American merchant mariner Richard Phillips got renowned after surviving the 2009’s Maersk Alabama hijacking. He formerly served as the Captain of the MV Maersk Alabama while Somali pirates took unauthorized charge of the ship.
Richard Philips has achieved an applauding success in his resounding career as an author and mariner.
Though the professional achievements of Richard Phillips remain crystal clear to the audiences, his off-screen life is unknown to many. But without doubt, his personal life is also as appealing as his career.
Richard Phillips Grows Close With Family After 2009
The hero on the high seas, Richard Phillips, lives a blissful married life with his wife, Andrea Coggio.
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The pair first met when Richard’s wife, Andrea was a nursing student. Richard started dating Andrea after which the couple decided to give their love a new name of marriage.
Andrea and Richard met way back in Boston. After falling for each other, the beautiful couple exchanged the marriage vows in front of their friends and families in 1987. Relishing the marriage voyage for more than 30 years, Richard and Andrea reside in Underhill, Vermont and are the parents of two children, Mariah and Danny.
Richard Phillips with wife Andrea Coggio (dailyentertainmentnews.com)
Their relationship fortified after the haunting incident in 2009 when the Somali pirates hijacked Richard's ship and he escaped heroically.
During the situation, Richard’s half-sister (Andrea’s sister) named Gina Coggio was also equally worried about Richard. She also said that Richard might have surrendered himself to the pirates to secure the safety of the crew.
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Richard, later shared an indescribable joy of being alive after the bizarre event with his family.
Phillip’s wife tearfully thanked the Navy crew that rescued her husband from the horrifying situation. The particular circumstance made Richard realize that the only thing that comes to mind when you are down is, family.
Although the event was dreadful, it enriched the affection among Richard's family and brought them closer.
Richard Phillips’ Bio: Accomplishments, Net Worth
Born on 16 May 1955, Richard Phillips grew up in Massachusetts, the U.S with his seven brothers and sisters. His father was a coach of high school basketball team that inspired Richard to have a keen interest in the field of sports.
Richard Phillips received his graduation from Winchester High School in 1973. Subsequently, he joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst and planned to study international law. However, he transferred to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and graduated in the year 1979.
Phillips had to go through a hell ride in April 2009, when the ship he was captaining, was hijacked by the Somali pirates. The hostage saga began on 8 April when four of the Somali attackers took the unauthorized charge of the Maersk Alabama, a container ship ferrying food aid to East Africa.
To save his crew of 20, Richard made a conscious decision to offer himself as a hostage.
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After the heroic struggle for five days, Phillips was finally rescued by the US Navy alongside his crew members.
Following the hijacking, Richard published a book named A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea enlightening his dreadful experience and his remarkable rescue.
Furthermore, his real struggle was transformed into an Oscar’s nominated movie, Captain Phillips, where Tom Hanks portrayed his character in 2013. The movie earned more than $218 million worldwide.
As a successful author, Phillips undoubtedly enjoys a riveting net worth. However, his actual earnings remain confined to date.
He has been a regular author and has published more than ten books as of now. His other works include Dead Shift, The Kasari Nexus, Once Dead, The Meridian Ascent, Curse of the Chosen, and so on.
However, Richard doesn't seem to be limiting himself in only writing books as he is also involved in releasing introductory trailers for every one of his books.
On 30 July 2018, he released the trailer of his new introductory trailer video of the book, Once Dead. Once Dead is a book that was published back in 2014 .
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Apart from that, Phillips also has his own official website that provides updates about his recent activity. On a recent note, he updated his new artwork called “Lindsay II”.
According to him, the artwork on his website reveals an emotional awareness of his present and past.
