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Julie Cypher
Cypher in 2011
Born (1964-08-24) August 24, 1964 (age 59)
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation
  • Film director
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 1990)​
Matthew Hale
​
(m. 2004)​
Partner(s)Melissa Etheridge
(c. 1990; sep. 2000)
Children2

Julie Cypher (born August 24, 1964) is an American film director best known for being the former partner of musician Melissa Etheridge and former spouse of Lou Diamond Phillips.

Biography

Cypher was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Dick and Betty (née Jackson) Cypher, and has an older sister named Melanie. She attended the University of Texas at Austin studying television and film.[1]

She married actor Lou Diamond Phillips on September 17, 1987. Two years later, she met Etheridge while assisting on the music video for the single "Bring Me Some Water", and split with Phillips in 1990 to start a relationship with Melissa Etheridge. Cypher directed the 1995 film Teresa's Tattoo, starring Phillips, C. Thomas Howell, and Kiefer Sutherland.[citation needed]

Personal life

After originally spending roughly three years in a marriage with Lou Diamond Phillips, Cypher was a gay rights advocate, and became famous for being one half of one of the first publicly lesbian celebrity couples.[2] In 1995 she and Melissa Etheridge appeared in a "We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" poster campaign for PETA.[3]

During her partnership with Etheridge, Cypher gave birth to two children via artificial insemination: a daughter, Bailey Jean, born in February 1997, and a son, Beckett, born November 1998. Although initially reluctant to discuss it, the couple eventually revealed that the biological father of both children was musician David Crosby. In a 1999 therapy session, Cypher told Etheridge that she (Cypher) was "not gay", and the couple split in September 2000.[4][5][6] Cypher went on to marry Matthew Hale in 2004.[7]

On May 13, 2020, Etheridge announced via Twitter that their son, Beckett, died at age 21.[8]

References

  1. ^ Dunn, Jancee. "Melissa Etheridge's Secret The name of the father and the making of a new American family". No. February 3, 2000. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "We're a Family and We Have Rights". Newsweek. November 4, 1996. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  3. ^ Ian, Janis (April 18, 1995), "My old flame", The Advocate, p. 69
  4. ^ "A Pop Singer's Search for Domestic Harmony". Los Angeles Times. June 20, 2001. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  5. ^ "Profiles of Melissa Etheridge, Margaret Cho". CNN People in the News. CNN. May 24, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2014. Season and episode numbers unknown.
  6. ^ "Melissa Etheridge Engaged". Rolling Stone. April 16, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  7. ^ "Famous Hookups - Julie Cypher". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (May 14, 2020). "Melissa Etheridge's son, Beckett Cypher, dies at 21". CNN. Retrieved May 14, 2020.

External links

Melissa Etheridge
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