Dustin Hoffman's 6 Children: All About His Sons and Daughters

Dustin Hoffman is dad to six kids: Karina, Jenna, Jake, Rebecca, Maxwell and Ali

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Dustin Hoffman is a proud dad to six children: Karina, Jenna, Jake, Rebecca, Maxwell and Ali.

Dustin and his first wife, ballerina-turned-actress Anne Byrne, married in 1969 and are parents to daughters Karina and Jenna. In 1978, the pair separated and Dustin went on to marry entrepreneur and longtime friend Lisa Hoffman, née Gottsegen. They welcomed four children together: Jake, Rebecca, Maxwell and Ali.

In an interview with the Washington Post in 1979, Dustin talked about how he viewed parenting and himself as a father.

"I know that it's a fantasy, but I wish that I could be the kind of parent who is like the ideal director. That is, someone who guides you without your even knowing it, without imposing himself," he told the outlet, adding, "I know that I have certain characteristics that have been rather constant through the years. For example, I always try as hard as I can at what I'm doing."

Meanwhile, Jake, Dustin’s oldest son, has complimented The Graduate star's parenting. “I have a great dad; I've learned a lot from him," Jake told Today in 2015 of their close relationship. “Both of my parents have been influences in my life.”

Here’s everything to know about Dustin Hoffman’s six children: Karina, Jenna, Jake, Rebecca, Maxwell and Ali.

Karina Hoffman-Birkhead, 58

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Karina Hoffman was born in March 1966 to Byrne and her first husband; Dustin adopted Karina after he married Byrne in 1969. According to Variety, Karina attended the U.N. International School in New York City.

Dustin spoke to the Washington Post in 1979 about being a dad and how his oldest liked to keep him up to date on the latest trends.

"I love it when Karina teaches me a bump and a grind, which is the latest dance,” he said at the time. “The first time it happened I got very shocked — and I'm not easy to shock. I was embarrassed. It was a revelation."

Karina was previously married to artist Simon Birkhead whom she wed in the early 90s. Not one for the spotlight, Karina has lived much of her life out of the public eye.

Jenna Byrne, 53

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Dustin and Byrne welcomed daughter Jenna Byrne on Oct. 15, 1970. After their parents separated, Jenna and Karina grew up in N.Y.C. with Byrne while Dustin juggled a bicoastal career between Los Angeles and the Big Apple.

On the topic of fatherhood, Dustin candidly discussed the effect of his separation from Anne on Jenna and Karina with the Washington Post.

"You kid yourself if you think being separated does not have a traumatic effect on the children," he said in 1979. "They are going to feel that it is somehow expected that they favor one parent over the other, and that causes conflict. It is important for them to know that they can love both, that they can talk to Daddy about Mommy in positive terms and Mommy about Daddy in positive terms."

Jenna had a busy acting career in the late 1990s. She made her debut in the 1995 thriller Outbreak and went on to appear in 1997’s Wag the Dog in the beloved 1998 comedy The Wedding Singer. Jenna’s most recent role was in a 2001 film called Love & Support.

Jacob "Jake" Edward Hoffman, 43

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Dustin married his second wife, Lisa, in 1980. On March 20, 1981, they welcomed their first child together, Jacob “Jake” Edward Hoffman, in L.A.  While pregnant with Jake, Lisa underwent an emergency cesarean section because Jake’s lungs weren’t fully developed.

“The doctors thought I was going to die when I was born. I was born a month early and delivered by an emergency cesarean section. My lungs weren't developed yet and no one thought I was going to make it,” Jake said of his birth to Today in 2015.

When it came time to pick their newborn’s name, the couple turned to a professional boxer for inspiration. “The doctors said I was a fighter,” Jake said. “So I was named after the boxer Jake LaMotta, from the movie Raging Bull. It's one of my favorite films.”

Jake graduated with a film degree from New York University in 2003. Of all his children, Jake's career path most closely resembles Dustin's own, having appeared in hits like The Wolf of Wall Street, She’s Funny That Way, The Irishman and Netflix’s Otherhood. In 2022, Jake got the chance to play his father’s on-screen son, starring alongside Dustin in Sam & Kate. The father-son duo played the love interests of real-life mother-daughter duo Sissy Spacek and Schuyler Fisk.

In a conversation with E! News in November 2022, Jake recalled getting emotional as a teenager watching one of his dad’s films. "When I was in high school, they had an anniversary screening of Midnight Cowboy, and I had never seen it," Jake recalled. "I had no idea what to expect and I was really embarrassed during the screening because I was crying the whole time. People are looking over and they could see that I was there with Dad. It was embarrassing."

He also joked to the outlet that he was able to “get some revenge” after catching his dad crying watching Sam & Kate.

In 2014, Jake made his directorial debut with Asthma, which he also wrote.

Rebecca Lillian Hoffman, 41

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In March 1983, Dustin and Lisa welcomed their second child, a daughter named Rebecca Lillian Hoffman.

While Rebecca appeared in 1991 film Hook and TV Movie Le nozze di Figaro in 1996, according to IMDB, she hasn't graced the screen since and seems to prefer to keep a low profile, not appearing to have a public online presence.

Maxwell Geoffrey Hoffman, 39

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The couple’s second son, Maxwell Geoffrey Hoffman, was born in L.A. on Aug. 30, 1984. Much of his professional career has been a family affair, from starring alongside sister Rebecca in Hook (1991) to working with his dad on Meet the Fockers (2004). Maxwell even appeared in Asthma, his big brother’s directorial debut, in 2014.

Despite growing up with a critically acclaimed actor for a father, Maxwell and his siblings didn't spend their childhoods watching Dustin on screen.

“There were no posters on the wall,” Dustin told TIME magazine in October 2017. “Growing up, they made fun of me because I’d say, ‘Let me put this on, you’ll love this.’ They’d say, ‘Is it black and white or color?’ I’d say, ‘Black and white.’ No! ‘Is it a documentary about bugs?’ I’d say, ‘Yes, but you’ll love it!’ ”

He added: “They learned not to listen to me. But I don’t have a kid who’s seen everything I’ve done. I don’t want to belabor them in that way.”

Alexandra Lydia Hoffman, 36

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Alexandra “Ali” Lydia Hoffman was born on Oct. 27, 1987, and is the youngest of the Hoffman clan. She made a small cameo in her father’s film Moonlight Mile (2002).

Ali dated actor Jonah Hill in the early 2010s, with Hill’s first Hoffman family vacation even inspiring James Franco’s rom-com Why Him?.

“Jonah was talking to Ben Stiller on the set one time, and he’s like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to go on vacation with Dustin Hoffman. Like, I don’t know him.’ And it was really early in his relationship,” Franco told Dustin during their “Actors on Actors” chat for Variety in 2017.

Dustin recalled the vacation, but he also noted that he was not supposed to talk about family matters. “I’m not supposed to bring in family. They all make me promise,” he joked.

Franco quickly added that Hill was “really nervous about it” and worried that he would “make a bad impression” on the Hoffman family. “The producer, Shawn Levy, overheard it. He’s like, ‘That’s a great story,’ ” Franco recalled. “And boom it turned into this movie, Why Him?, that I did with Bryan Cranston.”

Ali and Hill dated for nine months, and since their breakup, she has maintained a relatively low-key life away from the public eye. However, she joined her parents at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 for the screening of Dustin’s film The Meyerowitz Stories.

Read the original article on People.