Michael Caine’ Love-at-First-Sight: The Coffee Commercial That Led to a 50-Year Marriage

Michael Caine, a true Hollywood legend with a career that stretches back for ages, is perhaps best known for being a loving husband. For over 50 years, Caine has been married to Shakira Caine—a love that began with something as simple as a coffee commercial.

A Maxwell House Moment That Changed Everything

In the early 1970s, Michael Caine was watching TV with a friend when a Maxwell House coffee ad popped up. The commercial was all about Brazilian coffee, but Caine couldn't take his eyes off a woman who was just in the background.

“I saw this lady on the television in a commercial and fell in love instantly.”

He was so struck that he dropped to his knees in front of the screen and declared, “That’s the woman for me.” Convinced she lived in Brazil, he was ready to fly there the next morning.

Finding Shakira—Closer Than Expected

Caine’s passion turned into a full-blown mission. He started calling the Maxwell House offices, hoping to track down the model. Then came a twist—an acquaintance revealed she wasn’t Brazilian at all.

“Michael, she’s not Brazilian, she’s Indian… she lives on Fulham Road.”

That woman was Shakira Baksh, a former Miss Guyana and Miss World runner-up. She had moved to London to pursue modeling and acting.

Persistence Pays Off

Once he got her number from the ad agency, Caine began calling. It took several attempts before Shakira agreed to meet. Their first meeting was unforgettable.

“I fell in love with her in about eight minutes,” Caine said. “It took her two hours to fall in love with me.”

They married in 1973, their daughter Natasha arrived that very year, and they've been a tight-knit pair ever since.

Who Is Shakira Caine?

Born in Guyana, Shakira started her career at a U.S. Information Service office. Life took an exciting turn when she won Miss Guyana and then made it to the finals of Miss World 1967. Later, she moved to London and stepped into the world of acting, even sharing the screen with her husband in the movie The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

Despite coming from different worlds, their connection was immediate.

“He was everything I didn’t expect… charming and very gentle,” Shakira once said. “Someone whom I’d like to spend part of my life with.”

A Lasting Romance

Now in their 80s, Michael and Shakira Caine are still going strong. Their relationship has weathered fame, distance, and decades of change—a rare kind of Hollywood love that feels more like fate than fiction.

Their story shows that love can find you in the most unexpected ways—even through a coffee ad.

In this interview clip, Michael Caine shares the captivating story of how he first saw Shakira in a Maxwell House coffee commercial and his determination to meet her.