Who Is Dave Chappelle's Wife? All About Elaine Chappelle and Her Relationship with the Comedian
- - Who Is Dave Chappelle's Wife? All About Elaine Chappelle and Her Relationship with the Comedian
Jessica Booth, Jordana ComiterDecember 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM
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Elaine Chappelle and Dave Chappelle attend the 2014 GQ Men of The Year party on Dec. 4, 2014, in Los Angeles -
Dave Chappelle married his wife, Elaine Chappelle, in 2001
The comedian and Elaine have welcomed three children
Elaine stays out of the spotlight but has stepped out to support her husband on a few occasions
Dave Chappelle's wife mostly stays out of the spotlight — but she does sometimes find herself at the center of her husband's jokes.
The comedian and Elaine Chappelle got married in 2001 and have welcomed three children. While their romance goes back to the '90s, the couple have kept their relationship and family life private.
Elaine rarely appears at public events with Dave, and they keep a fairly low profile, living at their home in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
The stand-up veteran — who stirred up controversy and received backlash from the LGBTQ+ community after making transphobic jokes in his 2021 Netflix stand-up special The Closer — has said his family prefers the quiet of their Ohio life.
"We don't live in Hollywood, there's no paparazzi trying to get their picture," he said during a 2020 appearance on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
So, who is Dave Chappelle's wife? Here's everything to know about Elaine Chappelle.
She and Dave met in Brooklyn
Ethan Miller/Getty Dave Chappelle and his wife, Elaine Chappelle
Dave met Elaine in Brooklyn, N.Y., before becoming a household name.
"She was with me when I was poor," the comedian previously joked to Howard Stern.
The pair wed in 2001, though they haven't revealed any details about their nuptials.
She is a mom of three
Paul Morigi/WireImage Dave Chappelle, his wife Elaine Chappelle and their daughter
Dave and Elaine share three kids: sons Sulayman and Ibrahim, and daughter Sanaa.
In an interview with The A.V. Club, Dave said having his first son was "the best thing that ever happened" to him.
She and Dave live in Ohio
Mike Coppola/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal Elaine Chappelle and Dave Chappelle walk the red carpet at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York on Feb. 15, 2015
Dave might be one of the biggest comedians out there, but he prefers to keep a low profile in his everyday life. He and Elaine live on a 65-acre farm in Yellow Springs.
At an Ohio music festival in 2006, he said, "Turns out you don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind way about you. You guys are the best neighbors ever ... that's why I came back and that's why I'm staying."
She didn't know Dave was going to South Africa in 2005
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Dave Chappelle and wife Elaine attend the NBA All-Star Game 2018 at Staples Center on Feb. 18, 2018, in Los Angeles
In 2005, Dave abruptly walked away from the third season of his hit sketch comedy series, Chappelle's Show, and flew to South Africa, turning down a $50 million deal in the process.
During a 2006 appearance on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Dave joked about his wife's reaction to his turning down the contract.
"My wife's still a little salty at me," he said. "She's not mad at me, but don't think you're going to walk away from $50 million and your wife's just going to be cool with that."
He later spoke to Oprah Winfrey about his decision to walk away.
"One, I needed a break," he recalled. "Two, we have family and friends down there. I felt like it was a place where I could really reflect ... and here's the other thing: I was only gone for two weeks! They made it sound like it was so mysterious."
He also shared that he didn't call Elaine before he left. "It wasn't that I didn't tell my wife," Dave said. "It was [more] like, 'I'm not telling her until after I'm gone.' Which was a mistake, but it wasn't a crazy mistake."
She stays out of the spotlight
Kristy Sparow/Getty Dave Chappelle and his wife Elaine Chappelle.
Elaine keeps a low profile. She's rarely seen out in public with Dave, and he doesn't speak about her often in interviews.
She does have a private Instagram profile and counts Chrissy Teigen as one of her nearly 700 followers. Her bio reads, "Unverified.🌀 Non-Influencer."
She helps keep Dave in the loop on what people are saying about him
Elaine might stay behind the scenes when it comes to Dave's career, but she's also his support system.
During a 2017 interview on New York radio station Hot 97, Dave once said he doesn't seek out what people are saying about him online.
"My wife, if it gets real bad, she'll let me know, like, 'Oh, you should look into this,' " he said. "But for the most part, I try not to pay attention to it ... I try to keep my business small enough so it can still be authentic enough."
She's made a few public appearances to support Dave
ALEX EDELMAN/AFP Dave Chappelle and his wife Elaine arrive at the Kennedy Center for the Mark Twain Award for American Humour on Oct. 27, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
Elaine has stepped out to support her husband on a few rare occasions.
In 2019, she accompanied Dave to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where the comedian was given the Mark Twain Award for American Humor. In a video from the ceremony, Elaine can be seen proudly recording her husband's acceptance speech on her phone.
She was also by her husband's side when he was named one of GQ's Men of the Year in 2014.
Elaine was also photographed alongside Dave and supermodel Naomi Campbell at the Dior Homme fashion show in Paris in January 2022.
on People
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