Hollywood star Michael Caine, who retired after starring in The Great Escaper, has experienced a wealth of adventures over his decades-long acting career. Yet, his most remarkable journey might be the one he embarked on for love.
The actor has an intriguing and remarkable love story as a single glimpse of his wife, Shakira Caine, in a TV commercial convinced him that she was the one he wanted to spend his life with.
How a TV Commercial Sparked Michael Caine’s Lifetime Romance
Rising to fame and stardom in the film industry, actor Michael Caine also had his share of romantic linkups. However, the actor decided to move past the quick flings once he laid his eyes on his wife, Shakira Caine.
The couple has been married for 50 years and the actor continues to cherish his wife as much as he did when he first saw her in a TV commercial for Maxwell House coffee.
In an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, the actor described it as love at first sight. “I saw this lady on the television in a commercial and fell in love instantly,” he said. And he was so determined to find her, that he was ready to leave for Brazil the next morning.
He recalled a conversation with one of his friends,
It was a commercial for coffee in Brazil and everything… but I just watched her and I thought, “That’s the woman for me.” I said to my mate… I saw a beautiful girl on the television and I’m going to Brazil in the morning to find her.
The actor soon found out that the girl from the commercial was not Brazilian but Indian and was living in London at the time. “He said, ‘Michael, she’s not Brazilian, she’s Indian,” he recalled before adding, “She lives in the Fulham Road.”
However, meeting the one he wished to spend the rest of his life with was not easy, as the actor called her multiple times before she eventually decided to go on a date with him.
Michael Caine’s Unwavering Pursuit For Shakira Caine
While he was able to find out about the girl from the commercial, Michael Caine still had to make persistent efforts to win her over. The actor recalled in an interview with Andrew Denton, how he called her 11 times before she decided to go out with him.
“I phoned her 11 times, 10 of which she wouldn’t go out with me,” he said before adding, “And the last one, she decided to go out with me and get rid of me.” The actor later humorously reflected on the situation, saying,
I fell in love with her in about eight minutes. It took her two hours to fall in love with me — She saved my life, really.
The couple, who met in the early 1970s, married in 1973 and welcomed a daughter together. Caine also has a daughter from his previous marriage to Patricia Haines.
The Inception actor has shared that he and Shakira Caine are deeply content with each other’s company and their family, describing his wife as a genuinely pure person without any negative traits.
