James Gunn is engaged to actress Jennifer Holland.
The writer-director-producer, whose credits include a range of superhero-centric projects from HBO Max’s Peacemaker to films including The Suicide Squad and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, posted a photo on Instagram on Sunday of his longtime partner sipping from a mug while showing off diamond ring on her left ring finger. He captioned the photo simply with two emojis: “😏❤️” The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the post is indeed an engagement announcement.
For her part, Holland commented with an emoji of her own: “🥰” Earlier in the day, Holland also posted a photo of her and Gunn on Instagram with a rainbow behind the couple, captioning the image: “Happiness. 🌈 ⛅️ ❤️”
Among those offering the congratulations in the comments were several actors who have appeared in Gunn’s films and TV projects, including The Suicide Squad star Viola Davis, Guardians actress Karen Gillan, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker actor Steve Agee and The Suicide Squad actress Daniela Melchior.
Gunn and Holland are not only romantically involved but also have worked together as well, with her playing Emilia Harcourt in The Suicide Squad and reprising that role in Peacemaker, opposite John Cena. Her other credits include the TV series Sun Records and American Horror Story.
The couple have been together since 2015. They were introduced by Gunn’s friend Michael Rosenbaum, known for his role as Lex Luthor in the TV series Smallville, who was dating one of Holland’s friends at the time. Rosenbaum had offered to set them up after the director saw a photograph of Holland and asked who she was. When Rosenbaum’s then-girlfriend approached Holland with the idea of a setup, Holland admitted she had never heard of Gunn, despite the fact he had become pretty much a household name with Guardians the previous summer.
She told The Hollywood Reporter last month that she was initially hesitant about going out with Gunn — “She described James as a producer-director. I guess the fact that she put producer first or something, it just kind of gave me weird vibes” — before looking him up online, where he “seemed so incredibly charming in interviews.” They click on their first date, she said: “I just told him my whole life story. We spent like seven hours together and that’s it. That’s how it started.”
Gunn was previously married to The Office star Jenna Fischer; they split in 2007 after six years of marriage. He is currently directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel Studios, with a second season of Peacemaker officially on the way for HBO Max.