Who Are Annette Bening And Warren Beatty's Four Children?
Throughout Warren Beatty's decades-long career, which has gradually slowed down over time, he has one major achievement that topples over other A-Listers. He is one of two actors — the other being "Citizen Kane" lead Orson Welles – who have been nominated for acting, directing, writing, and producing the same film in Oscars history. Beatty got the accolades for 1978's "Heaven Can Wait" and his 1981 production "Reds," co-starring Diane Keaton, whose romantic relationship with him couldn't work.
The actor also gained notoriety for being a ladies' man in his prime — being linked to high-profile celebs like the Queen of Pop, Madonna – and having a rumor suggesting that Beatty had relations with over 10,000 women. Once one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, he shared with AARP that the growing influence of feminism on relationships during his bachelorhood in the 1960s and 1970s made him hesitate to settle down. "My delay in forming a family, marriage, was that I felt, or maybe I would say feared, that there was an element of impermanence to relationships that was somewhat new," Beatty said.
The winds of change eventually knocked on the "Bonnie & Clyde" actor's door when he crossed paths with fellow actor Annette Bening. Together, the couple has one of Tinsel Town's long-lasting unions and has gone on to build a family of four.
Annette Bening met Warren Beatty when working on Bugsy
Just a year after Annette Bening had her breakout role as Myra Langtry in the 1990 film, "The Grifters," Warren Beatty recruited her for the Academy Award best picture-nominated biographical flick, "Bugsy." Bening played Virginia Hill, the notorious girlfriend of mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who Beatty himself portrayed.
Speaking to People about their first meeting, the "American Beauty" actor recalled how Beatty defied those womanizer stereotypes surrounding him. "I remember thinking 'Wow, this guy is so smart and so sharp and funny, but more — just articulate,'" Bening said. "He was very passionate about the movie that he was about to make. He had a lot to say — and he was charming, for sure."
From the get-go, Beatty's working relationship with Bening was nothing like his seductive past. He had previously been linked with some of his co-stars and was subtly eyeing Bening, but his interactions with her stayed professional. When filming came to an end, the duo had dinner, and according to Beatty's conversation with AARP, his intuition pointed toward Bening being the one.
The couple welcomed their first child in January 1992
In July 1991, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening announced that they had a bun in the oven. The lovebirds' message (via The Baltimore Sun) read, "We are happy to confirm we are looking forward to the birth of a child early next year." On January 8, 1992, one month after "Bugsy" premiered, Warren and Annette had a little bundle of joy, Kathlyn Beatty.
As Bening revealed in an interview with "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Warren's marriage proposal was a low-key event that happened quietly in their home. In March 1992, the couple walked down the aisle. "I can confirm they were married not too long ago, but no further details will be forthcoming," a representative for Bening told The New York Times at the time. "They are both private people and would like to keep details of their wedding private."
The couple's eldest child grew up to become a transgender advocate and changed their name to Stephen Elizabeth Ira. In a 2013 GLAAD campaign for health insurance rights for the transgender community in New York City, they said, "I grew up outside of New York, but I've always known that I wanted to move here for the city's vibrant artistic community. As a trans person, I would hope that I'd be welcomed, but many trans people aren't because we don't have the basic healthcare coverage that we need to survive."
Annette Bening felt protective of Stephen
When Stephen Elizabeth Ira came out as transgender when he was 14, his mother, Annette Bening, was at first oblivious about what came with being transgender, as she disclosed in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. "I was very ignorant about what that meant to be a trans kid," Bening confessed. "I, like every other parent, want to protect my kids and make sure they're okay, and I had a lot of learning to do. I didn't always know what to do, and I didn't always make the right choices because of my own ignorance, but we got through it."
The mother of four sought out professional help from qualified experts to find a way to move forward equipped with the knowledge to help protect her child. Bening gushed how Ira made her proud by dancing to the beat of his own drum. Just like his wife, Warren Beatty has nothing but praise for his bold son. "He's a revolutionary, a genius, and my hero, as are all my children," he told Vanity Fair in a 2016 interview.
Stephen Elizabeth Ira is a talented wordsmith
Besides advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, Stephen Elizabeth Ira is a skilled writer. In 2014, Ira was named a Lambda Literary fellow, having his poetry and short-form fiction featured in publications such as Specter Magazine and Spot Literary Magazine. In The Paris Review's fall 2022 issue, Ira's poem, "How to Wash Your Hands," detailing how he was taught handwashing in prep school by professionals, was published.
Less than a year later, he revealed the release of his own project, "This Zine Has Everything," a collection of four poems. Ira made the announcement in an Instagram post that partly read, "This zine costs whatever you want, starting at one dollar!" He further specified how readers could get their hands on the publication by direct messaging him. Ira is also the author of a mini-book called "Chasers."
Just like his talented parents, Ira has dipped his toes in the film business. In 2019, he and his partner, Chris Berntsen, released "I have to think of us as separate people," a short film highlighting love between a trans and cisgender gay couple. Ira also played the role of Jimmy in the Chase Joynt-directed 2022 film, "Framing Agnes."
Benjamin Beatty has followed in his parents' footsteps
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening welcomed their second child, Benjamin Beatty, in August 1994. The couple still maintained a relatively non-public life, such that when film critic Bobbie Wygant asked how the children were faring during Bening's promotion of "The American President" in 1995, she simply said, "She's [Kathlyn] great, and my little boy is great, too, so we're doing fine ... Everybody is great!"
Benjamin grew up attending The Buckley School in Los Angeles, where he graduated in 2013. As it turns out, he, too, is an apple that didn't fall far from his parents' acting tree. In March 2013, he announced in an Instagram post that he was heading to Northwestern University in Chicago to pursue a degree in theater. In 2016, Benjamin landed a minor role as a clapper boy in "Hail, Caesar!" and later was cast in the 2018 Ryan Eslinger-directed film, "UFO."
Benjamin introduced his mom to the Los Angeles Dodgers
While the acting legacies of Annette Bening and Warren Beatty must influence their children's career choices, Benjamin Beatty has also made a family contribution of his own. Bening said their second-born was the reason she fell in love with baseball during her interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "I became one [a Dodgers fan] really when ... he was little and he played baseball and we started taking him to games," Bening shared. "We had a friend who was inviting us a lot to go to games. So, that's kind of when it started and now it's just kind of gotten more and more." The Dodgers craze runs so deep that Bening planned her 60th birthday celebration at Dodger Stadium back in 2018.
Another sport the actor has grown an affection for is swimming, as she shared with The Guardian. In 2023, Bening portrayed Diana Nyad in the sports Drama, "Nyad," which details how the athlete managed to historically swim from Cuba to Florida at 60 years old. Working on the film, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for best actress in a leading role, helped to improve her swimming skills.
Isabel Beatty was bit by the acting bug
Three years after the birth of Benjamin Beatty, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening had a new addition to the family: Isabel Beatty. Isabel went to Areté Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles for her education. In 2014, she was featured at the world-famous sacrosanct Debutante Ball in Paris, France. In an interview with Madame Figaro ahead of the event, Isabel revealed that she'd like to have a career behind the screens. "I dream of being a director," she said. "My parents passed on to me an unconditional love for cinema. Harmony Korine and Terrence Malick are my mentors."
While she looks forward to giving Christopher Nolan a run for his money in the coming years, Isabel already has acting credits to her name. In 2017, she made her small-screen debut on the comedy series, "Quality Sketch." Isabel has since made appearances in projects like "Murder Tag," "Baggage," and "Get Loved."
Off-screen, Isabel's playful side is on full display in some of her tweets. One in particular, made in January 2024, reads, "shout out to the men who have tried to 'I think people are actually being way too harsh on nepo babies' their way under me." On her Instagram, her posts are just as random and diverse, ranging from the flower arrangement in her room and one dirty shoe lying on the road to free-flowing poetry.
Ella Beatty joined in the family business
The last of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's children, Ella Beatty, was born in the year 2000. Ella attended the holy grail of performance, Juilliard, from which she graduated in 2022. Asked what her greatest lesson from Juilliard was in a chat with WWD, Ella said, "My favorite thing that they said to us there was, 'Stay ready so you don't gotta get ready.'"
In October of that year, Ella shared through a post on Instagram that she joined the cast of the Ryan Murphy-made FX series, "Feud." Premiering in January 2024, in the show, Ella portrays the character Kerry O'Shea, alias Kate Harrington, on "Feud: Capote vs the Swans."
According to Ella, her parents — but Bening in particular — have been instrumental in shaping her career. "The best advice that you get is their example," Ella told WWD. "Just watching my mom backstage, watching how hard she works, even something like watching the way she memorizes her lines, that's how I learn my dialogue now." 2024 is also the year that Ella is set to make her debut on the Broadway stage in the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play, "Appropriate," in March.