Sir Michael Caine and Shakira Baksh’s love story is a true tale of love at first sight.
In early 1971, the British acting legend was channel-surfing when he paused on a Maxwell House coffee commercial and saw a young Shakira dancing on screen.
In that moment, he later said, he was completely smitten, thinking to himself, “That’s the woman for me.”
Convinced she lived in Brazil because of the ad’s setting, Caine was ready to fly there to track her down, only to learn through a friend that she actually lived just miles away from him in London.
His pursuit was relentless, he called her phone number more than ten times before she finally agreed to meet him for dinner.
Once they met, it didn’t take long for love to blossom. As Caine later shared, “I fell in love with her in about eight minutes, and it took her two hours to fall in love with me.”
Two years after their first date, the couple wed in Las Vegas on January 8, 1973, at the Candlelight Wedding Chapel.
Sir Michael has often credited Shakira with saving his life, stating in a Radio Times interview that he used to drink a bottle of vodka and sm*ke several packs of cigarettes daily before they met, habits he completely gave up for her.
“Meeting Shakira calmed me down. And she’s not the little wife; she runs the whole business side of my life. She’s my right-hand man, my confidante. I tell her everything.”
He added, “I was famous when I met her, but I couldn’t have gotten this far without her. She is the most important person in my life.”
One fan of the couple gushed, “It's so cute!!! I want to be Shakira and find me a Michael,” while another quipped, “He just seems to worship her.”
In early 1971, the British acting legend was channel-surfing when he paused on a Maxwell House coffee commercial and saw a young Shakira dancing on screen.
In that moment, he later said, he was completely smitten, thinking to himself, “That’s the woman for me.”
Convinced she lived in Brazil because of the ad’s setting, Caine was ready to fly there to track her down, only to learn through a friend that she actually lived just miles away from him in London.
His pursuit was relentless, he called her phone number more than ten times before she finally agreed to meet him for dinner.
Once they met, it didn’t take long for love to blossom. As Caine later shared, “I fell in love with her in about eight minutes, and it took her two hours to fall in love with me.”
Two years after their first date, the couple wed in Las Vegas on January 8, 1973, at the Candlelight Wedding Chapel.
Sir Michael has often credited Shakira with saving his life, stating in a Radio Times interview that he used to drink a bottle of vodka and sm*ke several packs of cigarettes daily before they met, habits he completely gave up for her.
“Meeting Shakira calmed me down. And she’s not the little wife; she runs the whole business side of my life. She’s my right-hand man, my confidante. I tell her everything.”
He added, “I was famous when I met her, but I couldn’t have gotten this far without her. She is the most important person in my life.”
One fan of the couple gushed, “It's so cute!!! I want to be Shakira and find me a Michael,” while another quipped, “He just seems to worship her.”
