What Jane Fonda, Martha Stewart, and others have said about the ups and downs of grandparenting.
You don’t hear many celebrities talk openly about being a Nana or a Pop-Pop. And with the rampant ageism in Hollywood — and frankly, most other industries — we get why some stars might not want to discuss the joys of being a grandparent. But some have opened up about what a life-changing experience it can be — including Katie, who became a grandparent earlier this year and wrote an honest essay about entering this new phase of life.
From Jane Fonda and Demi Moore to Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg, here’s what some big names have shared about the special bonds they’ve developed with their little ones and the adorable nicknames they’ve picked out for themselves. If grandparenting is in your future, we bet you can use some of this wisdom, too.
Katie Couric on becoming a grandma
“Witnessing your baby have a baby is wild. Ellie had an easy pregnancy and took good care of herself. I know she’s going to be a wonderful mother, and I know Mark will be a parent who is an equal partner. Jay was like that. It makes all the difference in the world,” Katie wrote in her essay announcing the birth of baby Jay.
“I am so excited to watch Baby Jay go through all the stages — smiling, crawling, walking, talking — and to see the world unfold through the eyes of a child. I’m going to try to enjoy every moment. It’s so true what they say: The days are long, but the years are short. As a grandparent, I’m hoping the years will be long! The ‘grand’ in front of ‘mother’ makes me keenly aware that time is precious. I can’t wait to take him to the beach, the library, get an ice cream cone, bring him to his first Broadway show. I’m going to spoil this kid rotten and not worry about it. We are going to have to make a lot of trips to the West Coast — but thank goodness for FaceTime.”
Demi Moore on being a new grandma
Louetta Isley Thomas Willis was born to Rumer Willis, Moore’s eldest daughter with ex-husband Bruce Willis, in April 2023. “I love it,” Moore recently told The TODAY Show. “I am ‘Yaya.’ And she is the cutest. Rumer just sent me a photo of her with spaghetti on her head.”
Martha Stewart on being a grandma
Stewart has two grandkids, 12-year-old Jude and 11-year-old Truman. But they reportedly don’t call the OG “coastal grandma,” well, Grandma. Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, said on her podcast back in 2011 that the lifestyle guru has insisted they refer to her as “Martha,” but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t relish her role.
“I like kids,” Stewart said at an event in 2014. “I wish I would have had a lot. I try to see the (grandchildren) at least three or four times a week.” She frequently posts on social media about being the fun grandma — hosting sleepovers, stargazing, and cooking, of course. She even attended last year’s Jingle Ball concert with Jude — posing alongside the tween on the red carpet.
Whoopi Goldberg on being a grandma and great-grandma
Believe it or not, the EGOT winner became a grandmother when she was just 33 and a great-grandmother at 58. Goldberg has been open about how much she’s loved hanging out with little ones, but it hasn’t escaped her notice that she’s entered this stage of life a tad earlier than most.
“It’s the funniest thing in the world to me,” Goldberg said on The Tonight Show in 2014. “I was a grandmother kinda young, and now I’m a great-grandmother. I had just gotten into the groove of being a grandmother, it was all great. And then this girl came and said she and her man were having a baby and I wanted to wring her neck.”
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson on grandparenting
This celeb power couple seems to be your typical, run-of-the-mill grandparent team. In an interview with TODAY, Colin Hanks — Hanks’ son from a previous marriage — said his parents spoil his kids, letting them stay up late and giving them a little too much sugar.
The pair, who have three granddaughters — Olivia and Charlotte from Colin and Michaiah from their son, Chet Hanks — go by Papou and Yiayia, Greek for grandpa and grandma. What are their secrets to being good grandparents? Lots of quality time, Wilson says: “You got to get on the trampoline with them, you got to get in the pool with them, you got to get on the tennis court, you’ve got to do all the sports.” Lots of love, Hanks told TODAY: “All you gotta do is love those little brats and they’re better than TV.” And great macaroni and cheese, Hanks added.
Jane Fonda on her grandma status
The Hollywood legend has three children and has talked candidly about how she regrets the way she raised them. “I was not the kind of mother that I wish that I had been to my children,” Fonda told CNN’s Chris Wallace last year. But the 80 for Brady star says she’s trying to “show up” for them now, and that includes being a present grandma. Fonda has two grandchildren from her daughter, Vanessa Vadim — Malcolm and Viva — and has said that they’ve changed her life.
“When my first grandchild was born and I held him in my arms, I really understood intimacy. I felt a love I had never felt before,” she told Grand Magazine. “It broke me open, and I needed to be broken open.”
Joe Biden on his relationship with his grandkids
President Biden has always been a family man and has close relationships with most of his seven grandkids. “They’re crazy about me and I’m crazy about them,” Biden said in 2022, on the podcast SmartLess.
The oldest four — Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, and Natalie — all appeared during their grandfather’s campaign, speaking affectionately about their “Pop,” who calls each of them every single day.
“He always calls with the same energy, even when he’s just done 15 interviews in a row,” Maisy said.
Biden’s three other grandchildren are Robert “Hunter” Biden II, 17, Beau Biden, 3, and Navy Roberts, 5. Navy is Hunter’s daughter with Lunden Roberts, who filed a paternity suit against the first son in 2019. President Biden has only recently discussed Navy publicly, following the resolution of his son’s legal proceedings, but had been criticized by some Republicans for previously touting his “six grandchildren.”
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I only want what is best for all our grandchildren, including Navy.”
Pierce Brosnan on the joy of grandparenting
Pierce Brosnan is soaking up every minute of being a grandfather. The actor, who lost his first wife Cassandra to ovarian cancer in 1991 and his daughter Charlotte to the same disease, says that those tragedies have made him cherish his family even more.
“Life is so precious,” the actor told the Irish Independent in 2015. “It can be snatched away without any prior warning, so why waste it? That’s why I enjoy my wonderful, beautiful family, my children, and my grandchildren.”
The star has four grandkids, Isabella and Lucas from Charlotte, and Marley May and Jaxxon from his son Sean.
“It’s such a joy to be a grandparent,” Brosnan told Kelly Ripa in 2017. “There’s just something intoxicating about it and beautiful.”
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell on their growing family
One of Hollywood’s favorite couples has seven grandkids — soon to be eight. Hawn, who goes by Gogo, and Russell, who goes by Gogi, seem to love everything about their expanding star-studded family. They have three grandkids from Kate Hudson (Ryder, Bingham, and Rani), another three from Oliver Hudson (Wilder, Bodhi, and Rio) and one (Buddy) from Wyatt Russell. (Wyatt’s second child is expected this month, per People.)
“A good family is the answer to happiness,” she told Australian Women’s Weekly. “I look at our kids and grandchildren and there’s nothing in the world that could make me as proud as I am of all of them.”
“Being a grandmother is amazing, I love it. It brings incredible joy,” she added.
Russell has also cherished being a “Gogi,” telling Parade: “It’s almost like just giving you another perspective on your life, your lifetime, what’s behind you, what’s in front of you.”
“It’s getting more and more exciting because as they get older, it just becomes more and more fun. We’ve got a good bunch,” he added.
Snoop Dogg on his 12 grandkids
The original gangsta definitely has a soft spot for his grandkids. Earlier this year, Snoop Dogg revealed on the Jennifer Hudson Show that he has 12 grandchildren, who call him “Papa Snoop.”
“My grandkids are my everything because they all individually get a piece of my heart and they’re different,” he said in a special podcast released for the 30th anniversary of his debut album.
He added: “My grandpa was my best friend and for me to be that for my grandkids is showing that I actually did well and I was able to outlive [my] circumstances. Now I can look back — I can teach those who want to get to this level. Or at least give them a blueprint and help them avoid some of the traps that I had to deal with.”
