Steve Buscemi’s Wife & Mom of His Only Child Was His ‘Biggest Inspiration’ till Death Separated Them

They were a skilled couple who were drawn to each other by a cosmic coincidence and a love of art.
They raised their only son together during their more than three decades of marriage.
Steve Buscemi’s “biggest inspiration” was Jo Andres until a tragic illness ended their romance.

For more than thirty years, Steve Buscemi and his spouse, Jo Andres, had a passionate and enduring partnership. Together, they reared their only son, who became an actor and filmmaker like his father. But after fighting ovarian cancer, Andres passed away from a rare illness in 2019, separating the couple.

Buscemi, 66, is a well-known actor with a career as varied as his on-screen personas. He is well-known for his parts in TV series including “Boardwalk Empire,” “The Sopranos,” and “Miracle Workers,” as well as movies like “Fargo,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “The Big Lebowski,” and “Ghost World.”

Buscemi has a strong foundation in practical experience. He tried stand-up comedy, worked as a professional firefighter, and drove an ice cream truck and bartender before making his movie debut. But what he cherishes most is his work as a firefighter, which he still performs willingly.

These encounters molded the guy who would enthrall audiences everywhere. When Buscemi volunteered at his former firehouse the day after the World Trade Center tragedy in New York, he demonstrated compassion and bravery. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, he stood shoulder to shoulder with his fellow firefighters, searching anonymously amid the debris at Ground Zero for missing firemen.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, on May 21, 1954, Andres was a visionary artist. She brought a distinctive blend of performance art and contemporary dance to New York in the early 1980s. Andres aimed to provide viewers with a multisensory experience that went beyond conventional dance performances with her inventive choreography.

Andres used multimedia tools like slideshows and video to create a captivating fusion of dance and visual art. Her works, such as the critically praised “Black Kites,” from 1996, demonstrated a profound affinity with human experiences through vivid imagery and moving narrative.

In 1983, Buscemi and Andres met in the bustling East Village. With cosmic serendipity, their love story developed as Buscemi, enamored from a distance, would purposefully take his dog on walks in the hopes of running into Andres by chance.

Andres, on the other hand, told a friend that she was intrigued in Buscemi after seeing her face on posters, adding, “I’m going to snag that guy.”

Buscemi didn’t know Andres was the same person she had seen on the handcrafted posters until the universe worked in concert and he came to her place. They connected after the incident, and Andres was able to land the man.

After exchanging vows in 1987, the couple set out on a journey that would eventually result in the birth of Lucian Buscemi, their only son, in 1990. Lucian, who is well-known for his roles in the movies “Trees Lounge” (1996), “Interview” (2007), and “4:44 Last Day on Earth” (2011), continued his parents’ career path in entertainment.

Mutual respect, common goals, and a love that endured life’s ups and downs were the foundations of Andres and Buscemi’s union. The couple worked together on a number of projects and encouraged one another’s artistic pursuits. In addition to being his wife, Buscemi regarded Andres as a gifted artist, director, and choreographer.

Andres’ 1996 film “Black Kites,” which debuted at multiple film festivals, received a lot of positive reviews. She directed her own performance pieces, art videos, and music. When asked about his favorite piece of art in a 2009 interview, Buscemi responded, “I think my wife Jo Andres’s work is my favorite. She has created films, painted, and performed.

Buscemi’s personal life suffered greatly just when he should have been enjoying the height of his career. After becoming unwell in 2015, Andres received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. With Andres enduring chemotherapy and going through stages of remission, the couple took on the difficulties head-on. But in 2017, the cancer came back with a vengeance, and Andres died on January 6, 2019, at the age of 64.

Buscemi disclosed that encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, a disorder characterized by intestinal blockage, was one of his wife’s quiet battles. Buscemi talked candidly about his wife’s passing and its impact on him in an interview with GQ.

It was a gradual process, and a year after his wife’s tragic death, his heart was still heavy with grief. Buscemi talked candidly about the traumatic experience, highlighting the deep effects of seeing a loved one fight cancer. “It’s painful for people who are going through that,” he continued, his voice catching. Cancer death is an agonizing experience.

The actor described times when he felt overwhelmed and refused to take consolation, exposing the harsh realities of loss. Buscemi had suffered a particularly difficult fall the previous year, and he had been anxious about being away from home while filming in Prague.

He acknowledged the help of friends and family in spite of the loss. The actor acknowledged that people are deeply connected by their shared sense of loss, even if sorrow is a personal experience.

A few months after Andres’ death, on April 5, 2019, Buscemi took the stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to accept an award. In his address to the National Association of Theater Owners, he thanked his son and his family for their support.

“My wife Jo, who we knew going back to [the 1984 film] Parting Glances,” he added, expressing his sincere gratitude to his late wife. She served as my greatest audience, inspiration, and supporter.

He emphasized the depth of their relationship while reflecting on the difficulties of sustaining a relationship in the entertainment world at the end of his heartfelt homage.

Buscemi’s greatest inspiration in life and work was his late wife, a gifted artist, filmmaker, and choreographer. They raised their only son, Lucian, together and had a lengthy love affair that lasted more than thirty years. The way that Buscemi talks about his wife shows how much he loves her, and he still treasures her memories.