MY LIFE IN PICTURES With Ron Howard

He was a child star who found his passion as a director – but it’s family that’s made him who he is

Ron Howard has worked with some of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, not to mention some of its most memorable creatures, including mermaids (Splash), Wookiees (Solo: A Star Wars Story), aliens (Cocoon) and a Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas). After a lifetime in showbusiness and two Oscars for 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, he’s still doing what he loves. “I’m proud of the longevity and the kind of range of projects I’ve been able to work on, from comedy to fantasy to drama and now documentaries,” says Howard, 65, whose latest film is the documentary Pavarotti, which movingly tells the life story of the famed opera singer.

Howard got his big break at age 5, playing Opie on the The Andy Griffith Show. He won new fans by starring in 1973’s American Graffiti, a part that led to his role as Richie Cunningham on TV’s Happy Days from 1974 to 1980. But he always knew his true calling was to work behind the camera.

“I was an actor who dreamed of being a director,” he says.

With him every step of the way has been Cheryl Howard, 65, the director’s wife of 44 years – the pair met in junior year at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. “She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured.” The couple raised four children – actress Bryce Dallas Howard, 38, twins Paige and Jocelyn, 34, and son Reed, 32 – outside of Hollywood in Greenwich, Connecticut, and now have five grandkids. And while the Oklahoma-born filmmaker has seen plenty of red carpets and lots of movie-star friends, he says it’s the quiet nights at home with his family that make him happiest.

“When I flash back to memories, I hardly ever flash to a memory of working. It’s a memory of being a family member, whether it’s as a child with my folks, as a new husband with Cheryl or as a father with my four,” he says. “I’m so lucky.”

Howard and his oldest daughter, Jurassic World actress Bryce Dallas Howard, ca. 1981.

MEET THE HOWARDS From left: Son-in-law Seth Gabel, daughter Bryce, Howard with grandson Quinn, wife Cheryl, son-in-law Dane Charbeneau, daughter-in-law Ashley, daughter Jocelyn and son Reed.

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA “Pavarotti’s career was so rarefied, but he was relatable, and his problems were many of the problems that we would understand,” says Howard (promoting his new documentary in New York on Apr. 30). MOVIE MENTOR Howard directing the 1988 film Willow with George Lucas, who wrote the script. “Directing the movie for him was like getting my PhD in cinema. He’s been a great friend,” says Howard.

MAKING WAVES IN HOLLYWOOD Howard’s 1984 romantic comedy Splash, about a man (Tom Hanks) who falls for a mermaid (Daryl Hannah), was a huge success and helped solidify his status as an in-demand director.

CHEWIE’S CHUM “You haven’t lived until you’ve been hugged by a Wookiee,” says Howard, who directed 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.

A ROYAL WELCOME “She was remarkable,” Howard (with Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks at the London premiere of Apollo 13 in 1995) says of Princess Diana. “That was a great night.”