Kyle MacLachlan Biography

Kyle MacLachlan was born Kyle Merritt McLachlan (He later changed his surname to “MacLachlan” to reflect his Scottish heritage), on February 22, 1959, in Yakima, Washington, US. His father, Kent Alan McLachlan, was a lawyer and stockbroker, while his mother, Catherine Louise (née Stone) McLachlan, was homemaker and a public relations director for a school district.

He has Scottish, German, and Cornish descent. He grew up with his 2 younger brothers, Craig and Kent Jr.

MacLachlan studied at the Eisenhower High School in Yakima and graduated in October 1977. He was trained in the piano from age 9 to 14. He had also studied classical singing.

He was 15 when he performed in his first play. In his senior year, MacLachlan bagged the lead role of Brindsley Miller in a production of Black Comedy. During the same time, he also portrayed Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. His parents separated when he was 17, and they divorced in his senior year of high school.

In 1982, he obtained a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from the University of Washington, where he was part of the Professional Actor Training Program. He had initially planned to major in business but then switched to classical voice and eventually focused on acting. It is believed, he had also initially aspired to become a professional golfer but decided to switch to acting later.

In 1986, MacLachlan’s mother died of ovarian cancer, at age 53. She had been diagnosed in 1983, but delayed informing him since he was then filming for Dune, his debut film. His father passed away of post-surgery complications in 2011.

Kyle MacLachlan made his film debut as Paul Atreides in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1964 novel Dune. However, he shot to fame with Lynch’s next project, the 1986 classic Blue Velvet, portraying Jeffrey Beaumont.

In 1987, MacLachlan was seen as FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher in the sci-fi film The Hidden. This was followed by his iconic role of Special Agent Dale Cooper in Lynch's ABC mystery drama TV series Twin Peaks (1990-1991).

His stellar performance as Agent Cooper earned MacLachlan a Golden Globe award (for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, 1991) and 2 Emmy nominations. It also brought him plenty of projects in both TV and films. In 1990, MacLachlan earned a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for his work in the album Diane...The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper.

In 1991, he was seen as keyboardist Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone-directed biographical film, The Doors, based on the lives of the members of the iconic band of the same name. In 1994, he played villain Cliff Vandercave in the live action version of The Flintstones.

His career, however, was affected by his 1995 flop Showgirls. However, MacLachlan bounced back in the early 2000s with the role of Trey MacDougal in HBO's Sex and the City (2000-2002). During the same time, he appeared in the starring role of Dennis Conway in the TV film The Spring (2000).

He was also seen as Claudius in Michael Almereyda's adaptation of Hamlet (2000). MacLachlan’s uncanny resemblance to Cary Grant helped him play the actor's spirit in Touch of Pink (2004).

Over the years, he also gained fame with shows such as Desperate Housewives (as Orson Hodge, 2006-2012) and In Justice (as David Swain, 2006). He reprised his role of Dale Cooper in the 3rd season of Twin Peaks in 2017, winning the Dorian Award for TV Performance of the Year – Actor and the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television, both in 2018.

He has also appeared in series such as How I Met Your Mother (as George Van Smoot/The Captain, 2010-2014), Portlandia (as the mayor of Portland, 2011-2018), Believe (as Roman Skouras, 2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (as Calvin Johnson/The Doctor, 2014-2015), and Carol's Second Act (as Dr. Frost, 2019-2020). He portrayed President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 2020 historical drama miniseries Atlantic Crossing.

His deep, smooth voice has helped him bag voiceover roles in video games such as Grand Theft Auto III (2001). He lent his voice to Clark Kent/Superman in the 2008 animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. He has also voiced Mr. Anderson in the 2015 Disney film Inside Out and the Pixar short film Riley's First Date?, released the same year.

His stage credits include a 1983 production of Molière’s Tartuffe (as Damis) and a 2003-2004 production of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker (as Aston). He has also appeared in TV commercials for brands such as Ruffles (1991), Georgia Coffee (1991, Japan), and Vodafone Mobile Telephones (1996). He has been featured in print advertisements for brands such as Donna Karan Clothing (1992 and 1997, with Linda Evangelista) and Skyy Vodka (2004).

Kyle MacLachlan dated actor and filmmaker Laura Dern from 1985 to 1989. The couple also appeared together in the 1986 movie Blue Velvet.

He then dated actor and producer Lara Flynn Boyle from 1990 to 1992 and appeared in the series Twin Peaks with her. Between 1990 and 1992, he was also romantically linked to actor Heather Graham, who appeared in Twin Peaks, too.

In 1992, MacLachlan began dating Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista. They met at a photoshoot for Barneys New York. The couple got engaged in 1995 but split in 1998.

In 1999, he met TV producer, publicist, and entrepreneur Desiree Gruber. On April 20, 2002, the couple married at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Miami, Florida. Gruber owns a public relations agency and has also executive-produced Project Runway in 2004.

On July 25, 2008, they had their son, Callum Lyon MacLachlan. Soon after Callum was born, MacLachlan launched a new vintage wine at his winery and named it Baby Bear. He now lives with his wife and son in Manhattan, New York City.

MacLachlan is an avid dog lover. He directed the YouTube series Mookie and Sam, which starred his dogs. MacLachlan and Desiree voiced the dogs in the series.

Kyle MacLachlan is a part-time wine vintner, too. In 2005, he launched his wine brand, Pursued by Bear, based in Walla Walla, Washington. The name was suggested by Fred Savage and was inspired by a stage direction from William Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale: “Exit, pursued by bear.”

Apart from his love for wine, he is believed to have turned to the winemaking business to spend quality time with his brothers and father. MacLachlan partners with vintner Eric Dunham, whom he approached with his business idea in 2002. Pursued By Bear currently sells multiple brands of wines, such as Twin Bear, Baby Bear, Pursued by Bear, Blushing Bear, and Bear Cub.