Chuck Norris has twins — a son and a daughter — with wife Gena O’Kelley
Since 1998, Chuck Norris and Gena O’Kelley have been wed.
The actor and martial artist first got together with O’Kelley in 1997 when he was out on a dinner date with someone else. However, the following day, following her brief appearance in his television series Walker, Texas Ranger, he asked her out on a date.
After a year, the couple tied the knot and welcomed son Dakota and daughter Danilee into their family in 2001.
Since then, Norris and O’Kelley have gone on trips together, gone to a lot of public events together, and had an appearance in a commercial. O’Kelley has assisted Norris in his charitable endeavors, co-chairing his nonprofit organization, among other things.
“So proud of my wife Gena,” Norris wrote on Facebook in 2021, praising his spouse. She is not only an amazing mother and wife, but she is also a terrific businesswoman whose ability to multitask never ceases to amaze me.
So who is the wife of Chuck Norris? Everything you need to know about Gena O’Kelley and her connection to the actor is provided here.
She married Norris in 1998
CBN reports that in 1997, Norris was out to dinner with another person when he met O’Kelley in Dallas.
In his 2004 book, Against All Odds, Norris writes about how he met his wife. The following day, Genena visited the set and had a brief role in the performance. I asked her to supper that evening. He recalled, “I requested Gena to come back to Dallas as soon as possible so I could get to know her better. A few weeks later, she returned, and our acquaintance developed into a romantic partnership. I soon started to feel really enamored with someone.”
Norris and O’Kelley tied the knot on November 28, 1998.
She welcomed two children with Norris
On August 30, 2001, O’Kelley and Norris welcomed twins together: a daughter named Danilee Kelley and a son named Dakota Alan. Based on his Instagram page, Dakota is a fifth-degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do, seemingly continuing his father’s martial arts legacy.
In addition, O’Kelley is the stepmother of Mike, Dina, and Eric, Norris’ three children from past relationships.
She worked as a model and TV personality
In addition to modeling, O’Kelley made television appearances. According to CBN, she starred in Walker, Texas Ranger. In 2004, she costarred with Norris in Praise the Lord on TBN.
In addition, she had an appearance in a 2003 episode of the sitcom Yes, Dear, which starred Norris.
Currently, O’Kelley is an entrepreneur and the CEO of CForce, a water bottling company that she and Norris established in 2015.
She and Norris run a nonprofit together
In 1990, Norris and O’Kelley established the Kick Drugs Out of America Foundation, which they renamed Kickstart Kids in 2003. The nonprofit’s mission is to use karate to empower young people; Norris and O’Kelley serve as co-chairs.
In 2023, the couple revealed to NewBeauty that contributing to the community is one of their “favorite shared passions”. “We founded Kickstart Kids, an incredibly amazing organization that instructs students in martial arts and character development,” they stated. “We have impacted over 100,000 children, and the advancements we have witnessed are extremely meaningful to us.”
She often joins Norris in public
O’Kelley and Norris frequently appear together at different occasions. In November of the previous year, they attended the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 with well-known friends Dennis Quaid and retired baseball pitcher Jim Morris. In June of 2017, they visited the Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia.
They like taking trips together as well. “What a wonderful day it was in Santa Cruz with my beautiful wife!” Norris said on his Instagram account in May 2022 after sharing a picture of himself and O’Kelley in Santa Cruz, California.
Norris often posts about O’Kelley on social media
On social media, Norris routinely posts pictures of his wife. He shared a photo of the two of them on Instagram to commemorate her birthday in August 2022, writing, “Happy birthday to the most amazing woman that God could have ever blessed me with.” I adore you more than words can say, Gena.
He commemorated their 23rd wedding anniversary in November 2021 by sharing an Instagram picture of the pair cuddling. “My love, my life, my best friend, my world,” he wrote. Wishing a joyous 23rd wedding anniversary to my stunning spouse, whom I was favored with 25 years ago. With all of my heart, I love you.”
O’Kelley and Norris are both passionate about fitness and exercise
O’Kelley and Norris explained to NewBeauty their preferred methods of integrating wellness activities into their everyday lives. We make an effort to include them into every aspect of our day, including going on walks on our ranch, praying and meditating, and exercising as a group. We have established regular routines for taking good care of our bodies and maintaining an active lifestyle since we both value healthy aging,” they stated.
Nothing really feels like an indulgence because we lead a healthy lifestyle, but coffee is a popular staple at the Norris ranch, they said. We occasionally break the norm and indulge in an evening treat, but overall we try not to eat after 6 p.m. because we’ve discovered that practice helps us get up the next morning feeling refreshed.