Hollywood is mourning the loss of beloved comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried, who died on Tuesday, April 12 at the age of 67. He was battling Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia brought on by Myotonic Dystrophy type II. Gilbert’s family shared the heartbreaking news in a statement that was posted on the late star’s Twitter account.
Although most may know the comedy legend for his singular ability to conjure laughs and smiles, they may not know that he was also a doting dad of two kids, Max and Lily. Here we break down everything to know about his children whom he shares with wife Dara Gottfried.
Lily Aster Gottfried
Although Gilbert wasn’t necessarily looking to settle down with a wife and kids, that changed in the late 1990s when he met Dara Kravitz, a music industry executive, at a Grammys party. After the two fell in love, they got married in 2007 and had their first child, Lily Aster Gottfried, in 2007. When the family appeared on an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap in 2013, swapping homes with late comedian Alan Thicke and his wife, Tanya Callau, Lily notably and proudly stated, “My dad is a bird in Aladdin,” referencing Gilbert’s well-remembered role as Iago in the 1992 Disney animated film.
Not much is known about Lily, as the family liked to stay mostly out of the spotlight, although Gilbert did join TBS’ Tournament of Laughs with help from both of his kids for some funny skits. He noted that his daughter also showed him how to use TikTok.
“My daughter, she’s on TikTok. So, she got me on TikTok, I have no idea what it is,” he said. “I’m like talking to somebody’s grandmother about TikTok. And she’ll say, ‘I want you to do this little dance step,’ which, of course, I can never do. So, I was already making stuff with her, and [the video] was like the next step.”
Max Aaron Gottfried
Gilbert and Dana’s second child, Max Aaron Gottfried, was born on May 18, 2009. The couple shared the meaning of Max’s full name with celebritybabies.com shortly after they welcomed him into the world. “Max is named after Gilbert’s father Max and my grandmother Mildred,” Dara said at the time. “Our son was also born on his grandfather Max’s birthday! His middle name is after my grandfather Aaron.”
Unlike his sister, Max was a little more comfortable being in the public eye, posting often on Instagram and sharing some behind-the-scenes action with his family. He’s sometimes seen at places like The Daily Show or taking photos with singer Josh Groban after his “amazing show,” so he definitely liked to be involved with his dad’s showbusiness life! Moreover, Max is also good friend with the son of another popular comedian and pal of Gilbert’s, Penn Jilette, as Gilbert shared in a hilarious photo to his Instagram in 2019.
In a touching profile from the New York Times in 2013, the reporter Dave Itzkoff shared how numerous photographs in the family’s apartment showed Gilbert, Max, and Lily all wearing underwear on their heads — a definite sign of the perfect jokester dad!
In addition, Gilbert “semi-verbally acknowledged that becoming a father had frightened him,” but he became pleased when he and Max began to bond over their love of classic movie monsters.
“He goes: ‘Why is he turning into the Wolf Man? Why doesn’t Frankenstein turn into the Wolf Man?’” Gilbert said. “After a while I’ve got to say, ‘Look, I know that this makes no sense whatsoever.’”