Patrick Stewart. Ozell was born and raised in Reno, Nevada, where she lived an outdoorsy, “Western” childhood. But music was always her ion, and when she moved to Boulder, Colorado, to study English Literature, she sang in amateur blues bands in her spare time.
In 2008, Ozell had moved to The Big Apple and was working as a waitress at the now-closed Franny’s Restaurant. The famous eatery was close to Broadway where veteran British actor Patrick Stewart (a member of The Royal Shakespeare Company since 1966) was playing the lead role in Macbeth.
Stewart just happened to walk in and was smitten by Ozell from the very start. He recalled in a later interview, “This lovely woman came over and said, ‘Gentleman, on the house, what would you like for desserts?’ We got talking and she told me how much she’d wanted to see Macbeth, but it had been sold out.” He later gave Ozell his phone number and managed to get her a ticket. Ozell was smitten enough with his performance that the pair began dating, eventually marrying in 2013.
Sir Ian McKellen officiated the ceremony in Ozell’s home state of Nevada. It should have been a golden moment, but it later transpired that the marriage wasn’t legitimate when it was discovered Sir Ian’s license did not apply in Nevada. This setback did not put the couple off and an improvised ceremony was held back in L.A., where Sir Ian’s credentials were official.
Since then, the couple has enjoyed a blissful relationship. Ozell even appeared in the second season of on stage performing a song featured on her 2020 album, Overnight Lows. On Sep. 7, the pair will enjoy their tenth wedding anniversary. Despite the 38-year age gap, Ozell and Stewart will hopefully still have many happy years left together.
Published: Mar 28, 2023 12:35 pm