Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are one of Hollywood's biggest power couples. Ever since they first fell in love on the set of the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind in 2001, the A-listers have been going strong. In an industry where some marriages last mere days, Bettany and Connelly have been loved up for over 20 years. Together, they have two children, son Stellan, born in 2003, and daughter Agnes, born in 2011, as well as eldest child Kail Dugan, born in 1997, who is the son of photographer David Dugan and whom Bettany has raised as his own.
Although they are generally a private couple and rarely post photos of their kids (Connelly opts not to have an Instagram presence), the family is actually super interesting. Here are 10 illuminating facts about Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly's family and kids.
10 Jennifer Connelly Is An "Amazing Mom"
We love a man who uplifts the mother of his kids. Paul Bettany has nothing but praise for his wife and the incredible job she has done in raising their family. "Jennifer is an amazing mum and she was always brilliant about cutting me slack," Bettany told the Guardian. "Once I saw these black spots on Stellan's gums when he was a little baby and went, "Oh my God, he's got black gum baby death," and she said calmly, "I think that's what happens just before teeth come through sometimes," and I said, "No, call the f***ing ambulance!" and I called the doctor, who, of course, said it was just teeth."
9 Connelly Is On Good Terms With Her First Baby Daddy
Speaking to HFPA in 2001, Connelly reflected on being a single mom (at the time), but stated that she was on good terms with Kai's biological father.
"I don't think it's important to be married necessarily. I'm very grateful that my son has a good relationship with his father (photographer David Dugan) that’s very consistent, so I really support that and do everything I can to protect and nurture it," she explained. "We live in New York, so we see a lot of different versions of family and it helps my son feel more comfortable with our version of our family, but he thinks of us as a family, his father and I still co-parent, even though we don't live together."
8 Agnes Schools Her Mom On Acting
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, Connelly joked that her daughter Agnes often visits her on movie sets where she calls the shots. "She’ll sit by the monitor with headphones on and watch quite critically," the proud mom explained, adding that Agnes gives her notes on how to improve her performances. Perhaps the youngster is an Oscar-winner in the making...
7 Stellan Is Named After This Famous Actor
The couple's first child, Stellan, has a Swedish name, yet his parents are not Nordic. The teen is in fact named after the Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, who is the father of hunky True Blood star Alexander Skarsgård and is good pals with Bettany.
The doting dad elaborated on his son's unusual name in a 2010 interview with Marie Claire, quipping, "We did a survey, and women thought Stellan was a sexy name. He'll thank us at 15 when girls are swooning. Paul is an awful name. I might as well be Bob."
6 They Have Furbabies In Addition To Their Kids
It's not just Agnes, Stellan, and Kai who keep the Bettany/Connelly household in harmony. They also have many pets, including both dogs and cats. From Bettany's social media posts, it appears that his kids - both human and furbabies - get along swimmingly.
5 Bettany Sings With His Daughter... But Not The Songs You'd Expect
It appears that young Agnes enjoys quality time with her famous father. On Instagram, Bettany shared a video with fans in which he and his daughter sweetly duetted. But the song wasn't a show tune or a Disney number; the pair sang the politically charged "A Design For Life" by Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers.
4 The Family Missed Kai During Lockdown
Lockdown was hard on everyone, including celebs. For Jennifer Connelly, it was a particularly painful time, as she was separated from her eldest son, Kai, who lives in Los Angeles, for many months.
"We haven't gone this long without seeing him. Ever," Connelly told Emmy, adding, "We're going to have a huge gathering. I want to have a get-together with all of our friends and family. Cook a big meal, have an evening all together. That'd be great."
3 Kai Is Highly Educated
It turns out that Kai is highly intelligent and attended prestigious Ivy League university Yale. Connelly gushed about her clever son in an interview with Tatler. "He's into physics. I was. But he's much cleverer than me. I think it was clear to me that I didn't have the facility with the requisite tools that, for example, Kai has, so I shifted to more theoretical conceptual physics classes." Connelly explained.
2 Agnes Is A "Cruel Child"
As an MCU star, WandaVision's Paul Bettany hoped that his daughter, Agnes, would be rooting for him. Sadly, that's not the case. "My daughter has just always tortured me with preferring other superheroes to me and now what she's done is just moved on entirely from Marvel and said she's only interested in 'Star Wars'. I mean, she's an incredibly cruel child, you know," he joked during an apperance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Alas, children really can be cruel at times...
1 Stellan Looks Just Like His Mom
There are a number of celeb kids and parents who look like twins. Stellan Bettany is one such celebrity offspring, though it's not his dad who he takes after. With his long hair and feminine features, Stellan is his mom's doppelganger. Clearly, he is embracing his enviable good looks and there's little doubt that he will charm us with his own talents in future.
