Ron Howard’s wife Cheryl accidentally sets her hair on fire while blowing out candles in birthday video

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ron Howard and his family had a blazing close call during his wife Cheryl’s 71st birthday party, but they managed to turn a scary moment into a timeless memory.

On December 23, the legendary director, 70, shared a wild video from the celebration. It started out sweet enough — doting husband Ron held Cheryl’s birthday cake as she leaned in to blow out the candles. But in a flash, one of the candles caught Cheryl’s hair on fire!

The moment was equal parts chaotic and hilarious. Cheryl quickly jumped back, yelling in shock, while family members rushed in to save the day. Ron narrated the aftermath: “It burnt her hair a little bit,” he said as the family assessed the damage.

Cheryl Howard is as cool as they come

Despite the close call, the mood lightened fast. Cheryl joked, “Can you believe that? Did you get it on camera?” Meanwhile, others laughed and tried to comfort any shaken kids in the room.

The video also captured the hilarious reactions of the couple’s four kids - Bryce Dallas Howard, 43, twins Jocelyn and Paige, 39, and son Reed, 37. Bryce’s husband Seth Gabel was shown covering his face in shock, People reported.

But leave it to Cheryl to keep the humor alive. She quipped, “You know what? My hair was a little dry.” One family member playfully added, “It’s a little singed,” while Bryce reassured everyone with, “It’s fine.”

Even Paige couldn’t resist chiming in later. In the Instagram comments section, she gushed: “Gosh I love her so much. That was truly scary. What a way to start her new year off with a bang. So glad she is a-okay and in great spirits (per usual).” Paige then threw in some extra sass by adding, “FOR SURE the hottest one outta the whole Howard clan! lol.”

Ron, who has been married to Cheryl since 1975, took to Instagram to recap the drama. “Nearly had a serious mishap at Cheryl’s family b-day party last night,” he wrote. “Whew! #AllsWellThatEndsWell and wishing all a safe and wonderful holiday and 2025.”

When a follower asked why the cake read “Happy birthday, Ama,” Ron explained, “Ama is her family nickname for Grandmother.”

A love story for the ages and thoughts on JD Vance

This June, Ron and Cheryl will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Last month, Ron got sentimental as he a throwback snap of him and Cheryl from the 1970s. The photo was from a “Backwards Dance", where girls asked the guys out.

"This is from the Backwards dance where the girl asks the guy out. Cheryl made that dress from store-bought pattern as I recall," Ron shared. “I wrote a lot about our early love story in The Boys,” he added, referring to the memoir he co-wrote with his brother Clint Howard.

The book delves into their upbringing and adventures in Hollywood, the Daily Mail reported.

Ron recently opened up about his time working with JD Vance.

As the director of 'Hillbilly Elegy' — which is based on Vance’s memoir — Ron admitted he’s “very surprised and disappointed by much of the rhetoric” surrounding the now vice president-elect.

“People do change, and I assume that’s the case,” Ron said. “When we spoke around the time that I knew him, he was not involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested. So that was then.”

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