Harry Potter Actress Gets Married to Former Playboy Exec

Harry Potter film star Scarlett Byrne married her fiancé of five years Cooper Hefner in a courthouse ceremony. The couple announced their nuptials with Instagram posts on Monday, noting that they are making plans for a bigger wedding ceremony. They became engaged in August 2015. “Cooper and I are excited to share that we legally married, Byrne writes on Instagram. “We are looking forward to planning our wedding in the coming months where we will celebrate further with our friends and family. I love you Cooper. I am proud to stand by your side, as your partner, your friend, and your wife. I cannot wait to continue building a life together. My heart is so full and I am so grateful for our love.”

Cooper made a similar statement on his Instagram account. “Scarlett and I have made it officially legal and the two of us could not be happier,” Cooper wrote. “Cheers to a life full of love, happiness, adventure, and great purpose, Mrs. Hefner. I love you dearly and very much look forward to planning our wedding celebrations in the months ahead. I love you, Scarlett.”

Hefner is the son of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. He is the former chief creative officer of Playboy and the current chief executive officer of StagDaily.

Byrne is best known for playing Pansy Parkinson in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part: Part 1, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. She also played Lexi Glass-Mason in the TNT sci-fi series Falling Skies and Nora Hildegaard in The CW’ series The Vampire Diaries.

Adventures in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will continue in the third installment of the prequel film series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Pre-production is underway. The film will move the story to Brazil. Production will begin in spring 2020.

Harry Potter director David Yates directs the film. Eddie Redmayne returns as Newt Scamander. Jude Law plays Albus Dumbledore, and Johnny Depp plays Gellert Grindelwald. The cast also features Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Jessica Williams. Harry Potter creator JK Rowling is writing the script for the third film, as she did with the first two installments. This time she’s co-writing with Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the eight Harry Potter movies.

What do you think of Bryne and Hefner getting married? Let us know in the comments.

Image via Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Playboy