LIFE With Movie Stars and Their Kids

2 minute read

“The very rich,” F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “are different from you and me.” And along those lines, we sometimes assume that, like the very rich, the very famous are another species entirely. Movie stars, for example, can sometimes seem to exist in a more rarefied world than the rest of us—as if worries cease and cares are a memory once one in touched by fame.

It’s a silly notion, of course. Most actors and actresses, no matter how rich or well-known, share the same elemental concerns as the rest of us—especially when it comes to their families. They want their kids to be healthy; to feel safe and feel loved; to learn and to grow and (as near as possible) to be happy.

Over the years, LIFE magazine made a point of featuring actors, actresses, musicians, and other pop culture icons with their families—in short, living their lives the same way that “normal” people do. A noble aim, no doubt. But even when LIFE’s photographers did manage to capture an unguarded moment between, say, a Steve McQueen clowning with his son, or Sophia Loren lovingly tossing her baby in the air, there’s no getting around the fact that, even if they share the same hopes and fears as parents everywhere, some of these stars seem incapable of looking unattractive or awkward.

Okay. So maybe they’re different from the rest of us after all. . . .


Steve McQueen bend down to kiss his daughter Terry goodnight before bed in 1963
Hard-boiled action star Steve McQueen kisses his daughter Terry goodnight at their home in Hollywood, CA in 1963. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Sammy Davis Jr. Plays With Son on couch in 1964
Sammy Davis Jr. plays with his son, Mark Davis, in 1964. Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Tony Curtis and wife Janet Leigh play with daughters Kelly and Jamie Lee on floor of Beverly Hills home in 1959
Screen icons Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh play with their daughters, future TV actress Kelly Curtis, left, and future movie star Jamie Lee Curtis in their Beverly Hills Home in 1959. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Wayne with kids Ethan, Marissa, and Aissa and wife Pilar at dining table of family home in 1969
John Wayne at home with kids Ethan, Marissa, and Aissa and wife Pilar in 1969. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Elizabeth Taylor in costume on the Rome set of Cleopatra plays with daughter Liza in 1962
Liz Taylor plays with Liza, her daughter by Mike Todd, while filming Cleopatra in Rome in April 1962. On the set, Taylor famously fell for co-star Richard Burton, who married her and adopted Liza.Paul Schutzer—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Dean-Paul Martin flexes muscles to father, Dean Martin and brothers Ricci and Craig on couch at home in Beverly Hills in 1958
Future pop star/actor Dean-Paul Martin shows off his muscles to papa Dean and brothers Ricci and Craig at home in Beverly Hills in 1958.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Shirley MacLaine and daughter Sachi Parker pouts with pearls on head in 1959
Shirley MacLaine and daughter Sachi Parker pose with pearl necklaces in 1959.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Gina Caroline Martin tries on father Dean Martin's shoes as he watches in background at home in Beverly Hills in 1958
Dean Martin watches daughter Gina Caroline Martin walking in his shoes at their Beverly Hills home in 1958. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Robert Walker rides a tricycle with two sons in 1942
Robert Walker rides a tricycle with Michael, top, and Robert Jr., his sons by actress Jennifer Jones, in 1942.John Florea—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Rita Hayworth, holding newborn daughter Rebecca Welles with Orson Welles in Hollywood home in December 1944
Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles hold newborn daughter Rebecca Welles at home in Hollywood, California, in December 1944. She is the only child of their five-year marriage.Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Michael Redgrave, wife Rachel Kempson, and children Corin, Lynn, and Vanessa pose for portrait on the banks of the Thames near their home in 1946
Michael Redgrave, wife Rachel Kempson, and children Corin, Lynn, and Vanessa pose for a portrait on the banks of the Thames near their London home in 1946. Ian Smith—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Sophia Loren lifts son Carlo Ponti Jr. in air at home in Rome in 1969
Sophia Loren plays with her son, Carlo Ponti Jr., at her home in Rome in 1969. He'll grow up to be an orchestra conductor.Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Joan Crawford with daughter Christina Crawford laying on lap in Monterey, California in 1945
Joan Crawford spends a happy moment with her daughter in Monterey, California in 1945. Decades later, in her controversial memoir Mommie Dearest, Christina will accuse her mother of abuse.Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Henry Fonda shows a toy plane to son Peter Fonda while daughter Jane Fonda plays with cat, stepdaughter Frances Brokaw and wife Frances watches in yard at home in Connecticut in 1948
Henry Fonda is flanked by future stars Peter and Jane Fonda, his children by wife Frances, left, at home in Connecticut in 1948. Henry's stepdaughter Frances Brokaw is seated second from left.Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Sachi Parker standing screams with mother kneeling Shirley MacLaine in 1959
Sachi Parker play-screams with mom Shirley MacLaine in 1959. Exorcist author William Peter Blatty refuted MacLaine's claim that her daughter was the inspiration for the possessed Regan, or that he used her face on the book cover.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Steve McQueen plays with son Chad at home in Hollywood in 1963
Steve McQueen, so often cool and stoic onscreen, laughs while playing with his son, future B-movie actor Chad McQueen, at home in Hollywood in 1963.John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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