Meet Filmmaker David Fincher’s Wife Ceán Chaffin — Details on His Children

David Fincher, who is renowned for his detailed and inventive storytelling, has been married twice and Ceán Chaffin is his current wife.

As a behind-the-scenes force, Chaffin has played a crucial role in supporting Fincher’s artistic pursuits and making their collaborative projects successful.

Who is David Fincher’s wife Ceán Chaffin?

Chaffin, born on June 26, 1957, is a prominent American film producer renowned for her extensive collaboration with her husband, the acclaimed director Fincher. 

The dynamic duo has left an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape, earning numerous accolades for their collaborative efforts. 

Notably, Chaffin and her fellow producers received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture for three of Fincher’s masterpieces: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, and Mank. 

Additionally, Chaffin won the American Film Institute’s AFI Awards for these films, along with another triumph for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

Further, Chaffin has produced iconic movies such as The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Gone Girl, and the recent The Killer. She also took on the role of executive producer for the critically acclaimed 2017 TV series Mindhunter.

Fincher and Chaffin started dating around 1995 and got married in 2013 in an intimate wedding ceremony. However, not much information is available surrounding their relationship as they both keep a low profile.

David Fincher was previously married to Donya Fiorentino

Fincher was previously married to Donya Fiorentino, a successful model and actress, before moving on with his second wife Chaffin. 

Fiorentino first crossed paths with Fincher, the video director at the time, in the late 1980s. He had previously collaborated extensively with pop sensation Madonna and had been romantically linked with her.

David Fincher’s first wife Donya Fiorentino. (Source: )

The relationship with Madonna ended by the time Fincher began seeing Fiorentino. The couple married in 1990 and welcomed their daughter Phelix Imogen Fincher in 1994.

However, within a year of Phelix’s birth, the couple got divorced in 1995. Fincher was granted full custody of their daughter, potentially due to Fiorentino’s struggles with alcohol.

How many children does David Fincher have?

Fincher has one child, a daughter named Phelix Imogen Fincher. She was born on April 25, 1994, from Fincher’s relationship with actress Fiorentino. 

Formerly a standout volleyball player, she spent three years playing for Campbell Hall High School in North Hollywood, California. During her high school tenure, she was named to the All-Alpha League Second Team in 2011. 

Notably, she contributed to leading the Vikings to a coveted berth in the CIF Southern Section Tournament. Beyond high school, Phelix continued to showcase her volleyball skills by joining the California club volleyball team Legacy. 

In addition, she made her collegiate debut on August 31, 2012, playing for UCLA against Northeastern. 

She also has two half-siblings, Gulliver Flynn Oldman and Charlie John Oldman, from her mother Fiorentino’s marriage to renowned actor Gary Oldman. 

David Fincher’s professional career

Beginning in the early 1980s, Fincher initially worked at John Korty’s studio as a production head. Later, he became a visual effects producer, working on projects such as Twice Upon a Time, Return of the Jedi, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The turning point in Fincher’s career came when he directed a television commercial for the American Cancer Society in 1984, featuring a fetus smoking a cigarette. 

This controversial but attention-grabbing commercial garnered the attention of Los Angeles-based producers and got a chance to direct the 1985 documentary, The Beat of the Live Drum.

Similarly, Fincher co-founded the production company Propaganda Films, where he not only directed commercials but also ventured into the world of music videos.

Throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s, he directed iconic music videos for artists like George Michael, Madonna, Aerosmith, and Michael Jackson. 

The black-and-white video for Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ particularly stood out, drawing inspiration from the 1920s and 1930s films and earning recognition as one of the best music videos of all time. 

In 1992, Fincher made his directorial debut with Alien 3. Despite facing challenges such as studio intervention and script changes, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. 

Undeterred by the mixed reception of Alien 3, Fincher rebounded with the critically acclaimed Seven in 1995. 

In the early 2000s, Fincher was involved in various projects, including the executive production of the short film series The Hire and the thriller Panic Room. 

In 2007, he directed Zodiac, a meticulously crafted thriller based on the real-life Zodiac killer case. While it faced challenges at the U.S. box office, the film garnered positive reviews.

In 2008, Fincher tackled the ambitious project The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, earning critical acclaim and multiple Academy Award nominations. 

One of Fincher’s most significant achievements came in 2010 with The Social Network, a biographical drama about the founding of Facebook. 

David Fincher’s recent works

Following the success of The Social Network in 2010, Fincher produced The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011. 

In 2013, he made a successful transition to television as an executive producer and director for the Netflix series House of Cards, earning praise and accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

In 2014, Fincher directed Gone Girl, an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel, which proved to be both a critical and commercial triumph. 

The success continued with his venture into television as the creator, producer, and showrunner of Mindhunter from 2017 to 2019, a series based on the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit.

Fincher was also involved in the sequel to World War Z and his executive producer role in the animated series Love, Death & Robots for Netflix. 

Furthermore, he recently directed an adaptation of the graphic novel The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender, which premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and was released on Netflix in November 2023.