Keanu Reeves may be the internet’s boyfriend, but in reality, that official title belongs to Alexandria Grant, long-term friend and now partner for the last four (or more) years. Reeves has been pretty private about his personal life in the past, but now he seems happy to disclose his relationship with Grant to the world, recently sharing a very sweet kiss with her on the MOCA Gala red carpet. But who is Grant and how did the pair meet?
Alexandria Grant was born in Ohio, the daughter of two professors, and had her fair share of moving in her earlier years, living in Mexico City, Paris, and Washington. She now considers herself an L.A. native, working as a visual artist in the realms of text and literature, earning the respect and critical acclaim of those involved in the art world, including Reeves.
Though we don’t know the specifics of this couple’s meet cute, we know that their paths had crossed back in 2009 due to being a part of the same artistic group in L.A. This eventually resulted in their collaborating on a book together that was published back in 2011. This brought global recognition to the artist thanks to the fame already attached to the Matrix star, though at this time they were simply friends and collaborators.
Reeves isn’t the only notable name that Grant has worked with though. She is well respected within the L.A. art community and beyond, and has teamed up with many other artists, writers, and even philosophers over the years. She has collaborated with famed feminist Hélène Cixous, and digital literature pioneer Michael Joyce, and her work has been featured in prestigious art galleries such as the Orange County Museum of Art in Santa Ana and the Marfa Invitational in Texas.
Speaking to Vogue about her upbringing and how she got into the arts, she recalled how she asserted to her parents that she wanted to go to boarding school in St Louis aged only 11 years old, “I was very fearless – I was a child who knew her mind.” It was this fearlessness and curiosity that saw her getting involved in the arts – “I think ‘artist’ best describes what I do, but really it’s a name for a kind of curiosity.”
When speaking to LA Weekly she further elucidated what being an artist meant to her, saying:
“‘Artist’ is the best word for all the things that I love to do and have been doing pretty consistently since I was a child: reading, staring into space, daydreaming, inventing symphonic-scale projects whether a chemistry experiment or growing seeds into plants, finding meaning in the patterns of bathroom tiles and cracks in the ceiling, believing in the goodness of people and love, drawing while listening to music, experiencing language as images and colors, and desiring to be solitary while doing most of the above.”
Art isn’t her only skillset though. Grant is multilingual – she speaks English, Spanish, and French, thanks to her having moved around a lot as a child, and she also followed in her parent’s footsteps working as a college professor. She taught at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, between 2009 and 2011, and mentored at the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Distance MFA program from 2013 to 2014, which she continued at Syracuse University in 2015.
The artist has always walked her own path, and she can’t really help but stand out, standing at an impressive 6ft 1in tall with silver hair. She started turning silver in her mid-twenties and by the time she was in her mid-thirties she was entirely silver. Many at this age might resort to the dye bottles, but Grant didn’t see any reason to shy away from this natural occurrence. She told Vogue, “I am a huge believer in choice – whatever anyone wants to do to feel confident. We should all have more options as to what beauty is. There are billions of us.”
Of her relationship with Reeves, it was one that turned from friendship and mutual respect, and admiration, to a romantic one, which we have to admit is oftentimes how the best relationships begin. Their first book together Ode to Happiness was actually a surprise gift from Grant to Reeves, using his poetry alongside her illustrations to discuss coming out of depression. Once their friends got a hold of it they were told they should publish it. “The book was made as a surprise, by me, for Keanu, as a private gift,” Grant states, “All our friends sitting in the room got the giggles when I gave it to him – they said, ‘Please publish it!’ So that’s how we got into publishing.”
The two set up their own publishing house together, called X Artists’ Books. The house focuses on “thoughtful, high-quality, artist-centered books that fit within and between genres,” according to its website. “Our books are works of art; portals to imagined worlds; treasured companions; the fabric of a community.”
They made their first red-carpet appearance together in 2019 at the LACMA Art + Film Gala where they walked hand in hand and set off the media frenzy as many wished to know more about the woman standing beside the much-loved Reeves. Of course, there came a mixture of responses with many wondering why Reeves would date someone so close to him in age, Grant aged 46 then and Reeves aged 55. Not everyone wants to be a Di Caprio and date girls exclusively aged 25 and younger – okay?
Since then Reeves has been effusive over his happiness in their relationship. Back in March of this year in response to a question by People Magazine asking about his “last moment of bliss” the actor responded,
“A couple of days ago with my honey. We were in bed. We were connected. We were smiling and laughing and giggling. Feeling great. It was just really nice to be together.”
The two are still going strong given their red carpet kiss the other day, and it is great to see both looking so happy together, especially seeing as a picture of Reeves looking a little forlorn eating a sandwich went viral and was since dubbed the “Sad Keanu” meme. Well sad no longer, the two have swiftly become a well-loved couple in Hollywood and we hope to see more of them together from here on.