Ineke Ten Cate And Rutger Hauer Were Together For 51 Years Before His Death — #RelationshipGoals
The couple was together for over five decades.
Getty One of the most prolific actors of recent decades has passed away. Rutger Hauer, who was best known for his role in Blade Runner opposite Harrison Ford, died in his home in the Netherlands. He was 75-years-old.
Hauer famously performed in over 174 films and television shows in his lifetime, but admitted that some of them were not exactly high art. The Hollywood Reporter notes that in a 2006 documentary about his life he commented: "If I only do the films that I find interesting, I cannot exist as an actor.” He considered The Legend of the Holy Drinker as his best film.
He is survived by his wife Ineke ten Cate, to whom he had been with since 1968 and married to since 1985. He is also survived by his daughter from his first marriage Ayesha Hauer.
1. Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer was born in Breukelen, Utrecht, Netherlands. The son of two actors, he was never particularly into school and instead dreamed of being a sailor. At 15 he ran away and joined the Dutch Merchant Navy for a year. He returned home and did a stint working construction and other jobs.
His bio on his official website says that after briefly trying drama school he "…soon dropped out to join the Army. He was almost immediately bored by the military lifestyle and so he had himself declared unfit for military service and dismissed. This was his first big acting role, and he played it extremely well, too!”
He returned to acting school and set out on a successful career, starring in films such as Blade Runner, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Batman Begins.
His website says he met Ineke in 1968 and they were together for 20 years before they got married.
Hauer in Ladyhawke.
2. Ineke ten Cate
Ineke is fiercely private and seldom allowed any contact from the press. An article in The Hollywood Reporter even referred to her as media shy. She is a visual artist and worked with Hauer on charitable projects. The couple did not have any children together.
Hauer was a prolific actor.
3. Second marriage
Hauer was married once before he met Ineke. He married Heidi Merz, a Swiss pianist in the early 1960s and had a daughter together in 1966. They divorced shortly after her birth. Ayesha Hauer, like her father and grandparents, became an actor herself according to The Heavy.
Hauer in 1972.
4. Creative
Both Hauer and his wife were creative people. Ineke is painter and sculptor and Hauer, aside from acting has also produced and directed film projects. He even took liberties on set when reading from a script. David Webb Peoples, one of the screenwriters for Blade Runner told THR in 2017 about Hauer changing one of the pivotal speeches in the film.
”Rutger read that speech and then went on with a couple of lines about memories in the rain "And then he looked at me like a naughty little boy, like he was checking to see if the writer was going to be upset. I didn't let on that I was upset, but at the time, I was a little upset and threatened by it,” Peoples said. "Later, seeing the movie, that was a brilliant contribution of Rutger's, that line about tears in the rain. It is absolutely beautiful."
Hauer in Blade Runner.
5. Activism
Together the couple worked on environmental issues as well as issues related to HIV and AIDS. He formed the Rutger Hauer Starfish Foundation with the mission of “The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association is dedicated to providing help, attention and care to children and pregnant women with HIV/AIDS, as well as educating communities about this disease.”
In a post on the Association website, the foundation announced that, under the leadership of Ineke, the work will continue, saying: “The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association announces with infinite sadness that after a very short illness, on Friday, July 19, 2019, Rutger Hauer passed away peacefully at his Dutch home. He leaves his beloved wife Ineke, after they have been together for fifty years. We at Starfish will always cherish the many unforgettable memories we have of Rutger and his dedication to the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. One of Rutger’s last wishes was that Starfish should continue its charity activity and its fight against the AIDS disease, and with Ineke’s precious help, involvement and direction we will follow Rutger’s wish and will do our best to carry on Rutger’s inestimable legacy.”
Ineke will continue their charitable mission.
6. Death
Hauer passed away this week at the age of age of 75. His family says only that he died as the result of a short illness. His funeral was this week in the Netherlands.
Hauer died this week.
We send our condolences to his friends, family, and fans.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.