Stephen King and Tabitha King at the The 54th Annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner.Photo:Robin Platzer/FilmMagic
Robin Platzer/FilmMagic
He might be known as one of the world’smost notable horror writers, butStephen Kingisn’t the only author in the family — his wife,Tabitha King, is an accomplished writer and philanthropist, too.
The couple met in college, married in 1971 and have split their time between their home state of Maine and Florida. They have three adult children they raised in Bangor, Maine, the city that inspired the fictional Derry, Maine, the setting for Stephen’s novelIt.
Stephen credits Tabitha with making big contributions to his career: In the early years, she worked a second shift to help support their young family, freeing up the fledgling horror novelist with time to write, and she still reads all of his drafts and offers him feedback. He reciprocates, and they do the same for their kids’ writing.
“There’s a long-running joke that I married Tabitha because we were poor, and she came with a typewriter,” he toldBon Appétitin 2013. “But it’s really because of the fish that she cooked for me.”
After all this time, they’re still going strong. “A couple of kids got married 48 years ago today,” hetweetedon their anniversary in 2019. “So far it’s worked out pretty well. Still in love.”
Here’s everything to know about Stephen King and Tabitha King’s marriage.
They met in college
Tabitha and Stephen King arrive at the premiere of the motion picture adaption of ‘The Green Mile’ in 1999.Robin Platzer/Getty
Robin Platzer/Getty
Stephen and Tabitha were students at the University of Maine when they met. He was known on campus as a columnist for the student newspaper, and they both worked at the library, according toStephen’s website.
They married on Jan. 2, 1971, and in the fall of that year, he began work as an English teacher, and she worked a second shift at Dunkin’ Donuts so that he would have evenings to write.
Stephen and Tabitha have three children
The Kings have three children: Naomi, Joe and Owen. Their oldest, Naomi King, was born on June 1, 1970. They are an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and a yoga teacher, according totheir website.
Stephen and Tabitha’s second child,Joseph Hillström King, was born on June 4, 1972. He took on the pen name Joe Hill, abbreviating his middle name, so that he wouldn’t carry the association of his famous father or benefit from nepotism.
“I was very insecure, and I didn’t want to sell something because someone saw it as a way to make a quick buck and then have it come out and someone would say it was terrible,” he toldTheNew York Timesin 2013.
The couple’s youngest, Owen Philip King, was born on Feb. 21, 1977. He’s also an acclaimed writer, best known forWe’re All in This TogetherandSleeping Beauties,which he co-authored with his father.
They’re both accomplished authors
Stephen King and Tabitha King attend 17th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards in 1996.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Tabitha has published eight novels, includingSmall WorldandPearl.
“I knewshe could write poetry,” Stephen told PEOPLE ofSmall Worldin 1981. “But I never guessed she could write such a good novel right out of the box.” Her first book advance was high for a first-time author: $165,000 in 1981 (about $578,000 in 2023). Tabitha readily admitted that she benefited from the association with her already-famous husband.
“I put 10 years into helping his career,” she told PEOPLE. “So if his name helps me with mine, I think it’s legitimate.”
They raised a literary family
Stephen King, Tabitha King, and Owen King, at the Shakespeare library reading room.Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty
Stephen and Tabitha always emphasized reading in their home — he even had his kids recite books on tape so he could listen to them in the car — and they would take turns reading aloud after dinner. It fostered a passion for writing in their sons.
“I can remember being 8, and eventually everything had to stop so he could write for two hours,” Owen toldTheNew York Timesof growing up with Joe. Owen eventually went to graduate school for writing.
Stephen said Tabitha once “threatened to divorce” him for playing ‘Mambo No. 5’ too often
In a September 2023 interview withRolling Stone, Stephen recalled a time when his love of Lou Bega’s 1999 hit “Mambo No. 5” almost ended his marriage to Tabitha.
“My wife threatened to divorce me. I played that a lot,” he said of the song, before adding, “I had the dance mix. I loved those extended play things and I played both sides of it. And one of them was just total instrumental."
He continued, “And I played that thing until my wife just said, ‘One more time, and I’m going to f—— leave you.' ”
They founded a charitable organization
In 1986, the couple founded the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, a nonprofit that supports community projects in their home state. According tothe STK Foundation’s website, “The Foundation has a special interest in organizations and people who have less recourse to usual channels of resources, focusing on community-based initiatives in the State of Maine only.”
The foundation is based in their one-time Bangor residence, a dark red home with a wrought-iron gate decorated with bats and spiderwebs. The house also holdsStephen’s writing archives, and a guest house on the property functions as a retreat for working writers.
They help elevate aspiring authors
Stephen King, wife Tabitha and son Owen attend an event that is a part of the Foundation’s Writers in Schools Program, at the Library of Congress in 2008.Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press / Alamy
Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press / Alamy
In 2021, their foundationdonated $6,500 to an elementary schoolafter he noticed the faculty were running a Kickstarter campaign to get their students’ work published. In 2022, when a fledgling author named Chelsea Banningtweetedthat she was disappointed when only two people came to her book signing, Stephen responded with his ownbook signing horror story.
They’ve both been recognized for their work
In addition to winning the National Book Award Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and theLos Angeles TimesBook Prize, Stephen has won Hugo, Edgar and Bram Stoker awards, among others.
Tabitha has been decorated for her work as well. In 1987, both Stephen and Tabitha were awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Maine.
In addition to the family foundation, Tabitha has devoted significant time to charitable causes, including those promoting literacy. She’s been on the board of an adolescent homeless shelter in Bangor, the Maine Public Broadcasting, the Bangor Public Library, the University of Maine Press and the Maine Humanities Council. In 1998, she won the first annual Constance H. Carlson Prize, awarded for her contributions to public humanities.
In one instance, though, Tabitha wasn’t properly recognized for a donation — and she and Stephen werevocal about their disappointment. The couple donated $1.25 million to a local historical society, and the headlines from the ensuing press coverage referred to them as “Stephen King and his wife.”
He went on totweether response. “Wife is a relationship or status. It is not an identity,”she wrote. “You might consider the unconscious condescension in your style book, and give women their names.”
source: people.com
