Linda Cardellini’s – Linda Cardellini, who turned 51 on June 25, has kept her relationship private for years with her fiancé, Steven Rodriguez. They’ve been engaged since June 2013 and share one daughter, Lilah-Rose, born February 29, 2012 after an emergency C-section. Cardellini
Linda Cardellini doesn’t talk much about her private life, but when she does, the details land hard.
On June 25, the actress turned 51—while quietly continuing the pattern she’s kept for years: show up for audiences, keep the personal pieces close. For more than a decade, she’s been engaged to Steven Rodriguez, and the two of them share one daughter, Lilah-Rose.
Rodriguez isn’t a famous name people recognize at a glance. He works in Hollywood behind the camera. as a make-up artist—and. in fact. he’s Linda’s regular make-up artist. Cardellini said she first reconnected with him after he moved to Los Angeles to do makeup. “We had been friends for a long time. and then one day 10 years ago. somebody mentioned to me that he had moved to LA to do makeup. ” she recalled. She described running into him and asking, “Do my makeup!. It’ll be really fun for both of us!”.
She also spoke about his approach to beauty. “He has a philosophy, which is that most people go out of their way to cover their flaws. They concentrate on what they don’t like about themselves and they forget to concentrate on the things that make them look the most beautiful and unique. He takes what’s there and accentuates it.”.
Before he became her fiancé, he was part of her past. Cardellini said she first met Rodriguez when they were in elementary school—he was the new kid at her school and, to her, a childhood crush. “He could do amazing bike tricks and I was impressed. Not afraid to say it.”
The relationship had to wait. When Rodriguez moved to LA, they reconnected, and Cardellini said it quickly became clear they weren’t just friends anymore. “It didn’t take long to figure out we were amazing friends and we could probably be great partners,” she said.
Their story turns from romance to survival with their daughter.
In 2011, Cardellini and Rodriguez announced they were expecting their first child together. Their daughter, Lilah-Rose, was born on February 29, 2012—Leap Day. But Cardellini has said the birth itself was far more complicated than anyone could have guessed. She described Lilah-Rose arriving with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, which led to an emergency C-section. “It was a very traumatic period,” she told People.
She didn’t soften the memory. “I had a really scary pregnancy and a very difficult delivery. My daughter and I are lucky to be alive,” she continued. She also said she had to go on medication and that her weight fluctuated “up and down in a really erratic way. ” adding. “It was hard to get a handle on it.”.
Those early details came with another milestone soon after. Just over a year later, in June 2013, Cardellini confirmed during an appearance on The View that Rodriguez had proposed.
She said they were sitting together after watching Lucky Guy. the play—where her friend Maura Tierney was in the production. Cardellini described a dinner moment that shifted the room: “We were sitting after we watched Lucky Guy. the play – my friend Maura Tierney’s in it.” Then she explained how the proposal unfolded. “We’re all sitting there having dinner – my baby, he brought my baby out. And we’re all sitting there and he started getting choked up and he got down on his knee. and it was very beautiful.”.
They’ve kept much of their day-to-day life out of the spotlight since then. Cardellini and Rodriguez don’t share photos of each other on social media, and their appearances together on the red carpet have been limited. Their most recent red carpet appearance as a couple was in 2013.
For years, that privacy has been part of the way her public life feels complete. In between roles—most recently the show DTF St. Louis—her relationship has remained steady but mostly unseen. And through the few moments she’s chosen to share. the emotional weight is clear: a childhood crush turned partner. an engagement sealed in family and nerves. and a birth she has described as “very traumatic. ” ending with her daughter—alive. and arriving on a date that only returns once every four years.
Linda Cardellini Steven Rodriguez Lilah-Rose emergency C-section engagement DTF St. Louis The View Lucky Guy