Some children inherit their parent’s toolboxes and become artisans. Some ride their father’s ladder truck and eventually follow them as firefighters. Others simply inherit their family fortune which they can build upon or squander. A lucky few, however, wait in the wings or linger on the set until the day when they, too, can explore their other selves as actors. A rare group of today’s stars are scions of acting dynasties and in some cases the third, fourth, or even fifth generations of thespians. Here are nine families known as Hollywood dynasties.
1. The Barrymores
The First Family of American acting, the Barrymores trace their stage lineage to Herbert Blythe, who left London for New York City in 1875, where he took the name Maurice Barrymore and married Georgiana Drew, herself a member of a famous theatrical family. Their eldest child, Lionel Barrymore, born in 1878, became a leading Broadway actor in the World War I era, then moved to Hollywood in 1926, where he made more than 200 films. His sister Ethel Barrymore, born in 1879, acted on Broadway for 30 years before opening the theater named for her in 1928. In 1945, she won an Oscar for None but the Lonely Heart. Their brother John Barrymore, born 1882, won fame for his 1922 version of Hamlet. John’s granddaughter Drew Barrymore, born in 1975, charmed the world as little Gertie in 1982’s E.T. Today, besides starring in popular romantic comedies, Drew continues to produce and direct movies.
2. The Clooneys
The story of the Clooneys involves highs of family triumphs and lows of drugs and heartbreak. Rosemary Clooney, born in 1928, began singing with her sister, Betty, on a Cincinnati radio station when a bandleader discovered them and debuted them as the “Clooney Sisters” in 1947. Two years later, however, Rosemary left the act for New York, where she starred with Bing Crosby in 1954’s White Christmas. Clooney married Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer, but his womanizing led to divorce, reconciliation, and divorce again. Clooney and Ferrer did manage to have five children, however, including Miguel Ferrer, a character actor best known for his villainous roles and who now stars in NCIS: Los Angeles. In the 1960s and 1970s, drugs ruined Rosemary’s health and appeared to end her career. But beginning with a 1975 concert with Crosby, Clooney revived her career. In 1995, she won an Emmy for acting on E.R., alongside her nephew George Clooney, the son of her brother Nick Clooney. George, of course, is famous as a Hollywood heartthrob and has bagged two Academy Awards, one for acting in Syriana and another for producing Argo.
3. The Chaplins
Charlie Chaplin is considered one of the most important Hollywood figures of the 20th century, and his 1936 silent film Modern Times is one of the most influential in movie history. Born into poverty in 1889 and raised in a workhouse in Victorian London, Chaplin became one of the world’s richest entertainers by the late 1920s. That wealth enabled Chaplin to pursue his moviemaking perfectionism — and his less noble tendencies. Chaplin was notorious for his sexual appetites, pursuing married women and teenaged girls, marrying four times (the last time to Oona O’Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neil), and conducting countless affairs. Those relationships, however, resulted in many descendants, several of whom have taken up their forebear’s craft. Sydney Chaplin, Chaplin’s son with his second wife, won a Tony in 1956 for the Bells are Ringing and starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the stage version of Funny Girl. Geraldine Chaplin, one of Charlie’s eight children with Oona, appeared in Dr. Zhivago. Geraldine’s daughter Oona Chaplin is a Spanish dancer and actress who appeared in HBO’s Game of Thrones as Talisa Stark.
4. The Coppolas
It’s easy to think of the Coppolas just as father-daughter directors Francis Ford and Sofia, but the Italian-American clan is one of Hollywood’s most successful extended families alive today. Let’s start with Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola, who was born in 1939. Hailing from Detroit, Coppola emerged as one of the ’70s most pre-eminent auteurs (and screenwriters), most notably for directing the legendary Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, and more. The Godfather trilogy featured his younger sister Talia Shire as the put-upon Corleone daughter Connie. Shire’s also famous for starring opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. The second generation of Coppolas includes Francis’ acclaimed writer-director daughter Sofia, who won an Oscar for writing Lost in Translation; her older brother Roman, who produces and writes (Moonrise Kingdom); Talia’s son Jason Schwartzman, who has starred in over 40 film and television projects, many of them Wes Anderson’s films; and Oscar-winning leading man Nicolas Cage (real name Nicolas Coppola), son of August Coppola, Francis and Talia’s older brother. Even Cage’s older brother Marc is in the industry, serving as a famous D.J. who has played extras in several of his family’s films.
5. The Fondas
Boasting three generations of thespians and filmmakers, the Fondas are a compelling Hollywood dynasty. Family patriarch Henry Fonda was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1905, and turned to acting after trying college. In the late 1920s, Fonda moved to New England to join the University Players Guild. He graced the screen for nearly 50 years, most memorably in his Oscar-nominated roles for The Grapes of Wrath, 12 Angry Men, and his winning role opposite daughter Jane in On Golden Pond. Both of his biological children, Jane and Peter, went into show business, with Jane, an outspoken activist, earning accolades for her films in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, primarily her two Academy Award-winning performances in Klute and Coming Home. Little brother Peter has more than 100 credits to his name but is still best remembered for his role in the iconic 1969 film Easy Rider. Peter’s daughter Bridget Fonda hasn’t acted professionally in more than a decade, but she was one of the most promising young actresses of the ’90s, appearing in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, the thriller Single White Female, and Ben Stiller’s Singles. She’s married to award-winning composer (and former Oingo Boingo frontman) Danny Elfman. Jane’s son Troy Garrity is also an actor, albeit a character actor who has appeared mostly in supporting roles (the Barbershop movies and TV’s Boss).
6. The Hustons
While there have been many acting families, there has been only one where a son won an Oscar for directing his father’s Oscar-winning performance. The Hustons accomplished that feat in 1948, with son John directing his father Walter in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with a script that also won John an Oscar for best screenplay. Then, 36 years later, John’s daughter, Anjelica, won an Oscar acting in another film that her father directed, 1986’s Prizzi’s Honor. John Huston also directed classics such as The African Queen, and The Maltese Falcon, becoming one of the 20th century’s most influential directors. Other non-Oscar-winning, but still talented, Hustons include Anjelica’s half-brother, Danny, an imposing character actor, and Anjelica’s nephew Jack, who co-stars in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.
7. The Redgraves
Perhaps the most famed of all acting dynasties, the Redgraves now include five generations of thespians. Roy Redgrave, born in South London in 1873, died a penniless actor in Australia in 1922. But by then, he had sired Michael Redgrave, who become one of Britain’s most acclaimed Shakespearean actors and the star of films such as The Lady Vanishes and The Importance of Being Earnest. Michael was the father of actress Lynn Redgrave (Georgy Girl, Gods and Monsters), stage actor Corin Redgrave, and current clan matriarch Vanessa Redgrave, who has an Oscar for Julia, a Tony for Long Day’s Journey into Night, and an Emmy for Playing for Time. Corin is father of actor Jemma Redgrave, and Vanessa’s daughters with late director Tony Richardson also became actors: Natasha Richardson, who won a Tony in 1998 for Caberet, and Joely Richardson, who starred on the television series Nip/Tuck. Natasha, married to Irish star Liam Neeson, died in a skiing accident in 2009. Earlier this year, Roy’s great-great-granddaughter Daisy Bevan, daughter of Joely, made her West End stage debut.
8. The Sutherlands
Donald Sutherland’s career has spanned 50 years, with highlights that include M.A.S.H., and Ordinary People, but the actor augmented his fame with younger audiences as President Snow in the 2012 film The Hunger Games. His son Kiefer has also starred in several movies but is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Agent Jack Bauer in the terrorism thriller 24. Both men star together in Forsaken, a western currently in post-production. Donald’s sons with actress Francine Racette (Kiefer’s half-brothers) are also in the industry: Roeg is an agent, and Angus and Rossif are actors. Finally, Kiefer’s daughter, Sarah Sutherland, 26, plays another famous daughter, the offspring of the vice president on HBO’s political comedy Veep.
9. The Gwynne/Pines
Chris Pine, who stood at ship’s helm in the recent Star Trek films as roguish Captain Kirk, can thank his grandmother for his great bone structure. Pine’s grandmother Anne Gwynne was a Texas beauty queen discovered by Universal Studios in 1939. Over her 40 films, she became a horror- and B-movie queen. Gwynne’s good looks made her so popular that World War II GIs voted her Yank magazine’s No. 1 pinup girl in 1943-44. And this is a family where the talent gene didn’t skip a generation. Dad Robert Pine played Sgt. Joseph Getraer on CHiPs, and his mom, Gwynne Gilford, acted in film and television before becoming a psychotherapist (Pine jokes that his first role was on CHiPs, when his pregnant mother appeared on the police drama, pregnant with Pine).