Jesse Eisenberg met his wife Anna Strout in 2001, and it wasn’t in some cliché Hollywood way at a red carpet event or a high-profile party. Their story began on the set of The Emperor’s Club, where Eisenberg, just 18 at the time, played a student named Louis Masoudi, while Strout was working as an assistant to producer Lisa Bruce.
It was the kind of meeting that didn’t scream “forever” at first glance, but something clicked. They started dating, and for over a decade, she remained the only person Jesse Eisenberg had ever been romantically linked with. He once mentioned in an interview with Seventeen that he found people who dedicated their lives to helping others the most interesting—a clear nod to Strout, whose life was deeply intertwined with philanthropy and activism.
Who Is Jesse Eisenberg’s Wife, Anna Strout? Do They Have Kids?
Born on May 13, 1983, Anna Strout grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, as the only child of Toby Susan Strout and Robert “Bob” Arnove. Her mother was a relentless activist and the executive director of Middle Way House, an organization supporting survivors of domestic violence, s**ual assault, and human trafficking for over 30 years. Strout spent her childhood marching at protests, attending community meetings, and learning firsthand the power of advocacy. When her mother passed away in 2017, the city honored her legacy by naming a street in downtown Bloomington after her—a tribute that Anna herself described as a reminder to take action, not just remember.
Anna Strout and Jesse Eisenberg were together until 2012 when they parted ways for a few years. During this time, Eisenberg briefly dated his The Double co-star Mia Wasikowska from 2013 to 2015. However, fate had other plans. Eisenberg and Strout found their way back to each other in 2015, and in 2016, they were spotted courtside at a basketball game, signaling their official reunion. Later that year, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. Their son, Banner, was born in early 2017, and they tied the knot the same year.
Unlike many celebrity couples, Strout and Eisenberg keep their personal lives intensely private. Strout doesn’t have public social media accounts, and Eisenberg rarely discusses his family in interviews. However, when he does, he’s unreserved in his admiration for his wife. In a 2023 interview on Today, he openly said, “I married an amazing woman. I’m praying just be like her, just be like her, please just be everything like her.”
Jesse Eisenberg is taking his talents behind the camera for his latest role as the director of the new movie “When You Finish Saving the World.”
He also talks about not having New Year’s resolutions and fatherhood. pic.twitter.com/NYI01TSHUu
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 19, 2023
Jesse Eisenberg joked that he was relieved when Banner took after his wife instead of him. Fatherhood changed the actor in more ways than one, pulling him away from his self-described “neurotic tendencies” and grounding him in a new reality—caring for another human being.
Over the years, Eisenberg and Strout have remained deeply involved in philanthropic work, particularly with Middle Way House. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple packed up their lives in Los Angeles and drove cross-country in an RV to Indiana, where they spent months volunteering at the shelter. Jesse Eisenberg painted walls, cleaned, and helped coordinate donations, all while raising funds in unconventional ways—including a community project that sold 400 ferns to benefit the shelter.
Strout, though not a public figure like her husband, has an impressive career of her own. Before The Emperor’s Club, she worked as a set production assistant on Don’t Say a Word (2001) and later as an assistant business manager on Digital_Man/Digital_World in 2011. More recently, she’s been active in nonprofit work, teaching at a New York City organization and serving as the director of special projects and events for Urban Arts Partnership. She’s also a producer for Voices of a People’s History, a nonprofit co-founded by her brother, Anthony Arnove, which brings historical activist movements to life through live performances and education programs.
Jesse Eisenberg and his wife Anna Strout’s life isn’t confined to one place. They split their time between New York City and Bloomington, Indiana. While Strout works in education and nonprofit sectors in New York, Eisenberg continues to balance acting, writing, and directing. Their son, Banner, has already seen much of the world, thanks to his parents’ professions and their love for travel. During the pandemic, Eisenberg shared how his then-3-year-old son was perfectly content living life on the road, comparing their journey to an episode of Peppa Pig, where the cartoon family also drives around in a camper van.
Despite their commitment to privacy, Banner made an unexpected on-screen debut in 2024 in his father’s film A Real Pain. The movie, which Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed, and starred in alongside Kieran Culkin, follows two cousins on a journey through Poland to reconnect with their heritage.
The film is deeply personal for Jesse Eisenberg, as he and Anna Strout both have Polish ancestry—his family hails from Krasnystaw, while hers comes from Łódź. The couple recently applied for and received Polish citizenship, cementing their connection to the country. Eisenberg explained that casting Banner in A Real Pain felt like the right choice, calling the film “more of a touchstone and a memory piece” than just another project.
Eisenberg has been vocal about how fatherhood has reshaped his perspective, especially on his career. At the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, he admitted that while he still loved acting, becoming a parent shifted his focus. “I don’t think I care any less about my work, or like it any less—in some ways, I like it more because it’s my one opportunity to get away for a few minutes!” he joked. He also reflected on how having a child helped ease his anxiety: “I spent the first 30 years worrying about things that were invisible, and now I get to worry about something that’s visible. There’s nothing more mentally healthy than worrying about something that actually exists.”
