12 Celebrities Who Became Grandparents Before Turning 50
11/09/2024 11:51 AM
There are several stars you would never expect to be old enough to have grandkids -- including one EGOT winner who became a grandma in her early thirties and is already a great-grandmother too.
Taking on the title of grandparent is a milestone that's typically reserved for later in life -- but for some people, it comes a little sooner than expected. Instead of becoming a grandparent in the second half of life, there are a number of people who end up welcoming grandchildren before they turn 50.
Even in Hollywood, there are celebrities who end up becoming grandparents while still in the middle of a thriving career -- stars you would never expect to be old enough to have grandkids. While it may come as a surprise to hear that these celebs get called Grandma and Grandpa, there's no doubt that these stars are all so proud of their families.
Find out which stars became grandparents very young…
Kiefer Sutherland was just 38 when he became a grandfather by way of his first marriage to his wife Camelia. When they tied the knot, Kiefer became a step-father to her daughter Michelle, who was eight years old at the time. While Kiefer and Camelia eventually divorced, he remained in Michelle's life. He now loves to spoil her children.
"The wonderful thing about grandchildren is you give them back. So when they come to visit me, I've got my $5 and my $10 and I've got some chocolate and Coca-Colas and everything they're not supposed to have. I spend about two hours getting them completely wired, I give them cash so they'll come back, and then I hand them back to their mother and say 'good luck,'" Kiefer joked to Australia's 7NEWS.
Former football star Brett Favre was just 40-years-old and still actively playing in the NFL when he became a grandfather for the first time. In 2010, his daughter Brittany, who was 21 at the time, gave birth to a little boy named Parker. In the announcement, Brett and his wife Deanna shared that they were "very proud" of their daughter.
"A grandpa at 40," he later told ESPN, jokingly adding, "It almost makes me feel old."
Brittany has since welcomed two more children: Alexander "A.J." James and Oscar.
3. Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey was just 47 when he became a grandfather for the first time after his daughter Jane and her then-husband Alex Santana welcomed their son Jackson. Although he's now been a grandfather for quite some time, Jim admits he still doesn't feel like one -- and even gets a bit embarrassed being called "grandpa" in public.
"I'm a good grandad. But it's a little embarrassing in public when he's just like, 'GRANDPA!' He doesn't hold back. But we're buddies. He's an awesome dude," Jim said on Lorraine.
Jane and her current husband Chase Bordelon have since welcomed two children, Logan and Erin, making Jim a grandfather three times over.
Whoopi Goldberg hit a lot of milestones early in life, including becoming a grandmother. In 1989, Whoopi's 16-year-old daughter Alexandrea became a mother for the first time -- and Whoopi was just 33. While Whoopi at the time saidit "would not have been what [she] would have chosen" for her daughter, she was still proud.
Alexandrea went on to welcome two more children…and she's now a grandmother herself, making Whoopi a great-grandmother. When Whoopi was 58, her granddaughter Amara gave birth to a little girl named Charli.
"It is the funniest thing in the world to me. I was a grandmother kind of young and now I'm a great-grandmother. I had just gotten into the groove of being a grandmother and it was all great and then this girl came and said she and her man were having a baby. I wanted to wring her neck," Whoopi shared on The Tonight Show.
She continued, "But then my daughter is like, 'Ugh! I'm going to be a grandmother and I just thought my life was beginning!' So I let her go through all that and then I whispered in her ear, 'I got no sympathy for you. You made me a grandmother when I was 33!'"
Dascha Polanco became a young mom when she had her daughter Dasany as a teenager. Then, almost two decades later, she became a young grandmother at 40. Dasany gave birth to her son Dior in 2023. Now Dascha says she loves spending time with her grandson and doesn't mind being a grandma so young.
"I'm sure I'm not the first or the last. There's younger grandmas than me, but I'm still here, I'm still fly," she told People. "I'm enjoying him. He's amazing. He's a model. Dior, he's modeling and he's just a blessing."
Charlie Sheen became a young grandad at the age of 47. In 2013, his oldest daughter Cassandra, who was 28 at the time, welcomed a little girl named Luna. Following her birth, Charlie told TMZhe was thrilled to be a grandfather and it was "impossibly a most wondrous day."
He later sharedthat having a grandchild so early in his life "kinda blew [his] mind" but was a total "gift."
7. Lauryn Hill
When Lauryn Hill was 41, she became a grandmother for the first time. In 2017, her 19-year-old son welcomed his first child, a little boy named Zephaniah. Although Lauryn didn't publicly acknowledge the announcement, she clearly adores the little boy, whom she celebrated on his fourth birthday in 2021.
"We love you very much!! May you continue to grow in God's grace and peace and always know and feel that you are loved!!" Lauryn wrote on Instagram.
8. Snoop Dogg
In 2015, Snoop Dogg became a grandfather for the first time at age 43 when his son, Corde "Spank" Broadus, welcomed a baby boy named Zion. Snoop now proudly has seven grandchildren and says he's honored to follow in his own grandfather's footsteps as a close friend to all of his grandkids.
"I am a grandfather of six, with one on the way. And my grandkids are my everything because they all individually get a piece of my heart and they're different," Snoop said in Words + Music: From the Streets to the Suites.
He continued, "My grandpa was my best friend and for me to be that for my grandkids is showing that I actually did well and I was able to outlive the circumstances. Now I can look back -- I can teach those who want to get to this level. Or at least give them a blueprint and help them avoid some of the traps that I had to deal with."
9. Kid Rock
Kid Rock was 46 when he became a grandfather for the first time. In 2014, his son Robert and his girlfriend welcomed a little girl named Skye. Although he became a grandpa sooner than expected, the musician said he was thrilled to get the chance to experience so many things with the little girl.
"I'm enjoying it. Listen, my son graduated college and he has a job. That alone, as a parent, is such a relief. I can't imagine what the f--k I put my parents through. Now I have a beautiful granddaughter, on top of it? It's pretty crazy. My friends say, 'How lucky are you, to be able to see your granddaughter do so much stuff? You'll be at her wedding.' So many things you might not see if you have kids later in life, which seems to be the trend now for most responsible adults," he told Rolling Stone.
Robert and his wife Marisa now also have a son named Ryder.
10. Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan became a grandpa at the age of 46. His daughter Charlotte, whom he adopted after marrying her mother Charlotte, welcomed her first child in 1998. She went on to welcome one more child, a son named Lucas, before her passing. Since then, Pierce's son Sean has also welcomed two children and Pierce says being a grandfather is a highlight of his life.
"I'm a proud grandfather now. There's still a lot of life in the old man, and I'll keep going till I can go no more. Life is so precious," he told The Herald in 2015. "It can be snatched away without any prior warning, so why waste it? That's why I enjoy my wonderful, beautiful family, my children and my grandchildren."
11. NeNe Leakes
Back in 2012, former Real Housewives star NeNe Leakes became a grandma at the age of 44 when her son, Bryson Bryant, and his then-girlfriend Ashley Hill welcomed their first baby, Bri'asia. The couple initially kept their pregnancy a secret and after the initial shock of finding out, NeNe was thrilled to welcome a little girl into the family, especially considering she had only had boys.
"I always wanted to have a girl and now I have one! She's just adorable. I paid for everything in the nursery: the clothing, the diapers. I don't want her to feel strapped...We just love her," NeNe told InTouch.
Bryson has since become dad to two more children: Benny and Brayden.
12. CeeLo Green
CeeLo Green was just 35 but he became a grandfather for the first time through his marriage to Christina Johnson. While CeeLo and Christina had split several years prior, he was still involved in the life of his stepdaughter Sierra. In 2010, Sierra was 20 years old and gave birth to a little boy.
"It's a real tingly feeling to have someone recognize you so young as their own. I'm Papa to him. He knows I belong to him in that way, so that's sweet," CeeLo told CNN in 2011. "He sung a little bit of 'Forget You' in the back seat. It's out of tune, of course, but it's cute."
