Everything We Know About Alexander And Ella Clooney
Alexander and Ella Clooney are the twin children of George and Amal Clooney, one of the world's most glamorous power couples. George is an Academy Award-winning Hollywood powerhouse. Not only is he an actor, producer, and director, he's also one of the few stars to be crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive multiple years. Amal is a celebrated international human rights lawyer, her advocacy work earning her, among other accolades, a place as one of Time's Women of the Year.
Since their birth in 2017, the Clooney twins have fascinated and intrigued the masses. While mom and dad lead extremely public lives, Alexander and Ella lead deliberately private lives away from the spotlight. George and Amal fiercely protect their children's privacy and actively shield them from the press. However, this doesn't mean their doting parents shy away from sharing cute anecdotes and important milestones with fans. Alexander and Ella may remain fairly elusive, but over the years, we've learned a surprising amount about these celebrity tots. Here's everything we know about the enigmatic Clooney siblings.
Their privacy is taken very seriously
George Clooney has been an outspoken critic of the paparazzi and their sometimes brazen disregard for privacy. Shortly after Princess Diana died in 1997, Clooney made a heated public statement against tabloid journalism, suggesting their tactics played a role in her death. At the premiere of his movie "The Peacemaker" later that year, he was in no mood to call a truce with the tabloids, saying, "... tabloid journalism, that's what I believe needs to be looked at and that's what I will continue to fight" (via Reuters). Clooney also shared his frustrations with how Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, was being tenaciously pursued by the press, comparing her treatment to that of Diana, telling WHO magazine in 2019, "I think it's irresponsible and I'm surprised by that."
Clearly, Clooney takes privacy very seriously, and as his family has grown, he's only become more strident in calling out the paparazzi for going too far. In 2017, Clooney threatened to sue French magazine Voici for publishing pictures of his twins, Alexander and Ella. Clooney said, "Over the last week photographers from Voici magazine scaled our fence, climbed our tree, and illegally took pictures of our infants inside our home." Voici countered Clooney's claims, saying there was a "public demand" for the photos (via BBC). Clooney once again pleaded for Alexander and Ella's privacy, penning an open letter to the Daily Mail in which he argued, "[We] never post pictures because to do so would put their lives in jeopardy."
How Alexander starts his mornings
As the old Us Weekly celebrity adage goes, "Stars –- They're just like us." And George and Amal Clooney are no exception. While the power couple has an extremely busy schedule that finds many of their working hours in the public eye, they still squeeze in time for special, private moments with their children. George tells Marc Maron on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast that while he and Amal both work a lot, they prioritize family time, saying, "We also have to make sure we're spending less time behind a computer or going to locations" (via People).
So it's not surprising that doting dad George has a special morning ritual with his son, Alexander. George shares on "WTF with Marc Maron" that every morning Alexander bangs on George's door, then George askes, "Who is it?" Then his son declares, "It is I, Alexander Clooney!" then bursts through the door. The silly daily ritual starts their day on a giggly note, with George adding, "I laugh every day."
How Alexander's health concerns have impacted the family
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic changed how we lived and how we worked, with the world adapting to safety protocols in efforts to keep people safe and alive. It wasn't easy, and as George Clooney succinctly observed to The Guardian in 2020, "This has been a crappy year for everyone." Even with the power and privilege of fame, the Clooneys, like countless others, adjusted their private lifestyle to accommodate health concerns of family members. At the onset of the pandemic, George revealed to The Guardian that he and his family hunkered down in their Hollywood Hills home, rarely leaving their compound due to Alexander's asthma diagnosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, those with asthma may face increased risk from serious illness like COVID-19, and George wasn't taking risks with his son's health saying, "We don't know anything about the long term of this yet."
In 2020, George didn't leave his Los Angeles home much, completing work on his movie "The Midnight Sky" from his compound, and like many folks sheltering in place, he also took on a DIY domestic ethos. He told GQ, "I cut my own hair and I cut my kids' hair and I'm mopping it and vacuuming and doing the laundry and doing the dishes every day." Perhaps George used his beloved Flowbee Haircutting System on his kids, something he told "CBS Sunday Morning" he's been using on himself for decades.
Alexander and Ella Clooney have very different personalities
Alexander and Ella Clooney may have a natural camaraderie that comes with being twins, but according to dad George, they have very different personalities. He told ET that even as infants, "They start out with a personality right off the bat." Of Alexander, George said, "He's a moose! Literally he just sits there and eats." In his dad's eyes, he's preparing for a strongman career, observing about his son, "He looks like he could bounce right now, some place in Hollywood," adding "Like, checking IDs on the way into the nursery." As for daughter Ella, Clooney shared, "She's very elegant, and all eyes. She looks like Amal, thank god."
While their contrasting personalities have been apparent from the start, George exercises humility when it comes to his influence on Alexander and Ella. He shares with People, "You learn so much with twins because you're raising them both at the same time, born the same day, but you realize how little it has to do with you." He adds, "They were the person they were going to be when they were born. Now all your hope is to just kind of guide them along in the right direction." Undoubtedly, the Clooney twins will continue to forge their own authentic, distinct paths in life.
The story behind their old-fashioned names
Distinctive baby names have been all the rage in Hollywood for years. When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin made headlines for naming their daughter Apple in 2004, the unorthodox name garnered laughs and an explanation from Paltrow herself on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." From magician Penn Jillett's daughter Moxie Crimefighter to actor Jason Lee's son Pilot Inspektor, there are a litany of celebrity offspring with creative monikers (per USA Today). These days, it's more surprising when a celebrity doesn't get creative with their child's name.
So why did George and Amal Clooney buck the unusual Hollywood name trend in favor of tradition? Simply, because fame is unusual. George gets that he's a movie star and he's aware that his celebrity is not particularly relatable. However, he believes his own fame shouldn't get in the way of his children's lives. He told The Guardian that he favored the more traditional names Alexander and Ella because of their famous parents, "Their lives are going to be unusual, right? There's no denying that. So let's give them a head start by giving them normal names." No doubt the Clooney twins have a life full of elevated advantages, and perhaps their more conventional names will keep them a little grounded.
They are bilingual in English and Italian
Alexander and Ella Clooney crisscross the globe with their celebrity parents. George and Amal Clooney have an extensive real estate portfolio, which — according to Architectural Digest – has at times included properties in Los Angeles, New York, City, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and France. Based on their affinity for homes, it's safe to say the Clooney family are a worldly bunch, so it comes as no surprise that Alexander and Ella already possess some seriously savvy language skills.
According to George, his kids speak both English and Italian fluently. George celebrates their growing mastery of both languages, but there's one issue: Neither George nor Amal speak Italian, something he tells E! News, "That's a flaw in our logic, right there." George hails from small-town Kentucky, and Amal was born in Lebanon and raised in the U.K., places where Italian is not often a person's first language. However, George has owned his villa on Lake Como, Italy since 2002, and the Clooney clan has been frequently spotted in the area, something that surely helps their bilingual prowess. George laments his translation predicament on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," joking that "I'm from Kentucky, English is a second language for me."
How the twins celebrate their birthdays
The Clooney twins' birthday has always been cause for celebration. In 2017, Alexander and Ella grabbed headlines with their cheeky birth announcement: "This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine. George is sedated and should recover in a few days" (via USA Today). Their first birthday was a more subdued affair, with the family traveling from Europe to Los Angeles for George to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award. Apparently, Alexander and Ella were a little too jet-lagged to appreciate their birthday cake, with George telling ET, "We had a cake, [we were] waiting, and we wake them up and show it to them, and then they go back to sleep." It seems like George and Amal were more excited about their birthday than they were.
As they get older, Alexander and Ella's birthday have ramped up the excitement. They spent their 4th birthday at their Italian villa, with E! News reporting it was the first time the family had been at their Lake Como home in years. They even brought their puppy, Rosie, along for the fun. Now that they're getting older, one can anticipate their birthday celebration will only get bigger and more exciting.
They live a transcontinental life
Before becoming a world-renowned power couple, George and Amal Clooney were international stars in their own right. When they met in 2013, George was in full Hollywood mode, starring in the Academy Award-winning film "Gravity," and Amal was based in the U.K. as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, working in international courts. Before their 2014 marriage, George and Amal's romance zigzagged the globe, with People reporting the couple vacationed in places like Mexico and Tanzania. They were also spotted in cities like London, New York, and Malibu. They even attended a screening of George's movie "The Monuments Men" at the White House together.
Alexander and Ella fit right in with their parents' transcontinental lifestyle. They've been jet-setters from the get-go, flying with mom and dad as infants. Sources at Us Weekly said George was nervous about the twins' potential fussiness on a British Airways flight, but "the babies didn't make a peep." It's a good thing the Clooney twins are adept at travel because their early years have been quite international. Sources at E! News said the Clooneys wanted their children's early years to be spent in the U.K., and according to The Guardian, the family spent most of the COVID-19 lockdown period at George's Hollywood Hills home. And yes, Alexander and Ella spend plenty of time at the family's Lake Como, Italy villa, occasionally spotted by the paparazzi enjoying a sunny day on the lake (via Fox News).
They're animal lovers
George Clooney has been a friend to four-legged creatures throughout his career. When he was known as one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, George's pot-bellied pig Max became a celebrity in his own right. Max was blamed for ending several of George's relationships, with The Guardian reporting that girlfriend Celine Balitran said "It's me or the pig." Girlfriends come and go, but for George, his love for Max was eternal. He adored having a pet pig, telling CBS News that "[Max] was funny, and he made me laugh," and he even shared his bed with Max until he got too big. Perhaps George's bulldogs, Bud and Lou, had a spot in their doggy beds for their portly porky friend.
As George transitioned from bachelorhood to fatherhood, he kept his love for animals in the family. George adopted Einstein, a black cocker spaniel with chronic health issues. Vanity Fair reports he and Amal rescued four-year-old basset hound Millie and cocker spaniel Louie, and People shares George even helped his parents adopt terrier Nate from a Cincinnati, Ohio animal rescue. When Alexander and Ella arrived in 2017, they already had some ready-made furry friends, but that hasn't stopped the Clooney pack from growing. George shared with People that Saint Bernard puppy, Rosie, joined the family in 2020. Rosie goes on walks with the twins and even goes with them on vacation, with sources at E! News spotting the pooch with Alexander and Ella in Italy.
Alexander and Ella Clooney will probably not have siblings
For George Clooney, getting married and having kids was not on his life bingo card. For most of his time in the spotlight, George remained outspokenly apathetic about being a husband and a father. In his interview for People's Sexiest Man Alive issue in 2006, George professed his happiness for perpetual bachelorhood and stated, "I don't have the gene to procreate." But even then, George said he was open to change. And boy, did his life change when he met Amal at a dinner gathering with friends in 2013. George's dad, broadcaster Nick Clooney, was at the meal, and he told People of his son and Amal's initial meeting, "I really think by the time that first (meeting) was over, his and her fates were sealed, both of them. She was so remarkable and he was so remarkable around her."
Soon, they married and George and Amal Clooney decided to have kids. George embraced family life well into middle age, and he shared with Hoda Kotb on "Today" that fatherhood gave him a sense of belonging, a sense of home, and unconditional love. And while Alexander and Ella fill the Clooney house with joy, they most likely will not have younger siblings. Amal also noted her late start at parenthood to The Hollywood Reporter. When asked if she'd like more children, she shook her head and acknowledged she had the twins at 39, adding, "I already had them quite late."
They are pranksters in the making
George Clooney is arguably one of Hollywood's most notorious pranksters. His affinity for elaborate practical jokes spans decades, and George spares no one from his infamous sense of humor. From his clowning on friends like Richard Kind to pulling on-set hijinks on his A-list co-stars, George has left a compendium of yuks in his wake. Yes, George threw a fake wedding for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to distract the press, and indeed, he called Hugh Jackman in the middle of the night to razz him about being People's Sexiest Man Alive (per Vulture). And married life has suited George's sense of humor just fine, with his good friend and frequent co-star Julia Roberts sharing with E! News that married life actually made his pranks better.
George tells The Hollywood Reporter that he wants his kids to be both happy and have a sense of humor and, based on anecdotes shared by their trickster father, it seems that Alexander and Ella are chips off the old prankster block. George explained to People that one of the twin's favorite pranks involves spreading Nutella in a diaper, telling their dad it's dirty, and then licking it. He also divulged to Savannah Guthrie on "Today" that they put peanut butter on their shoes and pretend it's "poo-poo." While George isn't teaching his kids math, he is tutoring them in jokes, quipping with ET, "I think those can really pay off over time."
What Alexander and Ella love to eat
Being the children of world-famous celebrities can come with perks. One of the luxuries Alexander and Ella Clooney enjoy is a private chef. After the twins arrived in the Clooney home, George revealed to People that his personal chef, Viviana Frizzi, prepares scrumptious meals for the family almost nightly. Hailing from Italy, Frizzi helms the Clooneys' weekly pizza night, and she says, "The twins are not fussy eaters." They enjoy fish, risotto, and ricotta with raspberries, and give Frizzi a hearty "Mmm!" as their culinary seal of approval. Alexander and Ella even give a chef's kiss to vegetables, with George telling Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that they eat broccoli and spinach.
But just because Alexander and Ella devour chef-driven cuisine doesn't mean they can't appreciate some down-home Kentucky cooking from their dad. While on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," George shared that he made Thanksgiving dinner for Amal and the kids, complete with stuffing, turkey, and mashed potatoes. His kitchen secret: Cover everything in butter. George reported no complaints from the twins for his covert dairy ingredient.
How Alexander and Ella have changed their parents' behavior
George and Amal Clooney's humanitarian work has sent them to some of the world's most tumultuous locations. George has campaigned to raise awareness about violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. His advocacy work includes producing and narrating the 2007 documentary "Sand and Sorrow," and launching the investigative initiative the Sentry in 2017, warning of government corruption in South Sudan. Amal works on behalf of victims of ISIS in Iraq, urging government officials to investigate the group's crimes in the country (per CBS News). In 2017, George told Paris Match magazine that in light of their impending parenthood, "We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger. I won't go to South Sudan anymore or the Congo; Amal will no longer go to Iraq, and she'll avoid places where she knows she isn't welcome" (via US Weekly).
In addition to his self-imposed travel restrictions, George also squelched his motorcycle riding. In 2018, a motorcycle accident launched George into a car's windshield. He went flying off his bike, and while in the air, George tells GQ his only thoughts were focused on Alexander and Ella, recalling, "This was it and that I wasn't gonna see them again." He survived the crash relatively unscathed, but Amal has forbidden him from motorcycle riding. No doubt she prefers George to trade in his daredevil pastime for a more easy riding, family-friendly hobby.
Their nursery overtook their dad's office
While the Clooney family has a fast-paced globetrotting lifestyle, George Clooney is proud to be a homebody. During an intimate tour of his Los Angeles home on "Person to Person" in 2012, George shared that he purchased his Hollywood Hills home in the mid-'90s amid his "ER" success for a little privacy from prying photographers. For George, "A home is a place where your family and friends are a part of," and owning property "was a sign of making it." Even during his confirmed-bachelor days, George clearly saw his abode as a warm, welcoming sanctuary for loved ones.
The Clooney family has grown quite a bit since George opened his doors to CBS News, and with the arrival of Alexander and Ella, he's made a few adjustments to his longtime California home. When George, Amal, and the twins relocated full time to Los Angeles amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the former bachelor pad needed some kid-proofing. In an interview with The Guardian, George admitted that his old office had been turned into a nursery, and his tennis court taken over by bicycles. He joked with GQ that he maintained the room's old vibe with clandestine liquor, saying, "I sneak a bottle of tequila inside a couple of stuffed bears, just so I can go hang in the room every once in a while."