The former captain of England’s soccer team was a no-show at this year’s World Cup games due to an Achilles injury, which may be a blessing in disguise. It would have been his fourth international championship, but instead, the father of three can spend his special day with his three sons, Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 7, and Cruz, 5. Brooklyn, who wife Victoria claims “ has my nose and David’s thighs," takes after his father, playing soccer “ almost every day." Romeo, on the other hand, might have a career in entertainment. According to Beckham, fatherhood made him a new man, less selfish and self-obsessed. “Until you have children, you don’t realize how much it changes your life and how they become your main priority in terms of making sure they are OK, making sure they are happy,” Beckham explained. In 2002, after police arrested nine people in connection with an attempt to kidnap his wife and sons, the soccer superstar issued a statement saying, "The first role of a father and husband is to keep his family safe." And Beckham may not be done with growing his brood—he’s expressed hope for a girl one day.
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Marin Sheen and his sons have shown that not all show business families are broken. "No father could ever be prouder of his son,” now 69-year-old actor said of his younger son, Charlie. “He has been through so much and overcome so much more. Even if he weren't my son, he'd still be my best friend." Together, they’ve had to overcome seemingly every demon and even went on to act together on projects such as Wall Street and Spin City. The elder Sheen has also played the father of his older son, Emilio Estevez. But the roles have since switched and the now 48-year-old Estevez has directed his father in several projects as well, including his RFK biopic Bobby, which holds a special place in his heart. “I remember holding my father’s hand and walking through the lobby and walking through the Embassy Ballroom, and I remember my father saying, ‘This is where it happened. This is where the music died,’” Estevez told CBS News. All three have also taken part in Charlie’s hit show Two and a Half Men. "My dad did the show a couple of years ago," the actor told People, "so it was only a matter of time until someone of my brother's talent could also come and play in our sandbox."
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Part of Aussie actor Hugh Jackman’s appeal—besides his bulging muscles—is his devotion to his children. The 2008 “Sexiest Man Alive” title holder is incredibly accomplished, having played a superhero, hosted both the Oscars and the Tony Awards, and taking the theatrical stage himself. But for the 41-year-old actor, being a father to his two adopted children—10-year-old Oscar and four-and-a-half-year-old Ava—is the most important role or title he’s taken on. “Adoption is about taking a baby into your home—and your heart. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” the actor told Parade of the greatest joy in his life. “This is a man for whom family time clearly trumps career,” Oprah said of the X-Men star. And adopted or not, Jackman’s son has proven that being a ladies’ man is learned, not hereditary. The actor told the Associated Press last year that one day, Oscar spotted a group of teenage girls, turned to him, and said, “ Hey dad, 2 o’clock, hot chicks.” Like father like son.
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Despite touring, recording, and even managing to put out a solo album, the former lead singer of Bush seems to have found that fatherhood has taught him the most. "You have to relinquish all self-importance," 42-year-old Rossdale said of being a dad to now four-year-old Kingston and two-year-old Zuma. "It's not a bad thing. You don't have time to think about yourself. I used to wallow in introspection. I don't have time to be that guy now." Did he find it difficult to make the adjustment from rocker to father? Not so much."It's so natural, you just fall into it and you find your way. It's terrifying and exciting and brilliant." Rossdale now has the opportunity to remedy the errors of his paternal past—in 2004, a paternity test proved that he’s the father of now 21-year-old model Daisy Lowe. “I now have a really good relationship with my father,” she told reporters recently. “It’s been blossoming for the past year.”
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Despite tabloid criticism that he and longtime partner Angelina Jolie are turning their daughter Shiloh into a boy by cutting her hair and dressing her in masculine clothing, Brad Pitt seems to be the type of father who embraces his kids for who they are. The A-list actor says his children—the first three of whom, Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, are adopted, followed by daughter Shiloh, 4, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 2—are what true, unconditional love is all about. “Would it bother me if a child of mine turns out to be gay? No, not one bit,” he told Parade magazine last year. “I want my kids to live the lives they want to live. I want them to be fulfilled. I hope I teach my kids to be who they really are.” The former Hollywood playboy has become a family man since breaking onto the scene, but it’s a change he’s pleased with. “I think I had to go and exhaust me before I could be good at being a parent,” he told Parade. “This family is full of life! There are laughs, aggravations, irritations, but at the end of the day, it's fun.”
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Not only does Hollywood wild child Matthew McConaughey love being a dad, but, he says, it was actually a long-time dream. "I've been looking forward to being a father since before I was 10 years old,” said the now 40-year-old father to Levi, 2, and Vida, 5 months. “I finally turned the page in that chapter in my life and it was the right time and the right moment." Although McConaughey’s children are still young, the romantic comedy star has big plans for them. “Culture and travel’s been the best education I’ve had in my life and my child’s going to have that,” the Texas native explained on Today before Levi was born. Though he’s seemingly grown up since becoming a father, some things—like his penchant for working out—never change. Though now, he does it with children in mind.
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In addition to a growing physical resemblance, Kirk Douglas and his son Michael do have a lot in common. The men are both well respected in Hollywood—having earned numerous high honors—but more importantly, by each other. Now 93-year-old Kirk presented the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s esteemed Chaplin Award to his 65-year-old son Michael in New York in May. “It's such a treat to have my father present me this award, particularly since it's the one award he hasn't won," the younger Douglas joked. "There's only one reason I'm here tonight— good genes." And he has spread those genes onto his two children with Catherine Zeta Jones—Dylan, 10, and Carys, 7—and his now 31-year-old son Cameron from a previous marriage, who was recently imprisoned for drug possession. "My career was the most important thing in my life, followed by marriage and children," he admitted to AARP magazine of his younger fathering years. "And it's completely reversed now. I never anticipated starting a family and the joy of raising kids at my age."
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Four years after her birth, the speculation over Suri Cruise still hasn’t died down. Andrew Morton’s controversial, unauthorized biography of Cruise speculated that Suri was conceived with frozen sperm of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Despite the rumors, Suri has warmed the hearts of the public and paparazzi alike. And her parents, Cruise and wife Katie Holmes, seem to have a hard time resisting her charms, too; the toddler already has a much coveted iPad and has been spotted in numerous pairs of kitten heels. Cruise also has two adopted children with ex-wife Nicole Kidman-- Isabella, 17, and Connor, 15—who tend to be more low-profile than the precocious four-year-old. “I’ll never forget the moment I became a dad,” Cruise told People of the laying eyes on Isabella for the first time. And as a father, he’s made a promise to himself and his children: “If I say I’m gonna take your call anytime you need me, and I’m in the middle of something on set, my world is gonna stop for you. I made that promise to all of my kids.”
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After his J-Lo years, Ben Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner and has since evolved into the epitome of a family man since having two daughters. “It’s changed my life,” Affleck told The Mirror of becoming a father in 2005. “All the clichés are true. My daughter, Violet...is the most important person in my life.” The actor and director has had no problem playing stay-at-home dad while his equally successful actress wife is working on a project—Affleck was recently spotted shuttling his 4-year-old Violet to school while Garner was in Louisiana shooting her newest movie. Early last year, the couple had their second child, daughter Seraphina. The Oscar-winning screenwriter can’t claim to be the best dad in the world, though-- apparently, he accidentally taught young Violet how swear in German. Perhaps father doesn’t always know best.
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The former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star talked fatherhood the best way he knew how in 1998—through rap. “From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms, I knew I’d meet death ‘fore I’d let you meet harm,” Will Smith famously rhymed with his hit “Just The Two Of Us,” which guest-starred his oldest son, Trey. “It’s a full-time job to be a good dad,” he went on to explain in the father-son tribute song and it’s a statement he has since proven. After separating from his first wife, Smith married Jada Pinkett, with whom he has two more children—now 11-year-old Jaden and 9-year-old Willow. Jaden’s breakout role was his appearance in his father’s film The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006, although he is solidifying his pint-size stardom in his newest turn in the Karate Kid remake. Not one to leave out any of his children in father-child collaborations Smith cast daughter Willow in his film I Am Legend, in which she played, of course, his daughter. Smith has clearly found a way to incorporate his career and family, which is probably why a recent Fandango poll for favorite father/son or father/daughter actors named Will number one, with 45 percent of the votes.
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