How Patrick Dempsey Raises ‘Grounded’ Kids in Hollywood
By Movieguide® Contributor
ENCHANTED actor Patrick Dempsey recently revealed how he keeps his kids “grounded” and out of the limelight in a PEOPLE exclusive.
The GREY’S ANATOMY actor said it’s, “Very challenging having your children grow up in Hollywood and to be in that environment,” but they “want to have their own identity, separate from me and that shadow.”
Dempsey is father to 16-year-old twin sons, Sullivan and Darby, and 21-year-old daughter Talula.
“They’re all athletic, they like to move. They are all very disciplined on that and you just try to instill the right values. Hopefully, they have the right manners and when they come back in and other parents go, ‘Oh your children are very polite,’ you’re like, ‘That’s nice to hear.’ And you know are they grounded,” Dempsey said.
He previously told PEOPLE how critical it is to set time aside for his kids. He enjoys the time with them but knows it’s also an essential investment for their development, and their environment is important, too.
“I just read something about how important it is when you have children, the environment that they’re in will be the most important thing for them and their development,” he shared. “So trying to keep that a good calm loving safe environment for them.”
Leading by example is also key for Dempsey and his wife, celebrity makeup artist Jillian Dempsey.
He told PEOPLE his kids “are all like me in bits and pieces, and they’re all like their mother in bits and pieces. They all have unique qualities, and they have their own goals that they need to develop and harvest themselves, and we just try to model our behavior and hopefully they’ll pick up on that.”
“They need to find out how they interact in the world, they need to learn those boundaries, they need to make mistakes,” the actor said. “And you need to be there for them and allow them to learn from that.”
The Huff Post reported another of Dempsey’s parenting philosophies: “I think with your kids, whatever their passion is, you give your support. You give them the opportunity to try what they want to try.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Dempsey’s promotion of independent movie, FERRARI:
The SAG sees promoting these independent movies as an important step in bargaining with larger studios. They encouraged their members who worked on these projects to support them because it “[strengthens] the union’s bargaining position and demonstrates solidarity.”
In response, actors Adam Driver and Patrick Dempsey walked the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday to promote their movie FERRARI.
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