Photo: Instagram
Famed actor Steve Buscemi mourns his wife Jo Andres after over 30 years together.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Jan 14, 2019
Legendary actor Steve Buscemi is mourning the loss of Jo Andres, his wife of over 30 years. The couple married in 1987 and have a son, Lucian, together.
Andres died sometime last week and the funeral was held at the couple’s home on New York. No information is available about the cause of death.
Who is Jo Andres? Andres was an artist, choreographer, and filmmaker in her own right, having produced short films that played at prestigious film festivals, Including the Sundance Festival, and served as an artist in residence at different institutions. She often collaborated with her husband on projects.
1. Dance
In the early 1980s, Andres was a well-known performance artist and choreographer in New York City. She was best known for works that combined movement and light to create striking performance peices. She performed at many venues including Performing Garage, La Mama Experimental Theater Club P.S. 122, St. Marks Danspace. She was a consultant to the dance company the Wooster Group.
2. Artist
Andres was also a painter and photographer and many of her works can be found at her website. She was an artist in silence at multiple institutions including Yaddo and The Rockefeller Study Center in Bellagio, Italy. She is best known for her cyanotype photographic works, many of which can be seen at her website.
3. Film
Andres also directed short films, sometime in collaboration with family,.Her best known film is Black Kites, which played at Sundance in 1996. It was based on the journals of an artist during the siege of Sarajevo. Her son Lucian starred in the film.
4. Collaboration
When Buscemi first tried his hand at directing in 1992, Andres took a prominent creative role. She was the editor for his film What Happened To Pete?
5. Inspiration
In an interview, Buscemi once shared that his wife was the inspiration behind his attempts at songwriting in the 1980s. He said in an interview, “Practically all those sad songs I wrote back then were inspired by a girl I was in love who was away for a month in Europe, with her ex-boyfriend no less. I was convinced our short romance was over. But when she returned, things heated up again between us. Her name is Jo Andres and we’ve been married now for 17 years. If she ever leaves me, maybe I’ll start writing songs again. But I’d much rather be happy with her than writing sad songs without her.”
5. Art fan
Buscemi was also a fan of Andres’ visual works. When asked about his favorite piece of art, he replied, "probably something by my wife Jo Andres”.
Jo Andres was 65 years old.
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.