Linda Cardellini exclusively revealed to E! News at the 2026 Emmy Awards Sept. 14 where she and fiancé Steven Rodriguez stand on getting married after their 13-year engagement.
Linda Cardellini Reveals If She Will Get Married After 13-Year Engagement
Linda Cardellini isn’t sure if she’s DTM—or rather, down to get married.
The DTF St. Louis star—who arrived at the 2026 Emmy Awards already a winner for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie—revealed that she and fiancé Steven Rodriguez aren’t quite sure if they’ll ever officially tie the knot after a 13-year engagement.
“We’ve done all the hard stuff,” Cardellini shared with Justin Sylvester during an exclusive interview on Live From E!: 2026 Emmys. “We’re doing all the real stuff.”
The 51-year-old—who shares 14-year-old daughter Lilah-Rose with Rodriguez—joked that all they really have left is a party.
“We have giant families,” she mused, “so that’s an enormous party that we’ve been planning for 16 years.”
And for Cardellini—who looked stunning in a Yara Shoemaker gown on the red carpet—their romance had been even longer in the making. She and the makeup artist originally met in elementary school, when she was 11 years old and he was 12 1/2. However, it wasn’t until they reconnected years later that sparks started to fly. (See all the stars on the red carpet here.)
“We had been friends for a long time, and then one day 10 years ago, somebody mentioned to me that he had moved to L.A. to do makeup,” she recalled to Into the Gloss in 2015. “I ran into him and was like, ‘Do my makeup! It’ll be really fun for both of us!’ And then about five years ago we got together.”
“He does my makeup for red-carpet and editorial stuff,” she added. “Sometimes I’ll do it myself and he’ll be like, ‘Do you want me to fix that?’”
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And while she and Rodriguez have done their best to keep their romance out of the spotlight, the Freaks and Geeks alum has never passed up a chance to share just how important life with her fiancé is.
“I was never a party person who had tons of friends. I have a lot of close friends and I keep them for a long time,” she told The Cut in 2019. “My other half, he’s one of them. I guess I love to go through life collecting amazing people.”
Keep reading to see all the biggest celebs on the red carpet at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Zendaya
in custom Prada.
Photo by LISA O’CONNOR / AFP via Getty Images
Constance Zimmer
in Akris and Kwiat jewelry.
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Charlie Hunnam
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Carey Mulligan
in The Row.
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Isa Briones
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Law Roach
in Givenchy.
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Julianne Hough
in Antonio Grimaldi.
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Sepideh Moafi
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Quinta Brunson
in Christian Cowan, Jimmy Choo shoes and Marco Bicego jewelry.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Alan Cumming
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Odessa A’Zion
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Hannah Einbinder
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Chase Infiniti
in Louis Vuitton.
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Jean Smart
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Emmy Rossum
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Dakota Fanning
in Carolina Herrera.
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Elle Fanning
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Kate O’Flynn
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Matthew Rhys & Keri Russell
in Khaite (Russell).
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Emma D’Arcy
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Selena Gomez
in Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar & David Boreanaz
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Thomas Doherty
in Brunello Cucinelli.
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Noah Wyle
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Rachel Sennott
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Kristen Bell
in Alberta Ferretti.
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Lisa Kudrow
in Celine.
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Sheryl Lee Ralph
in Sergio Hudson.
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Jason Segel
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Cailee Spaeny
in Miu Miu.
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