Mel Gibson's Rarely-Seen Daughter Lucia Is Growing Up Fast
Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva went public with their romance shortly after the actor's wife, Robyn Moore Gibson, filed for divorce. Mel and Grigorieva's relationship was toxic and turbulent. Still, one good thing resulted from it: their daughter, Lucia Gibson. Despite the blaze of publicity surrounding her birth, Lucia has remained largely out of the spotlight.
Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva had a messy split, and the couple waged a bitter custody battle. She filed a restraining order in January 2010, claiming he punched her in the face, breaking a tooth and causing a concussion. In a sworn statement obtained by TMZ, Mel insisted he'd been trying to restrain Grigorieva because he was concerned she would harm their baby. "I slapped Oksana one time with an open hand in an attempt to bring her back to reality," Mel insisted. "I did not slap her hard. I was just trying to shock her so that she would stop screaming, continuing shaking Lucia back and forth."
Either way, an investigation was launched, and Mel filed his own restraining order. Then there were the tapes. A series of truly awful racist and expletive-filled voicemails that Mel left for Grigorieva in 2010 were leaked to Radar. And they made his "sugar t**ts" police rant look positively vanilla. Given their horrendous and very public breakup, it's little surprise that Grigorieva retreated from the public eye, taking Lucia with her. However, they were snapped out in public in November 2023, and Mel's rarely seen daughter is growing up fast.
Lucia's no longer daddy's little girl
Mel Gibson's daughter, Lucia Gibson, has rarely been seen publicly since her birth in October 2009. In November 2023, though, she was photographed on an outing with her mom, Oksana Grigorieva. The couple was grocery shopping at Erewhon Market in Los Angeles, California, and the teen, dressed casually in a lilac hoodie, towered above her mom.
It seems that poor Lucia is only photographed when visiting supermarkets, as she was last seen leaving Ralph's grocery store in Malibu with her dad in June 2022. Lucia is one of Mel's nine kids that Mel has from three different relationships. Through no fault of her own, Lucia's early years were mired in scandal and controversy as Mel and Grigorieva duked it out in a nasty and contentious custody battle. It took nearly two years for the couple to call a truce. In August 2011, the Associated Press reported that Gibson agreed to dole out $750,000 to Grigorieva, set up a trust fund for Lucia, and continue payments on the mansion he purchased for them, to be sold for their daughter's benefit when she turned 18.
Mel isn't big on issuing mea culpas. Still, he admitted to the Sunday Times in 2016 that he hasn't always been the best dad possible. "As a parent, everybody screws up," Mel said. "There's no such thing as a perfect parent, and it's so easy to mess up. But hopefully, I've screwed up less than most."
Mel moved on and got back in the dad saddle
Mel Gibson has suffered more than his fair share of screw-ups and scandals over the years. Among the many are his DUI arrest, accusations of anti-semitism and homophobia, a spousal battery conviction, and n-bomb-laden racist rants. Gibson seemingly disappeared from Hollywood for a while, but somehow, against all odds, he does still have a career. In fact, he was given a rousing 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following the premiere of his World War II drama, "Hacksaw Ridge," in 2016.
Proving yet further that he's still an industry mover and shaker, the flick was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Director for Gibson — he lost to Damien Chazelle for "La La Land."
Meanwhile, Gibson's personal life hasn't lost any of its lustre either. He found love again in 2014 with writer Rosalind Ross. In true Gibson style, the relationship comes with plenty of controversy as Ross is 34 years younger. Also, in true Gibson style, the relationship has resulted in a child. The couple welcomed a son, Lars, in January 2017. Gibson shared his best parenting advice during a "Dad Chat" interview in November 2017: "My dad told me when I was a teenager, and I don't know why he told me this, he said 'if you ever get into a situation where you go to prison don't go.'" Sage advice.