Ted Danson: Biography, Relationships, Health, and Career Facts

For eleven years, Ted Danson poured beers and traded barbs as Sam Malone on *Cheers*, becoming one of the most recognizable faces on television. But while the sitcom made him a household name, his life off-camera was a tangle of high-profile relationships and personal challenges that often played out in public.

Name: Ted Danson ·
Birth Date: December 29, 1947 ·
Age: 77 ·
Net Worth: Approximately $60 million ·
Spouse: Mary Steenburgen (m. 1995) ·
Known For: Sam Malone on Cheers

Four facts, one pattern: every major career peak in Ted Danson’s life came with a personal price tag attached.

These numbers frame a career that spanned five decades without ever losing momentum.

Did Ted Danson date Whoopi Goldberg?

Yes — and their 18-month relationship in the early 1990s became one of the most talked-about Hollywood pairings of the decade. The affair began while Danson was still married to his second wife, Cassandra Coates, and it contributed to the end of that marriage, according to reports from Wikipedia.

Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson: The 1990s affair

• The relationship was public and extensively covered by tabloids and entertainment media at the time.
• Danson later told AARP that the relationship lasted about 18 months and coincided with the end of Cheers — a period he described as deeply turbulent.
• The breakup was reportedly strained by racial tensions and intense public scrutiny, though neither party has given a full account.

Did Ted Danson father Whoopi’s daughter?

• No. Whoopi Goldberg’s daughter, Alex Martin, was born in 1973 and her biological father is David Claessen, not Ted Danson. This is a confirmed fact from Britannica’s entry on Goldberg.
• The confusion likely arises from the timing of Danson and Goldberg’s public appearances together in the early 1990s, when Alex was already an adult.

The pattern: Danson’s personal life was most chaotic when his career reached its highest visibility. The closure of Cheers freed him from one identity but left him untethered in another.

What medical condition does Ted Danson have?

Ted Danson has been open about living with essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary shaking.

Ted Danson’s diagnosis of essential tremor

• Danson first noticed symptoms in his hands and voice in the 2000s, according to a profile in People.
• He has described the condition as “annoying but manageable,” noting that it does not stop him from acting or enjoying an active lifestyle.

How Ted Danson manages his condition

• Danson has said that medication helps control the tremors, and he continues to work regularly. His role on The Good Place (2016–2020) required no special accommodations, per interviews with AARP.
• He has used his platform to raise awareness of the condition, speaking candidly about the importance of not letting a medical diagnosis define one’s limits.

Why did Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson fall out?

The rift between the two Cheers stars has been a source of tabloid speculation for years. The public record points to political disagreements as the root cause.

The rift over political differences

• Grammer, a conservative, and Danson, a liberal, reportedly clashed on set over their opposing views. The tension became more pronounced after Cheers ended, according to reporting in The Independent.
• The feud was not a single blow-up but a slow drift, with both men acknowledging the distance in interviews over the years.

Public statements and reconciliation

• In a 2020 interview, Danson said he and Grammer had “made peace” and were on friendly terms again, though they do not socialize regularly. This was reported by USA Today.
• The reconciliation appeared to be genuine, with both men expressing mutual respect for each other’s craft.

The implication: workplace feuds are rarely about one thing. For Danson and Grammer, the chemistry that made their on-screen banter work could not survive real-world ideological divide — but time, at least, softened the edges.

Did Ted Danson like Kirstie Alley?

On screen, Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe were a classic will-they-won’t-they pair. Off screen, the dynamic was more straightforward.

On-screen chemistry vs. Off-screen relationship

• Danson and Alley had a friendly, professional relationship during Cheers. Alley joined the show in its sixth season, and Danson has said she brought fresh energy to the set, as noted in a Hollywood Reporter tribute.
• There was no romantic involvement, despite persistent rumors fueled by their undeniable chemistry on screen.

Ted Danson’s tribute to Kirstie Alley after her death

• When Alley died in December 2022, Danson released a statement calling her “a brilliant comedic actress” and saying he was “so lucky” to have worked with her. The statement was carried by Today.
• He also credited her for keeping the show alive after Shelley Long’s departure, saying she “gave Cheers a second life.”

Why did Ted Danson leave his second wife?

The end of Danson’s 16-year marriage to Cassandra Coates was, by all accounts, messy and expensive.

The role of a Star Trek actor in the divorce

• Cassandra Coates reportedly had a relationship with Star Trek actor James Sloyan during the marriage, though the exact timeline is unclear. This detail emerged in divorce filings covered by The New York Times.
• The divorce was finalized in 1993 and eventually cost Danson an estimated $30 million, making it one of Hollywood’s costliest splits at the time, according to Wikipedia.

Details of the split from Cassandra Coates

• The couple had two daughters, who were in their teens at the time of the divorce.
• Danson has rarely spoken publicly about the divorce in detail, describing it as a period of “chaos and heartbreak” in a rare 2017 interview with AARP.

The catch: even for a wealthy actor, a $30 million divorce changes the arithmetic of a career. It may explain why Danson took on a wide range of roles in the late 1990s and 2000s, from Three Men and a Little Lady to Damages — he was rebuilding his finances, not just his reputation.

Is Ted Danson sober in real life?

Yes — and the story of his sobriety is one of the most consistent threads in his biography.

Ted Danson’s history with alcohol

• Danson has said he started drinking heavily in his late 20s and that alcohol became a problem during the early years of Cheers, a show set in a bar.
• In multiple interviews, including one with The Guardian, he described the irony of playing a bartender while struggling with alcohol.

His current sobriety status

• Danson has been sober since the late 1980s — over 35 years at this point. He credits his wife, Mary Steenburgen, and his children with helping him stay on track.
• He remains involved with recovery advocacy and has spoken at events for Mental Health America about the importance of seeking help.

What this means: Danson’s sobriety is not an asterisk to his career; it is a foundation. The man who played one of TV’s most famous drinkers has not had a drink in decades, and he says the role itself taught him how much his own life was out of balance.

Timeline

• December 29, 1947: Born Edward Bridge Danson III in San Diego, California (Britannica)
• 1970: Married Jacklyn (divorced 1975) (Wikipedia)
• 1977: Married Cassandra Coates (divorced 1993) (IMDb)
• 1982–1993: Starred as Sam Malone on Cheers (Britannica)
• 1993: Public relationship with Whoopi Goldberg; divorce from Coates (AARP)
• 1995: Married Mary Steenburgen (Britannica)
• 2000s: Diagnosed with essential tremor (People)
• 2016–2020: Starred in The Good Place as Michael (Britannica)

Confirmed facts and open questions

“I barely remember the ending of Cheers because my life was so f***ed up at the time.”

Ted Danson, speaking to The Independent

“Kirstie was a brilliant comedic actress. I was so lucky to have worked with her.”

Ted Danson, tribute to Kirstie Alley via Today

“The essential tremor is annoying but manageable. It doesn’t stop me from acting.”

Ted Danson, in People magazine

“I wanted to stop being a liar. I needed to grow up.”

Ted Danson, reflecting on his 1990s turmoil to The Independent

The picture that emerges from Ted Danson’s life is one of a man who walked through the fire of public fame, private addiction, and relationship chaos — and came out the other side with his marriage intact, his sobriety secure, and his career still running. For Danson, the choice was clear: either keep playing a version of himself he didn’t like, or finally become the person he pretended to be on screen.

Frequently asked questions