Bruce Springsteen’s Wife: Bruce Springsteen has been supported by his wife Patti Scialfa throughout his long career.
At a neighbourhood pub in the early 1980s, the couple struck up a friendship right away. Scialfa, who is also a musician, later sang as a backing vocalist for the music legend and the E Street Band on their Born in the U.S.A. Tour in 1984.
Although the two musicians clicked on stage, their romance did not blossom until 1988, when the singer of “Dancing in the Dark” divorced his first wife Julianne Phillips.
They immediately fell in love after that and wed in 1991. Since then, they have been a couple and had three children together. Springsteen and Scialfa have continued to collaborate on stage, and they have had a lot of wonderful memories together.
So, who is the spouse of Bruce Springsteen? Here is everything you need to know about Patti Scialfa, from her relationship with the legendary musician to her solo music career.
Bruce Springsteen’ Philadelphia Concerts Rescheduled Due to Health Concerns
Who is Bruce Springsteen’s Wife?
Scialfa was born and reared in New Jersey, just like her husband. As Springsteen revealed at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards, Scialfa was born in Deal, Monmouth County, and she had Sicilian ancestry through her father and Northern Irish lineage through her mother.
Scialfa credits her maternal grandpa with teaching her music in an interview with New Jersey Monthly. She revealed that whenever her grandparents watched the children, they would jam out on the piano.
“As he worked on the melodies while composing, he would ask, “Which ending do you like—this one? When the notes are placed here, or this one?’ she recalled. He truly cared about what I had to say. That was particularly impactful to me since it was the time when kids were expected to be seen but not heard.
Their First Meeting
Scialfa and Springsteen frequented the same social circles when they were younger because they grew up close to one another and were only four years apart in age, according to what she told New Jersey Monthly. Scialfa had heard about Springsteen before their first official meeting since he was recognised as the “fastest guitar player.”
The Stone Pony, a pub and music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is where the two initially connected in the early 1980s. Scialfa frequently performed there with a friend’s band. She was approached by Springsteen, who complimented her vocals, and the two quickly grew close.
“It was the start of a lovely friendship. We sat at a table, shared a beer, and spoke. Following that, I started going down every Sunday to sing, and occasionally he would join me. He would offer to drop me off to my mother’s because he knew I lived in New York and didn’t have a car, the woman added.
Bruce Springsteen’s Wife: Patti Scialfa’s Education
Her professors described her as “very quiet” and “intelligent” at Asbury Park High School, and after she graduated, she enrolled in the jazz programme at the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami. After three years of training jazz singing, she relocated to New York City.
Scialfa proceeded to New York University, where she completed her undergraduate studies at the Gallatin School of Individualised Study, earning her degree in 1975.
Wedding
Julianne Phillips, Bruce Springsteen’s first wife, filed for divorce in August 1988, and it was finalised in 1989. Following Phillips and Springsteen’s divorce, Scialfa and he started living together in New Jersey before moving to New York City and Los Angeles. According to her high school art teacher, Curtis K. Smith, “Patti’s been in love with Bruce for as long as I can remember,” he told PEOPLE in 1988.
Scialfa and Springsteen were wed in 1991 at their Beverly Hills, California, residence. Scialfa frequently shares content on social media to commemorate their wedding anniversaries; for their 31st wedding anniversary in June 2022, she posted a picture of the couple riding horses.
Their Children
Three adult children between Scialfa and Springsteen. Their daughter, Jessica Rae, was born in 1991, and their first child, Evan James, was born in 1990. In 1994, they welcomed Samuel Ryan, their youngest son.
Jessica is an Olympic equestrian, and Evan, who is a musician as well, has frequently performed with his father on stage. In 2020, Sam started working as a firefighter in Jersey City, New Jersey. Both Scialfa and Springsteen have been active parents, spending time with their kids while playing the guitar, writing music, and preparing breakfast.
When their son Sam gave birth to his first child in 2022, Scialfa and Springsteen became grandparents for the first time. The pleased grandmother wrote, “walking the baby,” beside a photo of Sam with his partner and their daughter. Springsteen, Lily Harper.
Bruce Springsteen’s Unspecified Illness: Postponement of Two Philadelphia Dates
Bruce Springsteen’s Wife Mental Support
Springsteen revealed in 2016 that he had started experiencing depressive episodes in his 60s. It approaches silently. In an interview with Sunday Morning, he said, “I got to the point where I didn’t want to get out of bed, you know?
Scialfa was credited as being his primary support system throughout his depressive episodes: “You’re not acting properly at home and you’re hard on everyone. I hope not the children. To keep it from the children, I constantly try. But Patti really had to help me through it, you know. It was crucial that she had courage and love.
She is an E Street Band member.
Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984, and Springsteen has performed with them since 1972. She played guitar, tambourine, and sang backing vocals as the sole female band member at the time.
She told PEOPLE in 1988, “I didn’t know when we started rehearsing that he was going to give me a lot to do. It developed gradually over the rehearsal process. Bruce encouraged me to reach as he coaxed me. He was incredibly patient and eager to share his knowledge. He was quite confident in me.
However, the couple is able to maintain a separation between their personal and professional lives. In 2017, Springsteen stated to Variety, “When she comes on stage with the E Street Band, she’s an E Street band member, and when we walk off stage, we’re husband and wife.”
Musical Carrer
Scialfa has a solo music career in addition to her membership with the E Street Band. She released her second album, 23rd Street Lullaby, in 2004, and her first solo album, Rumble Doll, in 1993. Play It as It Lays, her third album, was released in 2007.
On her debut solo tour, her husband made an appearance as a special guest. In 2007, Springsteen and his wife sang a duet of her song “Town Called Heartbreak” as part of his “Magic Tour” performance. According to Billboard, Scialfa also gave a performance at the closing event of the “Vote for Change” tour in 2004.
She appeared in a movie with her husband
While Springsteen and Scialfa are well recognised for their music, they both appeared as themselves in the 2020 film Broken Poet.
The movie, which is based on a short story penned by singer-songwriter and author Elliott Murphy, is about a rock artist who is thought to have passed away but subsequently resurfaces in Paris, according to Rolling Stone.
