Father's Day was a few weeks ago, but celebrity dads are always in the news.
Earlier this week, when Jackie Chan's daughter claimed he abandoned her after a clip of the actor in his newest movie went viral. Ben Affleck took his daughter Violet to the most A-list Fourth of July party.
Sometimes 'nepo babies' are made, children who rise to fame or gain roles due to their parent's celebrity status, or some celebrities hide their children's faces on social media. But every once in a while, celebrities don't realize they've fathered a child until much later. Here's a list of celebrities who didn't even know they parented a child until much later.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Probably the most famous case of surprise sons, the Terminator had an affair with the family housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena in 1997.
When Mildred gave birth to her son Joseph, Arnold didn't think anything of it and thought the father was Mildred's then-husband. In 2011, days after news that Arnold and his wife Maria Shriver were ending their relationship, it was publicly revealed that Joseph was Arnold's son.
The bodybuilder-turned-actor claimed it took around eight years for him to realise that Joseph "started looking like me." After, he started financially supporting his son and the two are very close.
Pauly D
Lots of surprises at the Jersey Shore. In 2013, the DJ and reality TV star spent a night with Amanda Markert. Nine months later, Amanda gave birth to their daughter Amabella.
Us Weekly reported that Amanda contacted the "Jersey Shore" star after the baby was born in May of that year. Supposedly, five months later, Pauly D met his daughter for the first time and quickly created a nursery for her in his home filled with toys and stuffed animals.
Karamo Brown
Karamo is best known for being one of the new "Fab Five" in the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye. Years before his rise to fame, in 2007, he was notified he had a son. His last girlfriend before he came out at 16 had gotten pregnant and never told him.
\When he found out, Karamo explained he was "confused, sad, angry, and weirdly excited." The year he found out about his son, Jason, who was ten at the time, Karamo got full custody. Three years later, he adopted Jason's half-brother Chris.
Chuck Norris
In the early 1980s, Chuck Norris was married to Dianne Holchek. He didn't tell a woman named Johanna that when they had an affair. Johanna later gave birth to a daughter, Dina, who didn't reach out to the actor until 1991.
She wrote him a letter saying she was his daughter, and Johanna confirmed it. "I didn't need DNA or blood tests," Chuck wrote in "Against All Odds: My Story," his memoir, "I went to her, wrapped my arms around her, and we both started crying. At that moment, it was as if I had known her all my life."
Clint Eastwood
The actor-director has "at least eight" children. His oldest is a daughter named Laurie, who was born in 1954. Laurie's mother is unknown, but gave her up for adoption.
Reportedly, Clint never knew Laurie existed for decades. He never publicly acknowledged it, but Laurie has attended the Oscars with him in 2004 and joined him on the red carpet for his film "The Mule" in 2018.
Sir David Jason
Celebrities are finding out they have children even as recently as last year. Sir David Jason had a relationship with fellow actor Jennifer Hill in 1970. Over 50 years later, the daughter, Abi Harris, reached out to him believing she was his daughter. Naturally, the BBC star was utterly surprised. He revealed the discovery exclusively to The Mirror
Speaking at the time, he said: “To say it was a surprise to find out I had a daughter from years ago is an understatement.
“However, on settling with the news, I am delighted that I am now able to get to know Abi and so we meet up when we can.
“My wife, Gill, and daughter, Sophie, have been very supportive and understanding and have embraced Abi and welcomed her and her young son into her now wider family.”
Steven Tyler
Some people might not know that Steven Tyler's actress daughter Liv Tyler didn't meet her father until she was about ten. She suspected he was her father and confronted her mother, model Bebe Buell, about it. She told her daughter the truth; that during a brief relationship with the Aerosmith frontman, she had gotten pregnant.
Buell claims that Steven was heavily addicted to drugs at the time so she claimed Liv's father was her longtime boyfriend Todd Rundgren. In 1991, Liv legally changed her last name to Tyler and has collaborated with her father multiple times.
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