Michael Douglas wants more stepparents to get the recognition they deserve.
The Oscar winner’s stepmother, Anne, died last month at the age of 102, after being married for 66 years to Douglas’ dad, screen legend Kirk Douglas, who died last year at 103.
During an appearance Tuesday on TODAY, Douglas remembered Anne as “an extraordinary stepmother” and applauded the work stepparents do.
"Stepparents really don’t get the credit they’re due. You hear all the stories about mean old stepparents, but the truth is people like Anne — and I had a great stepfather — a lot of families do,” said Douglas, whose late mother, Diana, was married to his father from 1943 until 1951.
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“Out of their love for their partner, they’ve raised their kids, other people’s kids, and they’re extraordinary efforts on their part,” the "Kominsky Method" star added. “We have so many days now, I think we need stepparent's day, a day to acknowledge great stepparents.”
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Douglas’ own wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, is also a stepmother to his son Cameron, 42, from his first marriage. The couple has two children of their own, son Dylan, 20, and daughter Carys, 18, who just graduated from high school. How is the Hollywood power couple embracing life as empty nesters?
“It’s scary. It really is. You look at each other and go, ‘Well, it’s just you and me, babe,’” he joked.
Douglas, who married Zeta-Jones in 2000, said it’s easy for spouses to focus on their kids and lose sight of their own relationship, but they’ve done a good job avoiding the pitfalls.
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“You forget how many conversations you hide behind, in terms of talking about your kids or what’s going on next, and then one day, you just look at each other,” he said. “But we’re 20 years now, so all those good years of paying attention to each other are paying off now.”