Only Child Celebrities | Volume 2
Are you looking for a bit of parenting validation? You’re not alone.
Only children make up about 20% of the population. And while there are plenty of stereotypes about only children, the truth is that they can be just as successful as kids with siblings.
These only-child celebrities have achieved amazing things. Hence, if you’re feeling a little outnumbered these days, don’t worry – you’re in good company!
To celebrate these unique individuals, I’ve written a volume 2 post with an additional 20 only-child celebrities who have made their families proud.
Read on to see what makes them so special!
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (February 22, 1975) is an actress, producer, talk-show host, and author.
This famous only child comes from many family actors, so she grew up surrounded by celebrities.
As a result, she made her film debut at just six years old in E.T. To summarize, she’s starred in movies like 50 First Dates, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Charlie’s Angels.
Up to now, Drew has been married three times and has two children with her last husband, Will Kopelman.
2 – Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino (April 25, 1940), the son of Italian-American parents, is undoubtedly one of the most influential actors alive.
As an illustration, he’s been nominated several times. Including nine Academy Awards, winning one in 1993 for the movie Scent of a Woman, and two Tony Awards.
By and large, Pacino appeared in over 100 productions. Still, he is best known for his roles in The Godfather, Scarface, The Devil’s Advocate, and The Insider.
Though the actor never married, he had three children – the eldest, Julie Marie (born in 1989), is his daughter with acting coach Jan Tarrant.
Later, he had twins (born in 2001) with actress Beverly D’Angelo, with whom he had a relationship from 1997 until 2003.
3 – Ciara
Ciara Princess Wilson (October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and model. Undeniably, she rose to fame with her debut album, Goodies, in 2004.
In summary, Ciara has released six studio albums, the most recent of which, Beauty Marks, came out in 2019.
Further to her music career, Ciara has also appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Also, as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
The singer is currently married to Russel Wilson, an American football player, and has two children with him and a son from a previous marriage.
4 – Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati (August 29, 1986) is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Rachel Berry on the hit musical series Glee.
She released her debut album Louder in 2014, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the single “Cannonball.”
Besides acting and singing, Michele is also an author. To list, she released the book Brunette Ambition in 2014, which became a New York Times Bestseller.
In 2019, the actress married a businessman, Zandy Reich, and in August 2020, the couple welcomed their first child.
5 – Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (July 23, 1989) is a British actor best known for his role as Harry Potter in the eponymous film series.
The famous only child made his acting debut in the first Harry Potter movie when he was only 11.
After that, Radcliffe went on to star in all eight Harry Potter movies. Together with several other films, including What If, Kill Your Darlings, and The Lost City.
On this occasion, he’s been in a relationship with American actress Erin Drake since 2012.
6 – LeAnn Rimes
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (August 28, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Blue, became a No.1 country hit and won Rimes two Grammy Awards.
So far, Rimes has released 13 studio albums in total. The most recent of which, Remnants, came out in 2016.
Additionally to her music career, Rimes has also appeared as an actress in movies and television shows like Northern Lights, Coyote Ugly, and CSI: Miami.
The actress got married twice. First when she was 19, then divorced in 2010.
Later, Rimes married Eddie Cibrian, her co-star in the TV movie Northern Lights the following year.
7 – Awkwafina
Nora Lum (June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, comedian, and rapper. She is best known for her roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8.
Awkwafina became famous in 2012 when her rap song “My Vag” became popular on YouTube.
Subsequently, she released her debut album, Yellow Ranger, in 2014. Since then, she has also appeared in television shows like Girls and Saturday Night Live.
It is important to mention that the actress became the first Asian-American woman to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in “The Farewell” in 2020.
8 – Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (September 6, 1972) is a British actor, director, producer, and musician. Until now, he’s been nominated for two Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, winning one.
He’s best known for his roles in the BBC series Luther and the HBO show The Wire.
As well as his work on television, Elba has appeared in several blockbuster movies such as Prometheus, Thor, Pacific Rim, and the Fast and Furious franchise.
Elba has been married three times and has two children: a daughter, Isan, with his first wife and a son with former girlfriend Naiyana Garth.
In 2019, he married his third wife, model Sabrina Dhowre.
9 – Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields (May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles in Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon.
She began modeling at 11 months old and became a famous child model. After that, Shields made her acting debut in the controversial film Pretty Baby in 1978 when she was only 12.
Shields has been married twice. From 1997 to 1999, she was married to tennis player Andre Agassi.
Following her divorce from Agassi, she married television writer Chris Henchy in 2001. Together with the writer, they have two daughters.
10 – Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (December 31, 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
Hopkins is an Oscar-winning actor, having received six Academy Award nominations.
In time, he won two of these for Best Actor for his role in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and his recent performance in The Father (2020).
On another note, Hopkins married three times and had an only child, Abigail Hopkins, with his first wife in 1968.
11 – Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar (April 14, 1977) was a constant figure in the 90s movies and TV shows. But until now, Sarah is best known for her starring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
She’s also had roles in films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Cruel Intentions, The Grudge, Sex and the City 2, and Veronika Decides to Die.
The actress married actor Freddie Prinze Jr in 2002, and they have two children – a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2012.
12 – The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (February 16, 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He first rose to prominence with his mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence in 2011.
The following year, he released his first studio album, Kiss Land. Followed by Beauty Behind the Madness in 2015, which earned him two Grammy Awards.
From April 2015 to August 2019, The Weeknd was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid.
In the meantime, he briefly dated American singer-actress Selena Gomez.
13 – Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (April 19, 1987) is a Russian tennis player ranked world No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association five times.
She won multiple Grand Slam titles, including the Wimbledon singles tournament in 2004 when she was 17.
Another key point, Sharapova has also been an Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal in women’s singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In 2020, one of the world’s highest-earning female athletes announced her retirement.
On July 1, 2022, the athlete gave birth to her first son with fiancé Alexander Gilkes.
14 – Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; March 25, 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Overall, he sold over 300 million records worldwide.
Undeniably, he is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and has got himself into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
From 1984 to 1988, Elton John remained married to German recording engineer Renate Blauel.
In 2014, he married his long-term partner, David Furnish, and they have two sons, born via surrogacy.
15 – Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (November 25, 1971) is an American actress and dancer best known for her role as Kelly Bundy on the Fox sitcom Married… with Children, which aired from 1987 to 1997.
She starred in the Netflix dark comedy series Dead to Me. The actress received several nominations, including a Golden Globe Award in light of her performance.
Applegate married twice. First, in 2001, with the actor Johnathon Schaech. They divorced in 2007. Then, in 2013, she married Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble.
The couple has an only child born in 2011.
16 – Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (May 26, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. His music incorporates rock, soul, R&B, and funk elements.
The singer won the Grammy Award four years in a row, from 1999 to 2002, with the hits Fly Away, American Woman, Again, and Dig In, setting the record for most consecutive wins in one type by a male.
Kravitz was previously married to Lisa Bonet from 1987 to 1993, and the couple is the parents of actress Zoë Kravitz.
After the divorce, the singer dated a couple of celebrities like Vanessa Paradis, Adriana Lima, and Nicole Kidman.
17 – Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Una Ronan (April 12, 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Saoirse has been nominated for several awards, including four Academy Awards and four Golden Globes; she won one.
She made her promising acting debut in the film Atonement in 2007. As a result, she earned an Academy Award Nomination for best-supporting actress at 13.
The young actress has been in a relationship with Scottish actor Jack Lowden, her co-star in Mary Queen of Scots, since 2018.
18 – Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (December 18, 1975) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She became famous with her sixth studio album, 1000 Forms of Fear, in 2014.
The album featured the hit single “Chandelier,” which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Unsurprisingly, Sia has received various nominations, including nine times for the Grammy Awards.
Sia was previously married to filmmaker Erik Anders Lang (2014 – 2016), and in 2019, the singer adopted two sons.
In 2020, Sia announced that she had become a grandmother when one of her two 19-year-old sons fathered twins.
19 – Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (April 22, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. To this day, he’s been nominated for 12 Academy Awards (winning three) and has also won four Golden Globe Awards.
All in all, he’s considered one of the greatest actors of all time. Nicholson has appeared in iconic films, including Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Shining, Batman, and The Departed.
The legend married once but had several romances, including 17 17-year relationship with actress Anjelica Huston. He is a father to six children by five women.
20 – Betty White
Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021) was a beloved American actress, comedian, writer, and producer.
She worked in Hollywood for over 80 years and was the first woman to produce a sitcom (Life with Elizabeth) in the United States.
For that reason, she earned a Guinness World Record for “Longest T.V. career by an entertainer” in 2014 and 2018, with lengthy work in radio, television, and film.
Generally, the actress is best known for her roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls sitcoms.
Equally important, she was an animal welfare advocate. People often remember her as one of the kindest, most affectionate, loving, and most selfless human beings, by no means fitting the only-child stereotype.
As you can see from this list of 20 famous only children, there’s nothing “spoiled” or “self-centered” about them!
On the contrary, these only-child celebrities have succeeded in their respective fields through hard work, talent, and determination.
Next time you hear someone say negative things about only children, set them straight!
Are you still not convinced and want to know more about only-child celebrities? So, check out 15 more in my previous post! I’m a massive fan of the number 1. 😉
