‘I don’t think of ours as a Hollywood marriage’: Harry Connick Jr on relationship with former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre

Harry Connick Jr reflects on his marriage to former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre – as he admits, ‘I don’t think of ours as a Hollywood marriage’.

Long before Harry Connick Jr struck a piano key or crooned his first note, he used a more unorthodox instrument to draw an audience.

“My parents would come into the room when I was a baby and find me banging my head against the crib,” the three-time Grammy winner tells Stellar.

“For me there was something soothing about that [rhythmic] boom, boom, boom. So my nickname became ‘Boomer’.”

The 57-year-old insists his love for music has never wavered, though his songcraft has evolved to express emotions rather than just process feelings.

“I like to be in a peaceful place when I make art,” he explains. “When I’m there, I can write about anything or play anything.”

Harry Connick Jr. Picture: David Clark

‘We raised them in the hopes they would be what they are, which is brilliant, driven, incredible women.’ Picture: David Clark

In fact, Connick Jr says, “Music is the only thing I’ve ever known. It’s the only thing I considered as my vocation.”

So he didn’t have to think twice about appearing on The Piano, a new ABC series hosted by Amanda Keller, in which – along with Australian classical musician Andrea Lam – he will guide selected hobby piano players through preparations for a concert at City Recital Hall in Sydney.

From a group of retirees who play four-abreast at the keyboard to a man who overcame the paralysis of a stroke by playing one-handed, the everyday Australians who have poured out their passion for music impressed and moved Connick Jr.

He is used to offering encouragement and professional feedback on our TV screens through his judging stints on Australian Idol, but he explains The Piano “was more of a celebration. I like mentoring people a lot. That’s really where my heart is.”

Enduring marriage! Jill Goodacre and Harry Connick Jr in 2018. Picture: Getty Images

The couple has been married for 31 years. Picture: AP Photo/Stuart Ramson

‘I just love my wife!’ Together in New York in 2009. Picture: Getty Images

One thing Connick Jr is not doing, though, is gathering his three daughters around the piano for regular singalongs.

“I don’t want to ruin that picture for you, but no, that’s not what we do,” he says with a laugh.

“I don’t think they have ever said, ‘Can you play something for me?’”

The Connicks are frequent visitors to Australia, where they enjoy the laid-back lifestyle and relative anonymity.

“Australians just respond differently to fame,” Connick Jr notes appreciatively – although he does have one quibble.

“That Australian sun is too brutal,” he explains. “I am not a hang-out-all-day-at-the-beach guy.”

Listen to the latest episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About:

Each of the Connick daughters has cultivated her own local connection. Earlier this year, middle daughter Kate, a 27-year-old actor, model and fashion designer, starred as troublemaker Fallon Morell on Neighbours. “It’s a big night in our household when she’s on,” Connick Jr says proudly.

Elsewhere Georgia, who turned 29 last week, is pursuing a masters in cinematography at Sydney’s Australian Film Television and Radio School, while 22-year-old artist Charlotte has studied at Melbourne’s 16th Street Actors Studio.

“We raised them in the hopes they would be what they are, which is brilliant, driven, incredible women,” Connick Jr says of himself and wife Jill Goodacre, 61.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world to stand on the sidelines and watch them do their thing.”

Last week also marked the 31st wedding anniversary for Connick Jr and Goodacre, a former model.

“I just love my wife,” he tells Stellar. “I take my marriage very seriously. She’s my best friend. I love her and I respect her. I don’t think of ours as a Hollywood marriage – it’s just a marriage. And in my world, marriages last a long time.”

The Piano premieres at 7.30pm on May 4 on the ABC, with all episodes streaming on ABC iview. Read the full interview with Harry Connick Jr in Stellar today – inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as ‘I don’t think of ours as a Hollywood marriage’: Harry Connick Jr on relationship with former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre