Chris Henchy, the husband of actress Brooke Shields, is a New York-born screenwriter, producer, and director with a three-decade career in Hollywood. The couple married in 2001 and have two daughters: Rowan, who now appears on Bravo's Next Gen NYC, and Grier, a model. Henchy's professional achievements include co-founding the comedy website Funny or Die and serving as a co-executive producer on HBO's Entourage.
Early Life and Education of Chris Henchy
Christopher Thomas Henchy was born on 23 March 1964 in New York City. He was raised in Augusta, Georgia, where he attended Saint Mary on the Hill Catholic School before graduating from Friendswood High School. He later earned a B.S. degree in Finance from the University of New Mexico, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
After graduation, Henchy moved to New York City and worked on Wall Street. He eventually left finance to pursue a career in comedy, landing a job at MTV and later writing monologue jokes for Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show.
Career Highlights: From Spin City to Funny or Die
Henchy rose through the ranks as a supervising producer and then co-executive producer on the ABC sitcom Spin City (1996–2002), starring Michael J. Fox. He then worked as a supervising producer on Life With Bonnie (2002–04). He co-created the sitcom I'm with Her with Marco Pennette, loosely based on his relationship with Shields. The series centred on a high-school teacher who becomes romantically involved with a movie star.
Henchy later became co-executive producer of HBO's Entourage (2004–2011) and a producer on Eastbound & Down (2009–2013). In 2007, he co-founded the independent comedy website Funny or Die alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, with backing from Sequoia Capital. He also co-founded Gary Sanchez Productions with Ferrell and McKay, which produced numerous comedies before dissolving in 2019.
Filmography and Creative Work
Henchy wrote and produced several Ferrell films, including Land of the Lost (2009), The Other Guys (2010), and The Campaign (2012). He also served as a producer on Drunk History (2013–present) and directed Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020).
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Henchy's net worth is estimated at approximately $50 million, accumulated through television production, screenwriting, film work, and digital media ventures.
Meeting and Marriage to Brooke Shields
Shields revealed in her 2005 memoir, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, that she fell in love with Henchy the first time they met on the Warner Bros. lot in 1999. She wrote, as reported by Hello Magazine: "To this day I believe that I fell in love with Chris the day we met, in 1999, but I would never tell him that!"
Shields explained that because Henchy knew her situation, "there was no pressure, and we were friends for quite some time." They began dating after she admitted there was too much chemistry to ignore. They got engaged in July 2000 during a vacation in Mexico and married on 4 April 2001 in a small ceremony on Catalina Island, California, followed by a second ceremony on 26 May in Palm Springs. The couple changed their wedding plans from New York to be closer to Shields' father, who was undergoing chemotherapy.
In a 2024 interview with People, Shields shared her advice for a lasting marriage: "I think you have to constantly make sure you discuss things rather than let them fester. And you have to be willing to adapt to the other person growing and changing." She added, "Sometimes you don't grow and change at the same rate. And that can be really hard because what you initially fell in love with looks different. It doesn't mean it's bad, it just is different."
Daughters Rowan and Grier Henchy
The couple's first daughter, Rowan Francis, was born on 15 May 2003, and their second daughter, Grier Hammond, arrived on 18 April 2006. Both daughters attended Wake Forest University; Rowan graduated in 2025 with a degree in Communications and a minor in Journalism, while Grier is still enrolled.
Rowan joined the cast of Bravo's Next Gen NYC for Season 2, which premiered on 3 June 2025. The show follows friends raised in the spotlight as they navigate adulthood in New York City. Shields offered her daughter advice on Watch What Happens Live: "I said, 'Look, don't be the girl throwing up. Be the one holding the hair back of the girl throwing up.'"
Grier has pursued modelling, appearing with her mother in a Victoria's Secret campaign in April 2022. Shields also wrote the children's book It's the Best Day Ever, Dad! in 2009, celebrating Henchy's relationship with their daughters.
Recent News and Family Life
In June 2026, Brooke Shields was named host of ABC's Hearts of Heroes, a weekend educational series from Hearst Media Production Group, returning for Season 8 on 11 July. She also stars in and executive produces the AMC Networks series You're Killing Me, set to premiere on Acorn TV in May 2026. As president of the Actors' Equity Association, Shields visited Colorado's Casa Bonita to support unionising efforts there.
Shields marked their 23rd wedding anniversary in an April 2024 Instagram post, writing: "Today marks 23 years married to the love of my life still giddy to be stuck with you, Henchy!"
