Who Is Tommy Lee Jones' Wife? All About Dawn Laurel-Jones

Tommy Lee Jones and his wife, Dawn Laurel-Jones, first met behind the scenes of 'The Good Old Boys' in 1995

Tommy Lee Jones and Dawn Laurel-Jones at the premiere of the film 'Ad Astra' in 2019
Tommy Lee Jones and Dawn Laurel-Jones at the premiere of the film 'Ad Astra' in 2019. Photo:

NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 

Tommy Lee Jones has been married to his wife, Dawn Laurel-Jones, since 2001.

The Texan actor, who has starred in movies including The Fugitive, JFK and Lincoln, met Laurel-Jones in 1995 when they were both working on the same film, and they married six years later.

In March 1998, Jones and Laurel-Jones walked the red carpet as a couple for the first time — and they have worked on the same movie sets in years past, includingThe Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and The Homesman.

The couple have also supported The Climate Reality Project, founded by Jones’ close friend Al Gore. In 2012, they went on an expedition to Antarctica with the group and attended an auction in London — where Laurel-Jones’ sold some of her photos from the trip.

“She took some beautiful pictures there,” Jones told The Independent. “Of course, the ice is melting, and these pictures dramatized that somewhat. They're very beautiful pictures. She sold 17 and that brought in a little over $401,000 to support this organization that we actually are a part of."

So who is Tommy Lee Jones’ wife? From her passion for polo to her photography skills, here’s everything to know about Dawn Laurel-Jones.

Laurel-Jones first met Jones in 1995

Tommy Lee Jones and wife Dawn Laurel attend the premiere of 'U.S. Marshals' in 1998
Tommy Lee Jones and wife Dawn Laurel attend the premiere of 'U.S. Marshals' in 1998.

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

In 1995, Laurel-Jones first met Jones on the set of The Good Old Boys. It was the TV directorial debut of Jones, who also starred in the movie, and Laurel-Jones was an assistant camera operator.

At the time, Jones was still married to his second wife, Kimberlea Cloughley.

Laurel-Jones married Jones in 2001

Tommy Lee Jones and Dawn Laurel-Jones at 'The Hunted' Premiere
Tommy Lee Jones and Dawn Laurel-Jones at 'The Hunted' Premiere.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

On March 19, 2001, the couple married in a private ceremony in Alamo Heights, Texas.

Laurel-Jones' sister, Deborah, is an architect and designed Jones’ groom’s quarters in the couple’s property, according to The New Yorker.

“It has a beautiful recreation space with a stretch of bare wall behind the sofa, and I want to ask Deborah to put up the head of a longhorn that used to live on an old ranch of mine,” Jones told the outlet in 2006.

Jones has two children from his marriage to Cloughley — son Austin, and daughter Victoria — so Laurel-Jones became their stepmother.

Laurel-Jones worked behind the scenes on movie sets

Dawn Jones attends the special tribute to Sophia Loren during the AFI FEST 2014
Dawn Jones attends the special tribute to Sophia Loren during the AFI FEST 2014.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Laurel-Jones has not had a film credit since 2014 — but before that, she worked behind the scenes in roles such as assistant camera operator, stills photographer and camera loader.

Movies she worked on include Back to the Future Part II and RoboCop 2, as well as The Good Old Boys.

She lives on a cattle ranch with Jones

Tommy Lee Jones and his wife Dawn Laurel attend the 'The Company Men' Premiere in 2010
Tommy Lee Jones and his wife Dawn Laurel attend the 'The Company Men' Premiere in 2010.

George Pimentel/Getty

Laurel-Jones and her husband live together on a cattle ranch in Texas that is over 150 years old. It’s something the couple keep private.

“The gates are locked. We keep it shut down," Jones told Texas Monthly in 2006. "Just friends and family, no outsiders. Just how I like it."

He added: “In the summers, we’ll work cattle, and then at about seven o’clock at night, we’ll start playing polo. We’ll play until about nine, and then when we’re done, we put the meat on the fire and watch the dark come. It’s a good life. Everyone is happy.”

Laurel-Jones and her husband divide their time between their ranch in Texas and their 74-acre polo range in Buenos Aires, Argentina, per The New Yorker.

She plays polo

Dawn Laurel and Tommy Lee Jones attend the Cartier International Polo Day at Guards Polo Club in 2010
Dawn Laurel and Tommy Lee Jones attend the Cartier International Polo Day at Guards Polo Club in 2010.

Dave M. Benett/Getty

Both Laurel-Jones and her husband enjoy playing polo. In 2006, Jones funded two teams consisting of the couple, six professional players and at least 50 horses, Texas Monthly reported. The teams spent half the year at Jones’ farm and stables in Florida.

“We are at the top of our game,” he said. “We can beat anybody, anytime, anywhere.”

However, polo was something she hadn’t played before her relationship with Jones.

In his interview with The New Yorker, Jones said Laurel-Jones was “one of the best women polo players in the country” even though “she didn’t even know how to ride a horse 10 years ago.”

She worked with her husband on The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Tommy Lee Jones, his wife Dawn Laurel-Jones and his daughter Victoria Jones at the premiere of 'Just Getting Started' in 2017
Tommy Lee Jones, his wife Dawn Laurel-Jones and his daughter Victoria Jones at the premiere of 'Just Getting Started' in 2017.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jones directed and starred in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, but his wife also played a part in making the movie as the on-set still photographer.

Not only that, but his daughter Victoria, 14 at the time, also appeared in the movie. She overslept during filming, so Jones fired her, but “without telling me, the production staff went over and woke her and rushed her out to the set just in time,” he told The New Yorker.

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