Everything to Know About Jason Bateman’s Wife, Amanda Anka

THE RUNDOWN

• Jason Bateman met his wife, Amanda Anka, in the late ’80s, when they were both teenagers.
• After tying the knot in 2001, the pair welcomed two daughters, Francesca and Maple.
• Bateman has credited his secure family life with helping him build his Hollywood career.

Jason Bateman has been acting since he was just a kid, graduating from child star to comedy legend turned serious actor. Following the success of Netflix’s Ozark—which Bateman both starred in and served as director on several episodes—the Game Night actor is returning to the streamer in the limited series Black Rabbit opposite Jude Law. Alongside his wildly successful career, Bateman appears to have an exceptionally happy home life; the actor has been married to actress and producer Amanda Anka for more than two decades. Here’s what you need to know about Jason Bateman’s wife and the mother of his two kids.

Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka were friends first

Prior to dating and getting married, Jason Bateman was friends with his future wife, Amanda Anka, for many years. In a March 2013 profile of Bateman in GQ, Anka opened up about first meeting the actor at a Los Angeles Kings game in 1988 when they were teenagers. Revealing that they started out as friends, and it was a decade before they began dating, Anka said, “I just wasn’t into where he was at.”

Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman in April 2002.

The pair seemingly took their time getting to know one another, which paid off in the long run. “Our marriage has defied the odds and works really well,” Bateman told Redbook in January 2013. He continued, “I wanted to marry a friend. Friends last longer.”

The Horrible Bosses star shared the same sentiment in an interview with The Daily Telegraph Australia (via Cosmopolitan) in 2014, revealing how he realized he “should probably marry a friend” if he wanted his marriage to last. “I wanted to marry somebody who wasn’t someone I had to be in any particular mood to want to be around—with close friends, you can be with them no matter what mood you’re in,” the actor noted. “Just waited until I found a girl that really was that in my life. Amanda is and that’s why it feels so effortless.”

Amanda Anka is an actress and producer

When they started dating, both Anka and Bateman were making a living acting. Anka’s credits include playing a vampire in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, which was released in 1992, and appearances in TV shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210, Diagnosis Murder, ER, and Bones. More recently, Anka collaborated with close friend Jennifer Aniston as a co-producer on the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.

Prior to building a career in the entertainment industry, Bateman’s wife was no stranger to what being a celebrity entails. Both of Anka’s parents were well-known in their respective fields: her father is Canadian-American singer-songwriter Paul Anka, while her mother, model Anne de Zogheb, passed away in 2017.

Discussing his wife’s evolving career, Bateman told GQ in 2013, “She on purpose slowed things down to have a couple of kids. And by the time she wanted to make a more concerted effort to get back into the workplace, I think her passion for it had waned a bit.” However, the actor suggested that Anka has simply moved on and was no longer invested in pursuing an acting career in the way she once was.

“I’m positive that she’s happy,” he told the outlet. “To have an expectation that two careers could accelerate or decelerate at the same time would be naive. I’m not surprised that one of us is in a different place than the other—no better, no worse, just in a different place.”

In July 2001, the Zootopia actor married Amanda Anka in Malibu, People reported. According to the outlet, Bateman appeared on the podcast, Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson, in February 2024, and reminisced about the nuptials. “Do you remember I didn’t even dance with Amanda at my wedding?” Bateman asked his father-in-law. “That’s how much I don’t like dancing...you took your dance and my dance.” Paul agreed, telling Bateman, “So you owe me one.”

Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 21, 2018.

After getting married, Anka and Bateman expanded their family by welcoming two daughters. Their eldest child, Francesca Nora Bateman, was born on Oct. 28, 2006, followed by Maple Sylvie Bateman, who arrived on Feb. 10, 2012, as reported by People.

Bateman has been outspoken about his love for his family, often thanking his wife and daughters in speeches and interviews. “Amanda, Franny and Maple—without you, none of it would be enjoyable and it probably wouldn’t be possible,” Bateman said while accepting a SAG Award in January 2019, People reported. “I love you more than I even tell you I do.”

Bateman regularly praises his wife’s parenting skills

Bateman has been candid about wanting to have a family, telling Redbook in 2013, “Being a father of two is everything I wanted. I’m a big fan of marriage and being a dad. And my wife, Amanda, makes those things easy. She spoils me; she makes the husband part simple.” The Identity Thief star further explained that his wife does “a lot of the heavy lifting” when it comes to parenting, especially when he’s busy working on film and TV projects. “I try to make up for it on weekends and when I do get home,” Bateman told the outlet. “I respect that she’s having to wrangle the two kids by herself.”

Backstage at the SAG Awards in January 2019, Bateman highlighted that Anka has “a full-time career herself, and she’s able to be a full-time mom, and she’s almost a full-time dad too,” as reported by Us Weekly. “I’m just floored by that,” the actor explained. “So that keeps me grounded. That reminds me that I’ve got a real strong example to live up to.”

Amanda Anka, Francesca Bateman, Jason Bateman, and Maple Bateman at the actor’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on July 26, 2017.

Bateman and Anka have a very normal relationship

Just like any relationship, Bateman and Anka have weathered their ups and down, which only seems to have strengthened their bond. Speaking to GQ in 2013, the Cherry Falls actress said of her relationship with Bateman, “We disagree all the time! I think he secretly likes it. I think he likes that it doesn’t bore him, that we’re not just agreeing on everything.”

The Arrested Development star opened up about the same topic during his Redbook interview in 2013. “We are really aware of our boundaries,” Bateman told the outlet. “We know how to bug each other and not bug each other. If you don’t get along, it’s garbage. With a girlfriend, you get into a fight, you drive away. With us, we learn to fight quickly or not at all.”

Meanwhile, Anka appears to be aware of just how much of a catch her husband truly is. “He’s the most sensitive, generous man without being fragile, which is interesting to me,” the producer told GQ in 2013. She continued, “I can’t get him off the couch to go to a party. This is a guy who wants to go get frozen yogurt and come home.”

As well as perfecting conflict resolution, Bateman and Anka apparently prioritize spending quality time with one another and going on dates. As the Office Christmas Party star told Redbook, “Right now we’re in a Friday-night mode. We see a movie and go out to dinner, so we’re trying to keep that up.”

In August 2025, Anka and Bateman joined Jennifer Aniston and her new boyfriend, Jim Curtis, on a “three-hour-long double date” in New York, according to People. It seems as though they’re still very much in love, even after all this time.