All About Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen's Wife and Bandmate

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty

The couple met at a local bar in the early ’80s and quickly developed a friendship. Scialfa, who is also a musician, then joined the music legend and theE Street Bandon their 1984Born in the U.S.A Touras a backup vocalist.

While the two musicians had chemistry on stage, their relationship did not turn romantic until 1988 after the “Dancing in the Dark” singer split from his first wife, Julianne Phillips.

Springsteen and Scialfa quickly fell in love and got married in 1991. They’ve since welcomedthree kidsand continue to perform together.

So, who is Bruce Springsteen’s wife? From her relationship with the iconic musician to her cancer diagnosis, here’s everything to know about Patti Scialfa.

She was born in New Jersey, where she got into music through her grandfather

Patti Scialfa Instagram

Like her husband, Scialfa was born and raised in New Jersey. Born in Deal, Monmouth County, Scialfa is of Northern Irish ancestry through her mother and Sicilian ancestry through her father, as Springsteen shared at theEllis Island Family Heritage Awards.

“He would be composing, working out the melodies, and he would say, ‘Which ending do you like — this one? Or this one, when the notes go here?’ " she recalled. “My opinion actually mattered to him. This was the era where children were to be seen and not heard, so that was really powerful to me.”

She met Springsteen at a bar

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa.Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty

Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty

Having grown up near each other and just four years apart in age, Scialfa and Springsteen moved in similar social circles when they were younger, as she toldNew Jersey Monthly. Prior to their first official meeting, Scialfa had known of Springsteen as he had the reputation of being the “fastest guitar player.”

The pair first met in the early 1980s at a bar and music venue called the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Scialfa would often sing at the venue with a friend’s band. Springsteen approached her and told her that he liked her voice, after which they became good friends.

“It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We had a beer together, sat at a table, and talked. After that, I would go down every Sunday and sing, and sometimes he would be there. He knew I lived in New York and that I didn’t have a car, so he would offer to drop me off at my mom’s,” she said.

She has a degree from New York University

Scialfa transferred to New York University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 1975.

She married Springsteen in 1991

Gary Gershoff/Getty

Springsteen’s first wife,Julianne Phillips, filed for divorce in August 1988 and their divorce was finalized in 1989. After Phillips and Springsteen separated, he and Scialfa began living together in New Jersey; they later moved to N.Y.C. and Los Angeles. “Patti’s been in love with Bruce for as long as I can remember,” her high school art teacher, Curtis K. Smith, told PEOPLE in 1988.

In 1991, Scialfa and Springsteengot marriedat their home in Beverly Hills, California. Scialfa often posts on social media to mark their wedding anniversary; in June 2022, sheshared a photoof the couple riding horses for their 31st wedding anniversary.

She has three children with Springsteen

Steven Ferdman/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Scialfa and Springsteen havethree adult childrentogether. Their first son,Evan James, was born in 1990, while their daughter,Jessica Rae, was born in 1991. They welcomed their youngest son,Samuel Ryan, in 1994.

Evan is also a musician and has joined his father on stage several times, while Jessica is anOlympic equestrian. Sambecame a firefighterin Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2020. Both Scialfa and Springsteen have beenhands-on parents, playing the guitar, writing music and making breakfast with their children.

She supports Springsteen’s mental health

Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

In 2016, Springsteen shared that he’d begun living with periods of depression during his 60s. “It sneaks up on you. I got to where I didn’t want to get out of bed, you know?” he explained during an interview withSunday Morning.

He credited Scialfa with being his main source of support during his bouts of depression: “You’re not behaving well at home and you’re tough on everybody. Hopefully not the kids. I always try to hide it from the kids. But, you know, Patti really had to work with me through it. … Her strength and the love she had was very important.”

She’s a member of the E Street Band

Rob Verhorst/Redferns

Springsteen has played withthe E Street Bandsince 1972, and Scialfa has been a member since 1984. She was the band’s only female member at the time, providing backing vocals, tambourine and guitar.

“I didn’t know when we started rehearsing that he was going to give me a lot to do,” she told PEOPLE in 1988. “It happened slowly over the course of rehearsing. Bruce coaxed me and urged me to reach. He was very patient, very willing to teach. He had a lot of confidence in me.”

However, the couple manage to keep their personal and professional lives separate. Springsteen toldVarietyin 2017, “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.”

In September 2024, while headlining the Sea.Hear.Now music festival in New Jersey, Springsteeninvited Scialfa to join him for a duet. The couple performed the song “Tougher Than the Rest.”

She’s recorded solo albums

Her husband appeared as a special guest on her first solo tour, and her song “Town Called Heartbreak” was part of Springsteen’s set on his “Magic Tour” in 2007, as a duet between husband and wife. Scialfa also performed at the final show on the “Vote for Change” tour in 2004, perBillboard.

She played herself in a movie alongside her husband

Bruce Springsteen onstage with wife Patti Scialfa.KMazur/WireImage

While Scialfa and Springsteen are best known for their music, they both made appearances in the 2020 movieBroken Poetas themselves.

She was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame

Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty

In October 2023, Scialfa was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fameat the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

She was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2018

Scialfa wasdiagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer, in 2018. She opened up for the first time about her diagnosis in the 2024 documentaryRoad Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

“This affects my immune system so I just have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she said. “Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”

While talking to ABC News in October 2024, Springsteen told George Stephanopoulos that Scialfa is “doing good” health-wise.

“We caught it early, which was important,” he added. “It’s a tough disease. It’s very fatiguing.”

source: people.com