Michele Singer Reiner

Michele Singer Reiner (March 3, 1955 – December 14, 2025) was an American photographer, political activist, and film producer. Reiner was the second wife of filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner. She was originally a photographer, taking the cover picture of The Art of the Deal. While working on When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Reiner met her future husband and inspired him to revise the film's ending.

She expanded into political activism with her husband and moved into producing in the 2010s, and received nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards for producing Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023). Reiner frequently collaborated with her husband and was the co-president of Castle Rock Entertainment. On December 14, 2025, the couple was found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Early life and education Michele Singer was born on March 3, 1955. (News outlets initially reported her age at death as 68 and 70.) Subsequent articles put Michele's age at death as 70, making her birth year 1955. She was born into a Jewish family. Her mother Nicole Bernheim Silberkleit was a French-born Holocaust survivor. At the age of 17, Silberkleit and her family were taken from their home in Strasbourg to the Drancy internment camp, and were later deported to Auschwitz concentration camp. She immigrated to the United States soon after, first living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before moving to New York City. She collaborated with her husband on several films, including Misery, where she was a photographer, The film also launched a campaign at a White House conference headed by Reiner and Rob, intended to bring attention to early childhood development.

She continued producing with Shock and Awe (2017), Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023), God & Country (2024), and Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025). In 2023, Reiner was a producer on the iHeartMedia podcast Who Killed JFK?, which her husband also produced and co-hosted with journalist Soledad O'Brien.

In 2020, Reiner and her husband signed a producing and directing deal with Warner Bros. Television by a production company under Castle Rock Entertainment, which Rob helped found. She also founded the production and photography company Reiner Light. Reiner and her husband were executive producers on Wind River: The Next Chapter, a sequel to Wind River (2017), prior to their deaths.

In addition to filmmaking and photography, Reiner was also a political activist for the Democratic Party. They also founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Reiner was an LGBTQ rights activist. Her and Rob's advocacy helped achieve the landmark decision to allow marriage equality across the United States, with Kelley Robinson saying "they remained committed to the cause until their final days." She met her future husband Rob Reiner on the set of When Harry Met Sally... (1989). The eponymous character Harry, a "miserable, divorced, Jewish romantic lead", was based on Rob. Rob had intended to call Michelle Pfeiffer after reading about her divorce in a magazine, to which Barry Sonnenfeld, the film's photography director, said, "You're not going to call her, you're going to marry my friend Michele Singer". Jake (b. 1991), Nick (b. 1993), and Romy (b. 1997).

Michele and Rob's eldest son Jake has been involved in filmmaking and was a news reporter in Houston, Texas. He has been arrested and charged for the murder of his parents. Their youngest child, daughter Romy, is a filmmaker and had a very close relationship with them. Romy discovered her father's body in their Brentwood home soon after the killing.

Death

Reiner and her husband were due to have dinner with Michelle and Barack Obama on the evening of December 14, 2025. That afternoon, a massage therapist came to their Brentwood, Los Angeles, residence at 255 South Chadbourne Avenue, for a previously scheduled appointment for the couple, and was met with a lack of response; she then called the couple's daughter Romy. Romy, who lived in a property across the street, arrived quickly at around 3 p.m., and discovered her father's body. Her friend then called 911.

Reiner and her husband were murdered early in the morning on December 14 from multiple stab wounds. Their son Nick was soon arrested on suspicion of murder. On December 17, Michele and Rob's other two children, Jake and Romy, released a joint statement calling their parents their "best friends." Various prominent figures extended tributes towards Reiner and her husband, including Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Laurie David. Kelley Robinson, the president of LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, thanked Reiner for her allyship and support of the community, while Dustin Lance Black, another LGBTQ activist, said "the world has lost two of its greatest champions of justice, love and equality". Reiner and her husband were cremated on December 19.

The Los Angeles Police Department opened a homicide investigation into their deaths and on December 16, her son Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. Nick made his first court appearance on the murder charges on December 17, with the appearance only being brief. His arraignment was initially set to be held on January 7, 2026. However, it would be delayed to February 23, 2026, after Nick's attorney Alan Jackson withdrew from his legal defense during a court appearance. While appearing in court on February 23, 2026, Nick pled not guilty. However, he would also once again be denied bail and, as of February 2026, remains jailed. During his April 29, 2026 hearing, Nick agreed to a general time waiver, thus waiving his right to a speedy trial. The next preliminary hearing for Nick was then set for September 15, 2026.

2024 Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television Albert Brooks: Defending My Life