Enquirer: Penny Marshall & Carrie Fisher are a couple? (Update: exclusive denial)

pennycarrie
The Enquirer has a new story that I’m hoping is true. They claim that Penny Marshall, 70, and Carrie Fisher, 57, became a romantic couple at some point after being friends for decades. They also claim that Penny and Carrie plan to come out soon. They accompany this story with a photo of Penny and Carrie together at a basketball game. So are they just friends or are they really together? I’m not sure that I’m buying this story although I’d love it to be true, and I still think the verdict is out. Here’s more:

A source says… Penny Marshall plans to come out of the closet and declare she’s a lesbian!

What’s more, the beloved 70 year-old actress-turned-director will be supported in her announcement by her longterm girlfriend – actress Carrie Fisher, 57…

Penny apparently made the decision to reveal her sexuality when she got the news that she’d beaten cancer after a courageous life-or-death battle that lasted four years.

“Penny says that with her medical problems finally behind her, she’s going to live life to the fullest, and she doesn’t give a rat’s ass if people have a problem with it,” a family insider told The Enquirer.

As a result, twice-divorced Marshall… is ready to announce her relationship with Carrie, said the source.

“Penny and Carrie have been close friends for a long time,” noted the source. “There have been rumors in the gay community that they were a lesbian couple, but they necer confirmed or denied it.

“Penny now wants to live the rest of her life without hiding anything. She’s going to come out of the close.

“Carrie is thrilled, and she’s supporting Penny completely.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, January 27, 2014]

I’m so glad that Penny is cancer free. The Enquirer made it seem like things were touch and go with her for a while. As far as this story goes, I can believe that Penny and Carrie are together, they’re both hilarious women with similar life experiences, and I can see them being a couple. Maybe that’s all this story is, someone’s hunch that two longterm best friends with so much in common have to be more than just friends. Or maybe they’re really together. If that’s the case, I don’t see Penny making an announcement or anything. She’s done an occasional interview recently but she doesn’t seem into publicity. The Enquirer claims that “they plan to introduce themselves as a couple in a romantic comedy.” I would watch that!

Update: We received an email from a source who claims to know both women and found this article, which originated in The Enquirer, highly offensive. The source wrote:

I have been a personal friend to both women for the past twenty plus years and know first-hand about their personal lives. This lesbian slash coming out story is an OUT AND OUT LIE. Have you even checked your sources on this story? You couldn’t possibly have because the simple fact is that this story is NOT TRUE.

wenn3822965

wenn20606365

Photo credit: WENN.com

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

65 Responses to “Enquirer: Penny Marshall & Carrie Fisher are a couple? (Update: exclusive denial)”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Suze says:

    Penny Marshall is seventy? Wow, Laverne! Glad to hear her health has stabilized.

    Anyway, who knows? I bet they are friends and are both comfortable and hilarious when together.

    It’s sad that the only way an older woman can get in the news is to be sick or a lesbian, though.

  2. blue marie says:

    Way to go Penny, and I don’t know why, but I really want this to be true.

  3. Neffie says:

    Well if they wanted to ‘come out’ then they would!

    • bettyrose says:

      I’m not even sure that phrase is appropriate any more. They may not have announced their relationship publicly but I doubt they’re closeted about it. Penny Marshall is openly gay, they travel in non homophobic circles, and even the military is performing gay marriages now. But I do hope they choose to share the news with us.

      • Suze says:

        You know, I hope this is true. I don’t see why anyone should have to publicly announce their sexuality. Heterosexuals have never had to do it.

        It would be great if we could get to a place where people could just be.

  4. Heat says:

    I really want this to be true: Laverne and Princess Leia for the win!!!

  5. BeckyR says:

    Love Penny but I wish we would lose the silly sunglasses.

  6. PunkyMomma says:

    Whether they’re good friends or more, good for them. They’re both smart, witty and creative women.

  7. shump says:

    I would love for them to be a couple! What an awesome couple they would be!

  8. Lark says:

    They’d make a cute couple, but I have a feeling it’s just two older ladies who accompany one another because they are happy being single at their age and would rather just hang with their friends. SMH though that people still act like bi-sexual people don’t exist, NE going she’s going to come out as a “lesbian”…when she’s been married twice and could very well be bi-sexual.

    • Brittney says:

      Exactly! I definitely recognize my privilege as a white, bisexual female — I can “pass” as straight, for one thing — but I do feel completely invisible sometimes. People refer to Angelina Jolie’s “lesbian relationship” (or worse, “lesbian affair”) as another part of her wild, sordid past, and it’s so incredibly offensive. I’m with a man right now, but my ex-girlfriends were not “phases” or “fetishes”; they were human beings, and our relationships were equally valid. Just as Penny’s heterosexual marriages were valid, whether or not she’s with a woman now.

      That’s also part of why there’s a push to call it “same sex marriage” instead of “gay marriage”!

    • Santolina says:

      Well said, Lark.

  9. smee says:

    They’re both so talented. Can’t really picture them as a couple, but if so, awesome. Carrie F. needs to cool it with that burnt sienna lipstick and brown eye shadow no matter what her romantic status is.

  10. lucy2 says:

    I can’t see Carrie keeping something like that quiet, she seems to be fairly open and willing to discuss just about anything.
    Either way, I like them both, have a lot of fondness from childhood for them, and I hope they’re both happy and doing well. If they’re together, great, if they’re BFFs, great.

  11. Enny says:

    Did Carrie shave a few years off her age over the years? Cause 57 seems a little young…

    • mystified says:

      Love Carrie but my thoughts exactly. Wouldn’t that make her eighteen or nineteen when Star Wars came out and even younger when it was actually filmed?

    • gg says:

      Penny looks more like the 50-something and Carrie looks 70. Makeover needed.

      • Mich says:

        Carrie is bipolar and, for years, abused drugs and alcohol. It clearly took a toll.

        I just love her though. ‘Postcards from the Edge’ is a personal fave!!

      • Zwella Ingrid says:

        I had not seen a picture of Carrie Fisher in a really, really long time. I have to admit I’m shocked at how bad she looks. Just one of the awesome parts of growing older I guess.

    • Christin says:

      Age 57 is correct. It would be tough for her to fudge on her age, since she was a toddler when her parents split up so publicly. It was the original triangle of doom.

    • Nicolette says:

      I was wondering the same thing.

  12. I Choose Me says:

    If it’s true well then I think they make a great couple.

  13. Christin says:

    I was watching L&S reruns during the holidays and wondered how Penny was doing. Penny and Carrie do seem to have a lot in common – comedy, showbiz families, etc.

  14. Mia4S says:

    These kind of stories always make me side-eye the tabloids. If it’s true? Cute, lovely, I wish them well. But if made up it just seems another indication that the tabloids only allow women to be two things to each other -bitches or sexually involved. Apparently we are all such high strung, competitive creatures that deep friendships are impossible. It’s a subtle undertone, but a disheartening one.

  15. DameSnark says:

    I could feel so so about the age difference but seeing as how Ms. Fisher is in no way 57 years old I guess it’s cool. I love Penny!

  16. Delta Juliet says:

    I love both of these ladies and if they ARE a couple I say good for them and I hope they make each other happy. It bugs me though, that when you have two women who are close friends, people start assuming they are lesbians. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t and are just GOOD FRIENDS. Let people live.

  17. Ag says:

    I didn’t realize that Penny was divorced – I thought she was still with her ex-husband. I just saw her on an episode of Portlandia the other night, she was coupled with a guy who must have been in his 20s and was tall as hell, it was hilarious.

    If they are indeed a couple, awesome. I like them both.

    • holly hobby says:

      She has been divorced a long time. I read her bio. She was married to someone not in the business and had a daughter. When she married Rob “Meathead” Reiner, he adopted her daughter. But after that relationship went bust, she never remarried. However she did cop to a long term relationship with Art Garfunkel. Carrie was dating Paul Simon at the same time and they used to double date.

      They go way back. I doubt they are lesbians. They’ve been friends forever.

      Anyway, if you can get your hands on her bio, read it. Hers and Garry Marshall’s bios are funny.

  18. eliza says:

    Between the pictures and headline I can’t stop laughing.

  19. Ann says:

    I would kill to be invited to one of their dinner parties. Go girls!

  20. Axis2ClusterB says:

    I would love for this to be true, but it’s the Enquirer.

  21. sarah says:

    Please please let this story be true. They would be the perfect couple.

  22. Murphy says:

    1) Wasn’t Penny always out?
    2) Carrie Fisher is only 57?

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      1. I don’t think so. Wasn’t she married to that guy who played Meathead on All In The Family? Holy cr@p, I’m old.
      2. Yes. Not to be mean, but she looks 77.

  23. Christin says:

    I had forgotten that Penny had been briefly married prior to Rob (“Meathead”). Her daughter is by the first husband.

    Penny has been a highly successful director, but I still wish for a Laverne and Shirley reunion show. Loved that show!

  24. RobN says:

    Certainly possible, but it’s also possible that the Hollywood media can’t believe that two women can be long term supportive friends without there being something else going on.

    • Sassy says:

      Exactly. Most of my friends are in the age group of CF and PM. We all have had one or two husbands and now have full lives and don’t want to be bothered with another man. We do things together and have friends of both sexes. I am straight and so are my women friends. To categorize CF and PM as lesbians is a leap. Lots of us old broads don’t want to put up with a husband or lover.

  25. Lisa says:

    Big grain of salt here, given the source. but this is funny to think of anyway.

  26. Maritza says:

    Penny is the one who looks 57 and Carrie looks 70. If they decide to come out, good for them. Life is short, live and let live.

  27. i says:

    Wow!
    I sure hope that if they are together that they do come out because that would set a phenomenal example. They’re both such strong women….how cool!

  28. Santolina says:

    This is the funniest thread, with Meathead making an appearance…. *wiping eyes* Dang, let’s just put interesting people together as couples so we can imagine their fabulous dinner parties!

  29. gossiprag says:

    idk,i really don’t believe any of this.i just read penny’s recent book & it said nothing of being bisexual plus carrie is not the kind of woman who can keep a secret.seems like she would have blabbed about this as soon as they first started dating.

  30. Beezers says:

    They have the same birthday and have shared their birtday party for many decades. Penny was with Art Garfunkle while Carrie was with Paul Simon. I don’t think they’re a couple, just good friends and the Enquirer is making this up (who’da thunk it), but if they are, good for them. They deserve happiness, as we all do.

  31. LovesGossip says:

    John Travolta’s revenge against Carrie perhaps?

  32. Christin says:

    Looks like someone called BS on this story. If they are good friends and may work on a project together, then why assume something else?

    I appreciate that Penny (much like Ron Howard) has never shunned her earlier roles as she became more famous or established as a director. And I’m especially glad to hear her health has stabilized.

    I really do wish the remaining L&S gang would get together in some way. I truly believe it would be TV ratings gold. The reality garbage on TV today makes me even more nostalgic for those fun shows from the 1970s and 1980s.

  33. telesma says:

    Seriously? No. I read Penny Marshall’s autobiography a while back, and they’ve been best friends for YEARS and I didn’t get the impression that either of them was anything but straight. She dated Art Garfunkel for a long time, Fisher was married to Paul Simon. That’s how long they’ve been friends – since Carrie Fisher was married to Paul Simon.

  34. Ravensdaughter says:

    I assume Carrie Fisher had to have at least some facial surgery because she gained so much weight, but she is completely unrecognizable now. As an ORIGINAL Star Wars groupie, that makes me sad. There are probably a lot of guys who admired her bikinied body in “The Empire Strikes Back” who feel pretty strange now, too.

    I’m turning 50 in a month. Cue Mick Jagger, “What a drag it is to get old”. I have a back injury and a few other problems here and there, but it could be worse (the happy side of the coin!!=sarcasm)