Peter Coyote Biography: Movies, TV Shows, Age, Ethnicity, Wife, Children, Parents

Robert Peter Cohon, commonly known as Peter Coyote, is an American actor, voice artist, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator known for his distinctive voice and versatile career spanning film, television, theatre, and documentaries.

Renowned for his roles in films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), A Walk to Remember (2002), and Erin Brockovich (2000), Coyote has also narrated over 200 documentaries, including Ken Burns’s The Roosevelts (2014), earning him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2015.

A counterculture icon, he co-founded the Diggers, an anarchist improv group in 1960s Haight-Ashbury, and is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest.

Profile

• Full Name: Robert Peter Cohon
• Stage Name: Peter Coyote
• Born: 10 October, 1941
• Age: 83 years old
• Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
• Nationality: American
• Occupation: Actor, Voice Artist, Director, Screenwriter, Author, Narrator
• Height: 1.9 m
• Parents: Ruth Fidler, Morris Cohon
• Siblings: None publicly known
• Spouse: Marilyn McCann (m. 1975–1998), Stefanie Pleet (m. 1998–2015)
• Children: Ariel Coyote, Nicholas Coyote
• Relationship: Single
• Net Worth: $2 million

Early Life and Education

Peter Coyote was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Ruth Fidler, from a working-class Ashkenazi Jewish family, and Morris Cohon, a Sephardic Jewish investment banker.

Raised in a culturally rich but non-religious household with left-wing political leanings, Coyote grew up in suburban New Jersey and on his family’s Pennsylvania farm.

He attended Grinnell College in Iowa, where he studied literature and organized a 1961 protest supporting President Kennedy’s “peace race” during the Cuban Missile Crisis, earning an invitation to the White House.

He left college to pursue acting, training with the San Francisco Actors’ Workshop and joining the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a radical political street theatre group. He is of white ethnicity and though her religion is unknown.

Career

Coyote’s career began in the 1960s with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, where he acted, wrote, and directed, including the Obie Award-winning play Olive Pits (co-authored with Peter Berg).

As a co-founder of the Diggers, an anarchist group active during the Summer of Love, he embraced counterculture ideals, later chronicled in his memoir Sleeping Where I Fall (1998), which won critical acclaim and appeared on bestseller lists.

His acting career launched in 1978 at the Magic Theatre, where he starred in Sam Shepard’s True West, leading to his film debut in Die Laughing (1980).

Notable roles include Keys in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the prosecutor in Jagged Edge (1985), and complex characters in Bitter Moon (1992) and Patch Adams (1998).

His voice work, often compared to Henry Fonda’s, became his hallmark, narrating over 200 documentaries, including Ken Burns’s The National Parks (2009), The Vietnam War (2017), and The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022).

He won an Emmy for The Pacific Century (1992) and another for The Roosevelts (2015), earning praise as Burns’s “narrator muse” for his ability to deliver dense texts with a “cowboy-around-a-campfire” timbre.

Coyote also narrated Apple’s iPad Retina Display campaign and co-hosted the 2000 Oscars telecast. His television roles include The 4400 (2004), The Inside (2005), and Commander in Chief (2005–2006).

As an author, his works include The Rainman’s Third Cure (2015) and the poetry collection Tongue of a Crow (2021).

As of 2025, Coyote continues to narrate high-profile documentaries, including recent Ken Burns projects, and remains active in theatre and writing.

His advocacy for wildlife conservation through Project Coyote and his tenure as chairman of the California Arts Council (1975–1983), where he revolutionized artist funding, highlight his commitment to social and environmental causes.

His spiritual journey as a Zen Buddhist priest, ordained in 2015, informs his work and public lectures, blending activism with mindfulness.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @petercoyoteactor
• Facebook Handle: Peter Coyote
• Twitter Handle: @Peter_Coyote

Personal Life

Peter Coyote married Marilyn McCann in 1975, with whom he has two children, Ariel and Nicholas; they divorced in 1998.

He married Stefanie Pleet in 1998, divorcing in 2015. Currently single, Coyote resides in Northern California, where he lives a low-key life dedicated to Zen practice, writing, and environmental activism.

Filmography

• Die Laughing (1980) – Davis
• Tell Me a Riddle (1980) – Young David
• Southern Comfort (1981)
• Outrageous Fortune (1987) – Michael Sanders
• Bitter Moon (1992) – Oscar
• Kika (1993) – Nicholas Pierce
• Patch Adams (1998) – Bill Davis
• Sphere (1998) – Captain Harold C. Barnes
• Erin Brockovich (2000) – Kurt Potter
• The 4400 (2004–2007) – Dennis Ryland
• The Inside (2005) – Special Agent Virgil Webster
• Commander in Chief (2005–2006) – Warren Keaton
• Brothers & Sisters (2006) – Mark August
• Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) – Maxwell Perkins
• Good Kill (2014) – Langley

Selected Notable Narrations

• The Pacific Century (1992) – Narrator
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) – Narrator
• Guns, Germs, and Steel (2005) – Narrator
• The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009) – Narrator
• The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014) – Narrator
• The Vietnam War (2017) – Narrator
• Country Music (2019) – Narrator
• The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022) – Narrator

Net Worth

Peter Coyote has an estimated net worth of $2 million USD. His wealth primarily stems from his extensive acting career, including over 160 films and television roles, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jagged Edge.

His prolific narration work, including Emmy-winning documentaries for Ken Burns and high-profile commercials for brands like Apple and General Motors, significantly contributes to his income.