Despite some rough patches over the years, legendary actor Donald Sutherland ( MASH, Ordinary People, JFK) remains his son Kiefer’s biggest fan. “All I can tell you is that he is the most honorable, responsible, decent man I know, and I love him with a passion,” Donald said following the 24 star’s arrest for drunk driving in 2007. And he beamed when Kiefer received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame last year—Kiefer even sat on dad’s lap at one point during the ceremony. The two men have starred in two movies together: Max Dugan Returns (1983) and A Time to Kill (1996), in which they play enemies.
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It seemed obvious that actress Blythe Danner and the late producer/director Bruce Paltrow would produce a Hollywood star—and indeed, they passed the showbiz torch to daughter Gwyneth. But the talented parents weren’t initially keen on launching a dynasty. For years, they hoped Gwyneth would surely pursue a more “intellectual” career, like medicine or law. “She’s so smart we wanted her to find a cure for AIDS or something,” said Danner at the recent Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. “We were pretty firm about her finishing her education but when we saw how talented she was we finally said OK.”
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With the attention little Suri Cruise has gotten over the past few years, it’s easy to forget that Tom Cruise is also father to two adopted children, Connor and Isabella, with ex-wife Nicole Kidman. And while it remains to be seen whether Suri will continue in the family business as she grows older, son Connor is already picking up the crown. Last year, the 14-year-old had a small part in the film Seven Pounds and this week, it was announced that he’ll star in the remake of Red Dawn.
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Tom Hanks may have cornered the market on “universally likeable everyman” in Hollywood, but son Colin Hanks has still managed to carve out a terrific acting career of his own, with projects like Orange County and Band of Brothers. In 2008, the Hanks men starred in their first film together, indie film The Great Buck Howard, in which Tom played Colin’s father. Off camera, the family is close. “My dad has always been extremely supportive in every decision I've made,” Colin said this year. Colin is also close with stepmom Rita Wilson. In fact, when the younger Hanks announced his engagement to a Manhattan publicist, Wilson reportedly gave her daughter-in-law-to-be a $10,000 handbag.
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While Carrie Fisher’s family dynasty might not be as powerful as, say, Princess Leia’s, the clan has certainly made its mark on Hollywood. Debbie Reynolds gave birth to Carrie while married to Hollywood personality Eddie Fisher—before he famously left her for Elizabeth Taylor. Years later, Fisher, who battled substance-abuse problems, married sexpot actress Connie Stevens—and gave birth to two more actresses, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.
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As a kid, Josh Brolin wasn’t sure he wanted to follow in his father James’ show-business footsteps, but after performing in a school production of A Streetcar Named Desire, he got bitten by the acting bug. Recently, the younger Brolin’s career has taken off, landing him in acclaimed films like Milk and No Country for Old Men. Along the way, the Brolin men expanded their dynasty by marrying Hollywood royalty: James and Barbra Streisand got hitched in 1997, and Josh married Diane Lane in 2004.
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Patriarch John Carradine could have opened his own acting school, so many of his progeny went into show business. Known for his roles in The Grapes of Wrath and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Carradine starred in more than 200 movies throughout his decades-long career. Sons David, Keith, and Robert all forged successful careers of their own—with David starring on the 1970s TV series Kung Fu and the Kill Bill films, Keith appearing in a range of dramas and earning an Oscar for his songwriting, and Robert starring in the Revenge of the Nerds movies and in Disney’s Lizzie McGuire. The Carradine dynasty continued into a third generation with Keith’s daughter, actress Martha Plimpton. The family was cast into the spotlight this summer when David, 72, was found dead in his hotel room in Thailand.
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Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s kids may be young, but the adorable tykes are already landing big-time roles. Thanks to a little help from mom and dad, Jaden, 11, has starred in films including The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Pursuit of Happyness, alongside his pop. And younger sister Willow, 8, appeared in I Am Legend. The parents have reportedly been teaching their kids Method acting to prepare for roles. “You got to stay true to your character and you just got to be in the moment,” Jaden has said of his acting technique. The Smith children seem well-poised to carry the dynasty years into the future.
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While Angelia Jolie often appears so goddess-like it seems she was beamed on Earth from above, let’s not forget that the actress is, in fact, mortal. Daughter of Jon Voight, a Hollywood god in his own right, and little-known actress Marcheline Bertrand, Jolie’s relationship with her father has been an all-too-human tumultuous one. In 1982, Jolie made her acting debut at just 7 years old alongside Voight, in the Hal Ashby film Lookin’ to Get Out. But the father-daughter moments dwindled over the years, and were cut off in 2002, when Voight said in an interview that Jolie had "severe emotional problems." The two of have since begun to repair their relationship, but theirs is far from a normal family tableau. Still, with Brad Pitt added to the mix, the family is a dynasty to be reckoned with.
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It’s only natural that It-mom would spawn It-daughter. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, Goldie Hawn defined the role of ditzy-sassy-loveable blond with films like Private Benjamin and Overboard. And along the way, Hawn and longtime boyfriend Kurt Russell raised Kate Hudson, Hawn’s daughter from a previous marriage, and son, Oliver, also an actor. The younger, golden-haired ingénue has inherited her mom’s comedic timing and charm, playing similar roles in films like Almost Famous and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. And unlike some other Hollywood dynasties, the Hawn/Hudson clan seems to actually get along. “To me, it is an honor," Kate once said of looking like Goldie. "She's the epitome of beauty: She's beautiful aesthetically, but she is a beautiful mother, too.”
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Old Hollywood royalty spawned new Hollywood royalty, when legendary actors Tony Curtis ( Some Like It Hot) and Janet Leigh ( Psycho) gave birth to Jamie Lee Curtis—who later married actor/director/writer/musician Christopher Guest ( Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman). Indeed, while Jamie Lee’s career has been far more eclectic than her parents’, she’s certainly done the family name proud. An interesting sidenote: In a new book, Tony Curtis reveals that one-time lover Marilyn Monroe had been pregnant with his baby, but miscarried. Ah, what could have been.
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Throughout the 1930s and ‘40s, Kirk Douglas rose to become one of the most legendary on-screen tough guys of all time, starring in films like Spartacus and The Bad and the Beautiful. Along the way, he gave birth to four kids who’d all eventually enter the biz—producers Peter and Joel Douglas, actor/comedian Eric Douglas (who died of a drug overdose in 2004), and of course, A-list actor Michael Douglas. The Douglas clan was elevated even further when Michael married Welsh stunner Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000. Unfortunately, the family has made headlines recently for the arrest of Michael’s son Cameron.
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Like so many Hollywood couples, Judy Garland and director Vincent Minnelli seemed destined to produce a star. And indeed they did, with Oscar/Grammy/Emmy/Tony Award-winning singer and actress Liza Minnelli. But alas, the glam dynasty stops there: Minnelli, despite being married four times, doesn’t have any children.
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Given Drew Barrymore’s lineage, it’s no surprise the actress has become Hollywood royalty. Acting goes back four generations in her family. Barrymore’s great-grandparents were actors. Her great-aunt, Ethel, was a well-known stage actress in Britain and the U.S. for 60 years, and is credited with introducing the concept of the “glamour girl.” Her great-uncle, Lionel, was a character actor and director who appeared in more than 200 films, including Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life. Her grandfather, John, was considered the “world’s greatest actor” throughout the 1920s and ‘30s. And Drew’s grandmother, Dolores Costello, was a famous silent-screen star. Her parents, meanwhile, John Barrymore Jr. and Jaid Barrymore, were actors, too. While her relationships with the latter were strained or nonexistent, toting the Barrymore family name has surely helped Drew forge her way.
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Like many actors of his generation, Lloyd Bridges got his start on Broadway, before embarking on a successful TV and film career. By the early 1960s, he’d landed his own program on CBS, The Lloyd Bridges Show—which often featured his sons, actors Beau and Jeff Bridges. The sons have carried on their father’s legacy, starring in an array of comedies and dramas, including The Fabulous Baker Boys, in which they starred opposite each other. Recently, Beau appeared in Desperate Housewives’ 100th episode and Jeff starred in Iron Man. They’ve come a long way from their dad’s roots in the Great White Way.
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Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez) wanted to act, but his father strongly disapproved. Rumor has it that he didn’t even see young Martin perform until his first film hit a local drive-in movie theater. Perhaps this early experience has contributed to the fact that all four of Sheen’s kids (with Janet Sheen, his wife of almost 40 years) have become actors. The most famous of the bunch are Charlie Sheen, star of Two and a Half Men, and Brat Packer Emilio Estevez. While the patriarch, well-known for his roles in The West Wing and Apocalypse Now, may be the most acclaimed of the brothers, the family’s Hollywood prominence has surely been bolstered by the younger Sheens.
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The Redgraves' theatrical ties date back to the 1800s. Perhaps the most famous is Vanessa Redgrave, who has earned Oscar, Tony, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards over the years. In any dynasty, though, sadly, there’s bound to be tragedy. This year, Vanessa’s daughter—acclaimed actress Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson—died after a skiing accident. Other famous Redgraves include Vanessa’s father, Michael, siblings Lynn and Corin, as well as her other children, actress Joely Richardson (a daughter by marriage) and son Carlo Nero, a writer and film director.
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Legendary director, screenwriter, and actor John Huston enjoyed a five-decade career in Hollywood, earning him 10 Oscar nominations. The son of Oscar-winning actor Walter Huston, John began performing in Vaudeville when he was just 3 years old, and he’s perhaps best known for directing such classics as The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen and Asphalt Jungle. John is also the father of acclaimed actress Angelica Huston, who he cast in several of his films, as well as Tony Huston, who wrote 1987’s The Dead. The family’s true moment of glory came in 1985, when Angela scored an Oscar for her role in the Mob satire Prizzi's Honor, directed by her father—making them the first family in the Academy’s history in which three generations won Academy Awards.
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Long before Jane Fonda visited her father, Henry, on that Golden Pond, he was making his mark on Hollywood, in classics like The Grapes of Wrath, Mr. Roberts, and 12 Angry Men. Henry was born in the fields of Nebraska and moved to New York City in the 1920s to act on Broadway. In 1936, he married wife No. 2 of five, Frances Ford Seymour (who later committed suicide). They became parents to acclaimed actor and screenwriter Peter Fonda ( Easy Rider, Ulee’s Gold) and Jane. The famous siblings describe their relationship with their father as distant—not uncommon, it seems, among Hollywood clans. Peter is the father of Bridget Fonda—who, for a few years, carried on the Fonda acting legacy, starring in films like Single While Female and Singles.
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What can’t this family do? Like the Corleones of The Godfather, the Coppola clan’s power is vast. They have nabbed so many Oscar mentions you’d think there was some Mob-style funny business going on if the talent pool weren’t so deep. There is patricarch Carmine Coppola, a composer, who won an Oscar for scoring The Godfather Part II. Then his son, director Francis Ford Coppola, whose wife, Eleanor Coppola is a set decorator, and daughter, actress Talia Shire, nominated for an Oscar for her roles in Rocky and The Godfather Part II. Shire, meanwhile, was married to producer Jack Schwartzman ( Being There). Moving along, there’s the third generation—nephew Nicolas Cage, who changed his name from Coppola to, well, make a name for himself—and Francis’ daughter Sofia, the first American woman to get an Academy nod for Best Director (for Lost in Translation). Sofia’s brother, Roman, is also a director. And let’s not forget Talia’s kids Jason Schwartzman ( Funny People, Rushmore) and Robert Schwartzman, lead singer of rock group Rooney and some-time actor. For the full family tree, check out Entertainment Weekly’s breakdown.
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