"I didn't really see the handsomeness": Patti LuPone recalls "disliking" Kevin Kline in drama school, says he looked like 'Pinocchio'

Three-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer, Patti LuPone, in a recent interview with the New Yorker, opened up about her unstable and problematic relationship with Oscar-winning actor Kevin Kline. LuPone met Kline in New York City during the '70s, while they were studying acting at Juilliard. She was one of John Houseman's students, who led the school's drama division.

76-year-old Patti LuPone, who is currently married to Matthew Johnston, with whom she shares a son, Joshua, was in an on-and-off relationship with Kevin Kline that stretched for seven years. Studying acting under the Romanian-British teacher John Houseman was challenging, as the class consisted of diverse individuals with varying personalities.

LuPone recalled having a tough time during her first year. However, it was in her third year that she met Kline, who joined her class as an advanced student along with two other students. Patti LuPone revealed to the New Yorker her first impressions of him:

"I took an instant dislike to him. He looked like Pinocchio to me. He had skinny legs, and he was tall, and I didn't really see the handsomeness."

Patti LuPone talks about how painful her relationship with Kevin Kline was

The first American to win London's Olivier Award in 1985, Patty LuPone, is widely known for her exceptional Broadway performances. She is popular for playing undaunted and strong female characters in musicals. LuPone, who is also the recipient of two Grammy Awards, was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Besides starring in musicals, the Broadway actress has also been in several hit TV shows and movies. LuPone appeared in Ari Aster's 2023 surrealist tragicomedy film, Beau is Afraid, and in 2024, starred in Marvel Television's limited series, Agatha All Along.

During the New Yorker interview, Patti LuPone, while discussing the initial time when she and Kevin Kline became intimate with each other, which eventually led to their romantic relationship, recalled how painful it was being with him. The Life Goes On actress, LuPone, said:

"He was a Lothario. It was a painful relationship. I was his girlfriend when he wanted me to be his girlfriend, but, if there was somebody else, he would break up with me and go out with that person. And I, for some reason, stuck it out — until I couldn't stick it out anymore."

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She further added:

"We fought all the time. In the company, we were known as the Strindbergs."

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