Jennifer Connelly is a living Hollywood legend who is sure to find a brand-new fan base with the release of Top Gun: Maverick, where she plays the love interest of Tom Cruise in the highly anticipated sequel to the 1986 blockbuster. Her longtime stans, however, will remember the 51-year-old New York native’s rise to stardom from a child model to an Oscar-winning actress.
After becoming the talk of the town with her turns in the cult classic Labyrinth, the romantic comedy Career Opportunities and the harrowing addiction drama Requiem for a Dream, Jennifer went home with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2001 playing Alicia Nash, the wife of famous mathematician John Nash, played by Russell Crowe, in Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind. She would then go on to star in one of the first Marvel superhero movies, 2003’s Hulk, the biblical epic Noah and her own sci-fi TV series Snowpiercer.
Jennifer’s personal life is just as successful as her career. She has an amazing son with photographer David Dugan and two wonderful children with actor Paul Bettany, who swooped in to ask Jennifer to be his bride shortly after they met working on A Beautiful Mind together. They married in a very small ceremony in Scotland in 2003. Find out all about Jennifer’s big brood, below!
Kai Dugan
After her five-year relationship and engagement with her The Rocketeer co-star Billy Campbell ended in 1996, Jennifer began a brief romance with photographer David. Their relationship was short-lived, but produced a son, Kai Dugan, who was born in 1997.
Paul has proven to be an amazing stepfather to Kai, as their love of music has brought them closer, with Kai even taking up guitar to play in Paul’s band when he was 15 years old. Kai even accompanied his mother and Paul to her premiere of Top Gun: Maverick recently!
Stellan Bettany
Born on August 5, 2003, just eight months after his parents married, Stellan is a perfect combination of Jennifer and Paul. “When your child is all sleepy and cuddly and they get to snuggle up and you read them a bedtime story … It’s the bit of parenting that makes up for when they’re screaming and shouting at you,” Paul told People about raising Stellan.
Stellan is also a music lover like his famous father. “He’s an amazing musician,” Jennifer said of Stellan on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Agnes Bettany
Agnes Bettany, the youngest child and only daughter of the Jennifer and Paul, was born on May 31, 2009. She appears to have a knack for Hollywood and a desire to follow in her parents’ footsteps. On the same episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jennifer said Agnes loves to be on set with her, although the star thinks her daughter is leaning more towards directing than acting. “She’ll sit by the monitor with headphones on and watch quite critically,” Jennifer explained.