If you’ve loved Matthew Modine since Full Metal Jacket or discovered him later as Dr. Brenner (“Papa”) in Stranger Things, you’ve probably seen his wife’s name pop up: Caridad (Cari) Rivera. She’s not just Matthew Modine Wife She’s a makeup and wardrobe stylist with Puerto Rican roots, a creative partner he’s credited with grounding his life for more than four decades. Here’s a clear, human rundown who she is, what she does, how they met, and what their family life actually looks like.
Quick facts
- Matthew Modine Wife name: Caridad “Cari” Rivera (also credited as Caridad Modine)
- Married: 1980 (often cited specifically as October 31, 1980)
- Profession: Makeup/wardrobe stylist; occasional acting credit
- Children: Two Boman (filmmaker/AD) and Ruby (actor/singer)
Who is Caridad Rivera?
Caridad Rivera is a makeup and wardrobe stylist who has spent much of her professional life around sets, fashion, and music. Sources commonly describe her as Puerto Rican, and you’ll see that heritage referenced in profiles of their daughter Ruby, too.
She’s kept a fairly low public profile compared to her husband, but she has logged credits (and behind-the-scenes experience) in styling and occasionally on camera. One public-facing credit you can point to is Plastic Jesus (2012), where she’s listed under her married name.
If you’re imagining someone who lives for red carpets, that’s not really the vibe. Caridad comes across through the way Matthew Modine speaks about her as the steady, creative partner who prefers to build a warm family life and work quietly without fuss. When you look at the length of their marriage in Hollywood years, that kind of presence says a lot.
How Matthew Modine met his wife
The “how we met” story has the easy charm of a New York meet-cute. Matthew Modine has said he was working as a chef in an upscale restaurant in New York City back in the day when he first saw Caridad. She was waiting on a takeout order; he struck up a conversation; the rest unfolded from there. Multiple interviews and summaries repeat this origin story, and it lines up with the timeline Modine moved to NYC in 1980, right as his career was beginning to lift off.
They married in 1980 some outlets specify Halloween, October 31, 1980 and they’ve been together ever since. That’s 40+ years and counting.
Their kids (and why you’ve probably heard of them)
Ruby Modine
Ruby Wylder Rivera Modine is an actress and singer. You’ve likely seen her as Sierra in Shameless or in the Happy Death Day films. Her bios typically list Caridad as a makeup and wardrobe stylist and explicitly note Caridad’s Puerto Rican background something Ruby has spoken about with pride in press.
Ruby’s career has branched into music as well, releasing singles and projects outside her acting work. Recent entertainment coverage continues to track her releases, showing that she’s actively balancing both crafts.
Boman Modine
Boman Mark Rivera Modine works behind the camera as a director/assistant director and producer one of those quietly busy creatives you’ll find spread across credits lists, festivals, and streaming projects. He’s been Emmy-nominated (for DARK/WEB) and has recent director/showrunner credits on Warhammer’s animated series (Angels of Death, The Exodite). The short version: he’s carved his own lane.
Together, the Modines paint a picture of a family that understands the creative grind from all angles front of camera, back of camera, soundstage to styling table.
Caridad’s career, in plain terms
Because she prefers privacy, you won’t find a glossy, press-managed portfolio for Caridad like you might for on-camera stars. What’s consistent across credible sources is the styling career makeup and wardrobe with occasional acting or appearance credits. Profiles of Ruby and Matthew Modine continually reference Caridad’s stylist role; IMDb records list a credit under her married name; and various interviews anchor her presence in the creative mix of NYC and LA.
If you’re asking “What kind of work is that day-to-day?” it’s the unglamorous, essential stuff: creating looks, managing continuity, collaborating with directors and DPs, keeping talent comfortable and camera-ready, and solving a hundred tiny problems before anyone notices them on screen. It’s backstage artistry.
What keeps them together (the part fans actually feel)
There’s no secret sauce you can bottle, but here are the things that show up again and again when Matthew talks about Caridad:
- Shared creative world: They met when both were hustling in creative fields Matthew acting, Caridad rivera in beauty/fashion. There’s a mutual understanding in that.
- Respect and admiration: In interviews, Matthew frames happy partnership as finding someone who challenges you and is “smarter than you,” then jokes he got both brains and beauty in Cari. That mix of admiration and humor reads real.
- Long view on family: Look at their timeline married in 1980, two kids who’ve built their own careers, and a home base that stayed intact through the spikes and valleys of Hollywood work. That kind of stability doesn’t happen by accident.
You can also see how Matthew’s wider life his cycling/eco activism, his union work, his steady TV/film presence coexists with a marriage he clearly treats as the core. When he’s out officiating Millie Bobby Brown’s wedding, for example, or talking about colleagues with warmth, it reflects a man who values long-term bonds. That tends to start at home.
Matthew Modine’s career in brief (because it shapes the family story)
Modine’s CV is deep: Altman’s Streamers (Venice Volpi Cup as part of the ensemble), Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (the role that stamped him in movie history), Short Cuts, Pacific Heights, The Dark Knight Rises, Oppenheimer, and on TV, And the Band Played On and Stranger Things. The reason this matters in an article about his wife is simple maintaining a grounded family life while a career moves from indie sets to Nolan and Netflix takes deliberate partnership.
Why their story resonates
There are splashier celebrity couples with publicized ups and downs. Modine and Rivera aren’t that. Their appeal is quieter: two creatives who met young, built a life, raised kids who found their own lanes, and stayed married through the business of show business. You don’t need a dozen interviews to feel what that means you see it in the long arc.
If you’re here because you watched Stranger Things and got curious about “Papa’s” real-life family, the answer is refreshingly normal: a stylist mom with a strong cultural identity, a dad who’s worked with legends, and two kids who turned the family craft into their own careers. There’s a steadiness to that.
Final word
Not every long marriage in Hollywood comes with fireworks; some come with consistency two people doing good work, keeping a home base strong, letting their kids grow into their own creative lives. That’s the story of Matthew Modine Wife Caridad Rivera. And honestly, that’s the kind of love story most of us recognize.