Beautiful actress Vanessa Bell Calloway is perhaps best known for her role as Princess Imani Izzi (Eddie Murphy’s arranged wife) in the 1988 classic hit comedy Coming to America. In the following years, Bell Calloway appeared in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993), The Inkwell (1994), Crimson Tide (1995). She continues to act and direct, is a breast cancer survivor, and just turned 61 this year but looks half her age. But when asked, Calloway would probably say her biggest blessing and accomplishment is celebrating 30 years of marriage, with her husband, anesthesiologist Dr. Anthony Calloway.
The two are constantly on the go: from her Vanessa directing and shooting shows and movies all over the country, including the upcoming Coming to America sequel) to Anthony being on call and working long hours, it’s amazing how the two make it work. But they not only have managed to stay together, they are both still madly in love with each other.
When asked what is the glue or secret to be married for 30 years, Vanessa made it simple:
“One of the keys to a successful marriage is that everyone needs to wake up and have somewhere to go in the morning,” explains Calloway on her blog. If one person is left home always waiting on the other person that will cause problems eventually.”
Here is how she breaks it down:
“You’ve got to understand that love changes. And if you can’t change with love, you’re going to get in trouble at some point. When you first meet, it’s insatiable. Then when kids come, it’s different. It changes. That’s why it’s important to be your own person and do your own things. But then there’s a point where you find your partner irresistible again. Then when you get older. That’s when it really changes. Your body changes. Your ailments change. Jobs and your position changes. Life changes. If you can’t be in it for the long haul and still be friends–because that’s what it comes down to–then you’ll be in trouble.“
“Can you still laugh? Can you still hang out as friends when you go here and there? Do you have to be surrounded by a bunch of friends to have a good time or can it just be you sometimes and you still have a good time? Can it just be you two? Those are the questions you need to answer. Because, I promise you, the puppy-dog love you had when you first met that person is not the same love you will have in 20 and 30 years. I love my husband more today than I did 30 years ago, but it’s different.”
The couple have two daughters, Ashley and Ally. Ashley was one of the stars of the BET series Baldwin Hills which originally ran from 2007 until 2009. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, Vanessa has officially been a cancer survivor.
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