The Number Of Kids Clint Eastwood Has Is A Mystery
Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood legend. After spending time in the military (serving as a swim instructor at California's Fort Ord, per The Hollywood Reporter), he decided to pursue a different calling: acting. In 1953, he was discharged after just two years of service and began taking drama classes at Los Angeles City College. His was a slow start in the business as he struggled to land parts, but he eventually got his big break as the lead in Western TV series "Rawhide," which premiered in 1959 and ran for eight seasons. Since then, he's enjoyed a decades-long career, amassing a huge net worth along the way, earning plenty of fans, and even some celebrity haters.
But it's not just his work as an actor and director that has captivated audiences through the years — his tumultuous private life has also fascinated fans. His string of marriages, romances, and affairs reads like a movie script itself and is so tangled, it can be hard to follow. While Eastwood only has two ex-wives, the number of children he's fathered and how many grandkids he has are matters both still up for debate. In large part due to the fact that the Oscar winner himself didn't always know about all of his kids and he's kept impressively mum about the subject. Here's why the number of kids Clint Eastwood has is such a mystery, and what we know for sure about his large roster of kiddos.
Kimber Eastwood's interesting relationship with her dad
In 1953, Clint Eastwood, recently discharged from the army and heading back to college, met Maggie Johnson, a "graduating Berkeley student" (per "Clint Eastwood: Interviews") and married her that December. Jump to 1959, and Clint was making a name for himself on TV series "Rawhide" when he met and had an affair with Roxanne Tunis. Tunis, who had a brief career as an actor herself, was working as a stuntwoman on the show, and in June 1964, she gave birth to their daughter, Kimber Eastwood.
According to the Independent, Clint was initially unaware of Kimber's existence and once he did learn of her, they had a complicated relationship. As the outlet notes, they went from estranged to reconciled, but even so, Kimber has repeatedly changed her tune when speaking about her dad. While she once reportedly praised him for always being present, another time she shared how she apparently "tried to make an appointment to see him, but he always has other commitments."
Whether they butt heads or not, Kimber has followed her famous father into the movie business. According to IMDb, she has 10 acting credits to her name, as well as eight production credits, but the bulk of her career has been spent in makeup trailers. In addition to being the makeup department head on 45 episodes of "Dog the Bounty Hunter," she's been the makeup artist on 485 episodes (and counting) of "Wheel of Fortune," from 2005 to today.
Kyle Eastwood is a musician who collaborates with his famous father
Despite his on-set affair with Roxanne Tunis, Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson remained married and, in May 1968, they had their first child, son Kyle Eastwood. Father and son bonded over music, and as Kyle would later reminisce with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, his dad would regularly take him to the Monterey Jazz Festival when he was still "very young, 9 or 10," which would inspire a lifelong passion for music. Speaking with The Local France in 2016, he shared that "there was a lot of music around the house, predominantly jazz" because both of his parents loved the genre. He eventually started dabbling with piano and guitar until the "bass chose me."
These days, he's a professional musician who calls himself a "multi-talented double bassist, composer and producer" on his website. He released his debut jazz album, "From There to Here," in 1998 and hasn't stopped since. As he told The Local France, the magnitude of Clint "can be a big shadow sometimes," and Kyle initially considered changing his last name, but "then I figured people would find out anyway." He pushed on, despite people's preconceived notions, and has even worked with his dad on numerous occasions. Kyle has been a composer and arranger on several of Clint's films, including Oscar-nominated "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," and "Letters from Iwo Jima." "I really enjoy working on his films, whenever I get a chance," he enthused to the Sun Sentinel.
Alison Eastwood's special on-screen connection with Clint
In May 1972, Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson welcomed their second child, daughter Alison Eastwood, and she caught the acting bug early. After appearing opposite her dad in 1980's "Bronco Billy" and "Any Which Way You Can," per IMDb, she made her official acting debut playing Clint's daughter in 1984's "Tightrope."
Since then, she's amassed an array of movie credits, including as a writer and director on 2020 TV series "Boned" and a producer on 2017's "Battlecreek" (for which she recruited brother Kyle to pen the music). She's also tried her hand at modeling, appearing on a 2003 cover of Playboy, and co-founded the Eastwood Ranch foundation in 2012, which works to "help reduce pet overpopulation and increase pet adoptions."
Opening up about her relationship with Clint, Alison told Closer Weekly how "he makes me laugh, I make him laugh," and she revealed the best advice he's ever given her is "just not to take [life] too seriously." Given their good rapport, it's no surprise that Clint even convinced his daughter to come out of acting retirement (she planned to call it quits after 2014's "Finding Harmony.") According to Variety, he threw a wrench in her plans when he asked if she'd play his daughter in 2018's "The Mule," which he also directed. "The more I thought about it, I was like, 'Well, maybe this is an opportunity to not only play his daughter, but also just to spend some free time with him,'" she shared.
Clint is Scott Eastwood's 'hero'
Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson, although separated in 1964 and later briefly reuniting, finalized their divorce in 1984. He quickly started a relationship with actor Sondra Locke, which lasted from "the mid-1970s to the late 1980s," per The Guardian. He also began an affair with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves, whom he met at the California restaurant he owned.
In 1986, they had a son, Scott Eastwood, but per GQ Australia, he was initially Scott Clinton Reeves, and his birth certificate reads "Father Declined." Clearly Clint Eastwood's son has had a rough go of things. Even so, Clint was a part of his son's life, taking him on movie sets and inspiring him. Recalling how, growing up, he saw his dad in "an aura of greatness," Scott said he still considers Clint his "hero" and loves spending time with him because "every opportunity is an opportunity to hear another good story."
Opening up about their relationship to Men's Journal, Scott underscored, "For sure, he was busy. ... But he definitely was there," teaching Scott how to fish and shoot guns, then giving him a start in film. To date, he's appeared in four of his dad's movies — "Flags of Our Fathers," "Gran Torino," "Invictus," and "Trouble With the Curve" — but has made a name in his own right, amassing 35 (and counting) acting credits. He'd still "love to do another movie" with Clint, gushing, "I'm a massive fan of my father. I really admire him." The feeling is mutual. As Clint told Esquire, "He was a pretty good kid. Not much of a problem."
Clint is protective of daughter Kathryn Eastwood
In 1988, Clint Eastwood and flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves had a second child together, daughter Kathryn Anne Reeves, per Parade. She was born while her dad was still living with his girlfriend, Sondra Locke, and so, both she and brother Scott Eastwood were kept a secret, per the Independent, but that didn't stop Clint from being an involved parent.
As GQ Australia learned in 2016, the actor was always protective of his daughter, and when he found out that a 16-year-old Scott had taken his 14-year-old sister to a party and left her there, he had something to say about it. "He popped me and said, 'You don't ever leave your sister at a party. EVER,'" Scott told the outlet, revealing that his dad was so mad, he actually punched him in the face. Noting that it was "very old-school of him," he shared how his dad's parenting style was all about tough love. "If you did something wrong, you were going to get punished. I learnt quickly — you don't do that," Scott recalled.
There were also plenty of happy times spent together, like celebrating Halloween, and Kathryn eventually tried to follow in her dad's footsteps. According to IMDb, she wrote and starred in a 2015 short called "American Virus" before landing a small part in her dad's 2014 remake of "Jersey Boys." She also wrote and appeared in a segment of 2018's "Virus of the Dead" titled "American Virus."
Francesca Eastwood calls Clint the 'best dad'
A year before a "bitter parting" with Sandra Locke, Clint Eastwood started dating his next partner, actor Frances Fisher. She was his co-star in 1989's "Pink Cadillac" and 1992's "Unforgiven," and they had a daughter named Francesca Ruth Fisher Eastwood in August 1993. According to the Independent, the couple lived together for six years before Fisher discovered that her boyfriend had a secret young family with Jacelyn Reeves, so they ended things.
But their split didn't stop Francesca from following in her parents' footsteps, nor from building a lasting relationship with her dad. She got her start acting opposite her mom in 1995's "The Stars Fell on Henrietta," then appeared with her dad in 1999's "True Crime." She then popped up on 2012 reality show "Mrs. Eastwood & Company" alongside Clint's then-wife, Dina, and their daughter (her half-sister), Morgan. In 2014, she landed a small role in her dad's version of "Jersey Boys," and, as she told Refinery29, "It was more nerve-racking than a normal acting job since the director was also my dad, so it was extra pressure."
These days, Francesca is still performing and has amassed 24 acting credits, notably landing a role in M. Night Shyamalan's 2021 film, "Old." But as she told Refinery29, being an actor has been tough because "it's challenging to differentiate yourself from your family and have your own identity." Even so, she'll always consider Clint the "best dad," she wrote on Instagram, as well as the "best grandfather" to her son, Titan Wraith Eastwood.
Morgan Eastwood fits right in
In 1993, while Clint Eastwood was dating Frances Fisher, he met anchorperson Dina Ruiz when she interviewed him for a Salinas, California, TV station. They married in March 1996 and welcomed daughter Morgan Eastwood that December. The couple enjoyed 17 years of marriage before Ruiz filed for divorce in 2013, but as she assured Bethenny Frankel, "My future ex-husband has done nothing [wrong]. ... He's probably the sweetest guy I've ever met."
She told Frankel how Morgan, who was 16 at the time, was taking the divorce in stride and maintaining a positive relationship with her dad. "She's great because she says I'm a lot more fun and relaxed, and she goes and sees her dad in Los Angeles or at home," Ruiz shared. What's more, she highlighted how, at 83, Clint had just taken their daughter to Coachella. "Go Clint!" she quipped, adding that Morgan was happy to be "getting a really fun version of dad and a more chill version of mom."
Indeed, as her Instagram shows, Morgan is incredibly close with her family, including "big brother and sis" Scott and Francesca Eastwood. She's even called Francesca's son her "favorite human," and the sisters' tight-knit relationship was put on full display in the 2012 reality series "Mrs. Eastwood & Company." As for her career, Morgan has been a production assistant and producer on a handful of shorts, per IMDb, and has landed cameos in two of her dad's films: "Million Dollar Baby" and "Changeling."
A secret daughter?
The exact number of Clint Eastwood's kids has been a topic of hot debate. As the Independent notes, he has "inexplicably remained bulletproof to scandal" while fathering "at least seven children with five different women" and having "numerous affairs." Clint himself only helped further fuel speculation of secret kids when he arrived at the 2018 premiere of "The Mule" with all seven of his children, plus "secret daughter" (as Hollywood Life put it) Laurie Eastwood. Alison Eastwood confirmed that Laurie is indeed her older half-sister when she posted a group snap from the red carpet and wrote, "I'm not sure there has ever been a picture of all 8 kids together but here it is."
As it turns out, Clint had actually walked the 2004 Oscars red carpet with Laurie, but no one realized she was his daughter. As the Daily Mail reported, she was given up for adoption at birth and, as an adult, hired help to find her biological parents. While her mother refused contact, her famous dad was "extremely receptive," a source said.
The public revelation came from Eastwood biographer Patrick McGilligan, who explained that Laurie was born out of an affair Clint had while married to first wife Maggie Johnson. The actor reportedly "had no idea that she was even pregnant" (per the Daily Mail), but now, he and his long-lost daughter have a close bond, even celebrating Thanksgiving together. As Laurie's son, LT Murray, told the outlet, "He's been a great father to my mom, and always great to me and my family whenever we see him."