The Coffee Ad That Led Michael Caine to His Wife
In 1971, Michael Caine was relaxing at home with a friend when a Maxwell House coffee ad came on TV. The commercial featured Brazilian coffee beans—but Michael wasn’t paying attention to the product.
His eyes were locked on a woman in the background.
“I saw this lady on the television in a commercial and fell in love instantly,” he later recalled.
At first, Michael thought she lived in Brazil. He even joked about catching the next flight. But instead of booking a ticket, he began a different kind of journey—one that would change his life forever.
Finding Shakira Baksh
Michael’s first move was to call Maxwell House to find out who she was. After some digging, a friend told him the truth: she wasn’t Brazilian at all—she was Guyanese, and she lived on Fulham Road in London.
Her name was Shakira Baksh, a former Miss Guyana and runner-up in the 1967 Miss World contest. She had moved to London to pursue a career in modeling and acting. Determined, Michael got her number from her agency and started calling.
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The First “Yes”
It took a few days and more than a few unanswered calls before Shakira agreed to meet him. Their first date lasted just eight minutes—but that was enough for Michael.
“I fell in love with her in about eight minutes,” he said. “It took her two hours to fall in love with me.”
By 1973, they were married. That same year, they welcomed their daughter Natasha.
Building a Family and Career Together
Shakira appeared alongside Michael in films like The Man Who Would Be King (1975), while Michael continued to take on some of his most famous roles. From Hollywood premieres to quiet family time, they’ve been each other’s biggest supporters for more than five decades.
Still Together After All These Years
Now in their 90s and late 70s, Michael and Shakira Caine remain as close as ever. They’ve weathered the ups and downs of Hollywood, long periods apart during filming, and the ordinary rhythms of everyday life—still grounded in that first spark from a coffee commercial.
📺 Watch: Michael Caine recounts how he fell for Shakira in a Maxwell House ad
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