Steven Craig: The Remarkable Family Story Behind Sally Field’s First Marriage

Long before Sally Field became a two-time Academy Award-winning actress, Steven Craig played an important role in her personal life. The couple were high school sweethearts who married in 1968, welcomed two sons, and divorced in 1975. Although Field’s Hollywood career drew worldwide attention, Craig followed a different path, with ties to construction work, writing, and family life.

Readers searching for Sally Field’s ex-husband often want to understand who he was, what happened to their marriage, and how their children grew up. His story becomes particularly interesting through the recollections of their eldest son, Peter Craig, who has spoken about his father’s influence and their unconventional upbringing.

Quick Bio

Detail	Information
Full Name	Steven Craig
Also Known As	Steve Craig
Known For	Sally Field’s first husband
Profession	Described as a contractor in published biographical references
Former Spouse	Sally Field
Marriage	1968–1975
Children	Peter Craig and Eli Craig
Notable Family Connection	Father of two entertainment industry writers and filmmakers

Who Is Steven Craig?

Steven Craig is an American figure associated with actress Sally Field’s early personal history. Unlike his former wife, whose career developed across television, theatre, and major Hollywood films, Craig did not build a comparable public career in entertainment.

His name appears in biographies of Field and interviews with their children. These accounts reveal someone whose experiences extended beyond the entertainment industry.

One particularly informative account came from Peter Craig in a 2005 Los Angeles Times interview. Peter described growing up between his mother’s Hollywood world and his father’s unconventional lifestyle, offering a perspective on Steven that few celebrity biographies capture.

Early Life and Background

Craig knew Field before she became an established film star. Their relationship developed in their youth, and biographical accounts describe them as high school sweethearts.

Field attended Birmingham High School in California’s San Fernando Valley and began attracting television audiences with her starring role in Gidget in 1965. Craig was already connected to her life during this period.

Major biographical references do not firmly establish details about his childhood, parents, or education. Consequently, assigning him a particular birthplace, birth date, or detailed childhood history would go beyond the available evidence.

We can establish that the relationship belonged to an early chapter of Field’s life, before her later success in major Hollywood films.

Marriage to Sally Field: 1968–1975

A Relationship During Her Early Television Career

Steven Craig married Sally Field in September 1968. At the time, she was appearing in The Flying Nun, the television comedy that followed her breakthrough with Gidget.

Their marriage coincided with major professional and personal changes for Field. She was establishing herself as a television actress while also starting a family.

The couple welcomed their first son, Peter Craig, in November 1969. Their second son, Eli Craig, arrived in May 1972.

By the early 1970s, Field was increasingly interested in dramatic acting and seeking opportunities beyond the television roles that had first brought her recognition.

Why Did Their Marriage End?

Field and Craig separated before finalizing their divorce in 1975, ending about seven years of marriage.

Although biographical reporting and Field’s memoir have discussed their relationship, it would be misleading to attribute the divorce to one definitive cause without properly established evidence.

The marriage ended before Field won her first Academy Award for Norma Rae, released in 1979. Their relationship therefore belonged to an earlier period of her career, when she was still working toward recognition as a serious dramatic performer.

His Life and Professional Interests

Biographical references identify Steve Craig as a contractor, while his son’s accounts add context about his construction work and creative interests.

In a 2005 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Peter recalled that his father arranged for him to undertake physically demanding construction work in Oregon after he had struggled during his teenage years.

Peter described that intervention as important in helping him develop discipline and direction.

Craig also had literary ambitions. In a 2016 interview with Money Into Light, Peter explained that his father wanted to write and produced substantial amounts of unfinished work. He remembered his father reading his writing aloud when Peter was young.

This detail offers an interesting connection between Steven’s creative interests and Peter’s later career as a novelist and screenwriter.

However, there is no sound basis to describe Steven as an established, published author or to assign him unverified film production credits.

Fatherhood and an Unconventional Family Environment

Peter Craig’s recollections describe a childhood divided between two contrasting environments.

His mother worked in Hollywood, while his father spent periods living in communal settings in Southern California and Oregon.

In a Los Angeles Times interview, Peter described the differences between his mother’s entertainment-industry lifestyle and the less materialistic communities associated with his father.

Those experiences shaped his understanding of family relationships, independence, and social differences.

Peter later credited his father with helping him regain direction during a difficult period of adolescence. His account provides a meaningful example of Steven’s role in his son’s life after the marriage had ended.

Rather than viewing Craig only through his former wife’s fame, these personal recollections show how his decisions and interests shaped his children’s upbringing.

Peter Craig and Eli Craig: Their Careers

Both sons went on to build careers in storytelling and entertainment.

Peter Craig

Born in 1969, Peter Craig became a novelist and screenwriter. He contributed to the screenwriting of The Town, The Batman, and Top Gun: Maverick.

His work on Top Gun: Maverick earned him an Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay.

Peter has also spoken about his interest in writing and how his family experiences informed his understanding of relationships.

Eli Craig

Born in 1972, Eli Craig pursued filmmaking and became a writer and director.

He is best known for the horror-comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and the Netflix film Little Evil.

Although the brothers pursued distinct creative careers, both entered storytelling, adding another dimension to the family’s connection to film and television.

Sally Field’s Reflections on Her Former Husband

Craig received renewed attention when Field published her memoir, In Pieces, in 2018.

In an interview with the Irish Independent, Field said she shared the manuscript with family members.

She explained that Eli had been particularly concerned about how his father might feel about the book’s personal material. Field subsequently shared the manuscript with Steve and described his response as generous.

She also acknowledged that he was a private individual who had not chosen the same public life she had.

Those remarks offer a rare direct perspective from Field on her former husband decades after their separation. They also illustrate why accounts of their marriage should distinguish confirmed events from speculation about personal feelings or relationships.

Why Do People Search for Steven Craig?

Interest in Craig comes mainly from three connected areas: Sally Field’s relationship history, her two eldest children, and accounts of the family’s earlier years.

Readers familiar with Field’s later films may be surprised to learn she married and became a mother early in her television career.

Others discover his name while researching Peter and Eli Craig, particularly their work in screenwriting and directing.

The publication of Field’s memoir also provided additional historical context for her relationships and experiences.

His connection to a celebrated actress naturally attracts interest. Still, his children’s accounts help readers understand why his place in the family story extends beyond a marriage that ended in the 1970s.

Respecting the Available Public Record

Biographical references, interviews, and entertainment reporting establish several major details about Craig.

Other information, including precise details of his current life, finances, and later personal relationships, has not been reliably documented in the sources reviewed.

A responsible account can explain his marriage, fatherhood, professional background, and literary interests without treating unconfirmed online claims as facts.

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FAQs

1. Who is Steven Craig?

Steven Craig is Sally Field’s first husband. They married in 1968 and had two sons, Peter and Eli Craig, before divorcing in 1975.

2. When did Sally Field marry Steven Craig?

They married in September 1968, early in Field’s television career.

3. How many children did they have?

They had two sons: Peter Craig (born 1969) and Eli Craig (born 1972). Both later established careers in the entertainment industry.

4. What did Sally Field’s first husband do for a living?

Biographical references describe Craig as a contractor. His son Peter has also discussed his father’s connection to construction work and interest in writing.

5. Why did Sally Field and Steven Craig divorce?

Their marriage ended in 1975. Available biographical information establishes the timeline, but reducing the separation to a single unverified explanation would be misleading.

6. Did Steven Craig become a Hollywood actor?

No well-established major acting career is associated with Sally Field’s former husband. His documented professional background and interests are distinct from her acting career.

Final Thoughts

Steven Craig’s place in Sally Field‘s history cannot be reduced to their years of marriage. Their relationship began before her greatest professional achievements, and they raised two sons who would later establish creative careers of their own.

Accounts from Peter Craig and comments made by Field herself offer useful insight into Steven’s working life, literary interests, and family relationships. Together, these details provide a more substantial understanding of the man behind a familiar name in Hollywood biography.