Rob Reiner, wife confirmed dead in homicide at Brentwood home; police interview family member

Richard Winton, Clara Harter, Grace Toohey, Christie D’Zurilla and David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times on Dec 15, 2025

Published in News & Features

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Longtime Hollywood star Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead at their Brentwood home Sunday in what police are describing as an apparent homicide.

A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed the deaths Sunday evening.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family spokesperson said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”

Los Angeles police were investigating the deaths as a homicide after the bodies of Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner were found at the home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue, police said.

Law enforcement sources told The Times that a family member was being interviewed in connection with the deaths.

The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation, confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry into the home.

At a news conference late Sunday, LAPD Chief Detective Alan Hamilton released little information about the case but said the death investigation was ongoing. He said officers were working to secure a search warrant before launching a “thorough” investigation inside the residence.

“At this time, the Los Angeles Police Department is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest ... and we will not be doing that until we conduct our investigation and we move forward,” Hamilton said. He said many family members would be interviewed but that “no one has been detained; no one is being questioned as a suspect.”

Earlier Sunday, Margaret Stewart, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman, said the department was called to the residence around 3:30 p.m. for medical aid. Inside the home, the two bodies were found.

Reiner has had a five-decade-long career in Hollywood.

Early in his career, he played Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the iconic sitcom “All in the Family” from 1971 to 1979, alongside Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker.

As a director, Reiner helmed a string of hits including “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” His work took a dramatic turn when he directed the 1986 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Stand by Me.”

Reiner was nominated for an Academy Award for 1993’s “A Few Good Men,” which starred Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, though the movie lost to Clint Eastwood’s western “Unforgiven.”

Reiner also was a leading political voice in Hollywood.

He was a co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization that led the fight to overturn Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. He’s also been active in children’s issues through the years, having led the campaign to pass Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Initiative, which created an ambitious program of early childhood development services.

Proposition 10 was considered landmark policy. Reiner enlisted help in the effort from Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, and his own father, comedy legend Carl Reiner.

Reiner was married to Penny Marshall, star of “Laverne & Shirley,” from 1971 to 1981. He met photographer Michele Singer on the set of “When Harry Met Sally” and the two married in 1989, the year the movie came out.

Michele Singer Reiner began producing films over the last decade, including “Shock and Awe,” “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” and “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” all directed by her husband. She also produced “God & Country,” a look at Christian nationalism in the U.S.

By Sunday evening, law enforcement had swarmed Reiner’s sprawling estate in Brentwood, though an eerie quiet hung over Chadbourne Avenue, which had been sealed from the public with yellow crime scene tape.

Police cars were stationed at either ends of the block where the Reiner residence is located while a chopper circled overhead.

Officers spoke to a young man inside the sealed-off area who left the scene around 7:30 p.m. in a white Tesla and declined to speak to the media.

Councilmember Traci Park, whose Westside district includes Brentwood, said in a statement that the LAPD had increased patrols in the neighborhood “out of an abundance of caution.”

“As we continue to wait for more updates, I want to express my profound concern and sadness at the news coming out of Brentwood,” Park wrote in the statement. “We are in close contact with LAPD as the homicide unit continues their investigation.”

Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that she was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob and his wife Michele.”

“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said. “An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”