BALDWIN TRIAL
Who is Hilaria Baldwin, Alec Baldwin’s wife who is supporting him in the trial for the death of Halyna Hutchins?
Alec Baldwin’s wife of 12 years is present in the New Mexico courtroom, where her husband is on trial for the involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins.
Hilaria Baldwin is the wife of actor Alec Baldwin. They have been married since 2012 and have seven children together. They first met in February 2011 in New York, and began dating that summer. Engaged in April 2012, they married on June 30, 2012.
Hilaria Baldwin was born Hillary-Lynn Hayward-Thomas (January 6, 1984). She is a yoga instructor and entrepreneur. She co-founded the New York-based yoga studio chain Yoga Vida.
Baldwin became ‘lifestyle correspondent’ for entertainment show Extra, after marrying Alec Baldwin. She received a joint Daytime Emmy Award with the staff of Extra in 2014 for Outstanding Entertainment News Program.
Baldwin has also released exercise DVDs and books, as well as hosting Mom Brain, a podcast focused on parenting.
Support for husband Alec Baldwin over Rust on-set shooting
Hilaria Baldwin has been supportive of her husband since he accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In the aftermath of the death she posted in Instagram: “My heart is with Halyna. Her husband. Her son. Their family and loved ones. And my Alec.”
Since Alec Baldwin’s criminal trial for manslaughter began this week, Hilaria Baldwin has been appearing in person at the Santa Fe courthouse where the proceedings are taking place.
Hilaria Baldwin cultural appropriation controversy
In 2020, controversy blew up over claims that Hilaria Baldwin was falsely claiming to be of Spanish or Latino heritage.
Baldwin, who was born Hillary-Lynn Hayward-Thomas, had claimed on numerous occasions, for example in Hola! USA, that she had been born in Spain and that Spanish was her native language. She also appeared to be using a Spanish accent at times.
In a now viral TV moment Baldwin claimed to forget what the word for cucumber was.
Writer Tracie Egan Morrissey dug into Baldwin’s claims, pointing out that Hilaria Baldwin is in fact the Hillary Hayward-Thomas who went to school in Weston, Massachussetts.
Hilaria Baldwin eventually admitted, in a now deleted Instagram post, that she is from Boston, but explained she had spent time in Spain as a kid and grew up in two cultures.
Her critics have accused her of cultural appropriation, noting that by misidentifying as Spanish or Latina, she was able to garner more positive coverage from, for example, Hispanic media. In March 2021, the Atlantic listed her as an identity hoaxer.
For her part Baldwin insists the press were responsible for the confusion over her past and that she is “white” but identifies as multicultural. In response to criticism over her apparently changing accent she says she is bilingual and that her accent can change depending on a variety of factors, including stress.