had a pilots license and owned a Cessna Citation . He is also a one-handicap golfer , and in 2005 , he was named as the top golfer among the Hollywood set by Golf Digest magazine . Quaid is a fan of the Houston Astros , and after the teams 2005 National League Championship-winning season , he narrated their commemorative DVD release . After the filming of , Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Daviss jersey . Quaid began podcasting during 2020 . He started The Pet Show with Dennis Quaid and Jimmy Jellinek . Its first episode premiered on July 10 , 2020 . During that podcast , he learned of a cat in Lynchburg , Virginia also named Dennis Quaid . He adopted the cat and flew it out to California to live at his recording studio . Substance use . There have been extensive stories about Quaids past abuse of cocaine . In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show , after King asked about his motives for using drugs , Quaid responded , Well , you got to put it in context . Back in the late 1960s , early 1970s . That was back during the time where , you know , drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything . We were really getting high , we didnt know it . And cocaine at that time was considered harmless . You know . I remember magazine articles in People Magazine of doctors saying it is not addicting . It is just—alcohol is worse . So I think we all fell into that . But thats not the way it was . When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drugs , he responded , It was a gradual thing . But it got to the point where I couldnt have any fun unless I had it . Which is a bad place to be . Later in the interview he said , But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didnt stop . Political views . In a 2018 interview with The New York Post , Quaid stated he was a registered independent and has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates , saying that he did not consider himself an adherent to any particular ideology ; though he did opine that Ronald Reagan was his favorite U.S . president of his lifetime . In April 2020 , during the COVID-19 pandemic , Quaid stated that President Donald Trump was handling the pandemic well , calling him involved . He subsequently recorded an interview with infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci as part of an advertising campaign by the Department of Health and Human Services to defeat despair surrounding COVID-19 . Quaid later denied the ad was political in nature . Philanthropy . Quaid lent his name to the annual Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend ( formerly the Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic ) , held in Austin from 2002 until 2007 . The golf tournament attracted numerous celebrities with the proceeds split among local childrens charities . Quaid worked with the International Hospital for Children in New Orleans . He made several trips to Central America in the nineties to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the U.S . for treatment they cannot get locally . Filmography . Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid . Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid is a series of short films focused on public-interest topics that is hosted by Dennis Quaid . Since 2012 it has been airing through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other outlets . Accolades . For his role in Far from Heaven ( 2002 ) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor , the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor , the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male . He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards , the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards . Quaid was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater , the University of Houston , in April 2012 . Further reading . - Author describes Quaids participation in the film Great Balls of Fire . External links . - Dennis Quaid at Emmys.com - Interview with Dennis Quaid at Everybodys All American press junket at Texas Archive of the Moving Image