For the first five decades of his life, Hugh Grant solely focused on his career. The British actor has appeared in some of the most iconic romantic comedies of all time, including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually. Most recently, Hugh starred in Wonka, where he played the iconic role of one of the Oompa Loompas. Even though the character is instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up watching either of the original two movies, Hugh admitted that he wasn’t thrilled about the part in a press conference. “I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more,” he said, via Metro. “Frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator… It’s very confusing, with CGI now, you can’t tell what’s going on.”
Once Hugh reached his 50s, he ventured into fatherhood when his first child, daughter Tabitha, was born in September 2011. In the decade since, Hugh has become a dad to four more children — two sons and two daughters — from his relationships with two different women, Tinglan Hong and Anna Eberstein.
Even though he wasn’t crazy about his role in Wonka, Anna still accompanied him on the red carpet for the premiere. In that same press conference, Hugh also hinted that his many kids are part of the reason he keeps making movies. “I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money,” he said.
Hugh’s family life is complicated, and he’s kept his children out of the spotlight. But Hugh has been truly overjoyed ever since becoming a father. “It’s just lovely to have all that love around,” he told People in 2018. “Suddenly you love someone more than yourself. It’s unheard of in my case and they love you and it’s all enchanting.”
While he usually keeps his children out of the spotlight, he did open up about embarrassing his kids with his spontaneous dancing in an interview on The View in March 2023. “I used to be quite uptight about dancing, and I dreaded doing [the dance scene in Love, Actually], but I’ve loosened up over the years, and now I can’t really stop,” he said. “If I hear music, I’ll dance. My children beg me to stop. ‘Please, daddy, you’re embarrassing.’”
Below is everything to know about Hugh Grant’s five children — and details on that complicated family life we mentioned.
Hugh’s eldest child, Tabitha Grant, was born as a result of what’s been referred to as “a fleeting affair” between the actor and a Chinese woman named Tinglan Hong. Tabitha’s Chinese name is Tabitha Xaio Xi. “I can’t pretend it wasn’t a little bit of a surprise, but it’s a very nice surprise,” Hugh previously told Ellen DeGeneres about Tabitha’s arrival. “It’s surprising that everyone was right all these years saying, ‘Hugh, why don’t you have some children? It really changes your life.’ And you’re thinking, ‘Oh, shut up!’ Now that I have, I have to say it is quite life-changing.”
