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Hugh Grant's 5 Children: Everything to Know

Hugh Grant shares a son and daughter with ex Tinglan Hong and three kids with wife Anna Eberstein

Stuart C. Wilson/Getty
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty

Hugh Grant became a father later in life.

Over the span of eight years, the Notting Hill actor welcomed five children with actress Tinglan Hong and his now-wife Anna Eberstein. Though Grant has kept his kids out of the public eye, he has occasionally discussed his family life.

In 2018, the father of five shared that he loved making his kids laugh. "I think it's always amusing to put your underpants on your head," he told PEOPLE, adding that his daughter had taken to doing the same with her diapers. "I made the mistake of showing one of my sons my ass all the time. 'Hey, look at this!' Then he got the habit and taught every single child in west London to do the same."

In learning to balance his family and career, Grant realized how much he valued family time. "I thought, 'Oh, fantastic opportunity to get away from my screaming children,' " he recalled of filming The Undoing in the U.S. "As soon as I got to New York each time ... I missed them so much. It was awful. I remember almost every scene I acted in made me cry."

Here's everything to know about Hugh Grant's five children.

Tabitha Xiao Xi Grant, 12

Grant and Tinglan Hong welcomed their first child, Tabitha Xiao Xi Grant, in September 2011.

Hong had difficult interactions with the paparazzi throughout her pregnancy, so Grant opted to miss Tabitha's birth to avoid a media circus. "I have had too many experiences of hospital staff being paid to leak information to the press," he wrote in a statement to U.K. officials regarding media ethics, per The Guardian. "Naturally, I was very keen to see my daughter as soon as possible, even if it could only be for a short time, so in the end I took a risk and visited the day after the birth."

Grant chose the name Tabitha, while Hong chose her middle name, Xiao Xi, which means "happy surprise." Though she was a happy surprise, Grant still had to adjust to fatherhood. (The actor turned 51 in September 2011.)

"Lots of people warned me … [that] the baby period is not that exciting. But I am excited," the Love Actually actor said in 2012. "I like my daughter very much. Fantastic. Has she changed my life? I'm not sure. Not yet. Not massively, no. But I'm absolutely thrilled to have had her, I really am. And I feel a better person."

John Mungo Grant, 11

On Sept. 3, 2012, Grant and television producer Anna Eberstein welcomed son John Mungo Grant. His birth was made public over a year later when his birth certificate was refiled to include Grant's name as the father.

John's name comes from his dad, whose full name is Hugh John Mungo Grant.

In 2020, Grant shared with Radio Times magazine what he was like as a parent. "Stylistically, I'm probably more like my mother than my father," he said. "As children, she was quite silly with us with lots of silly voices. I do that with my children, but I'm not sure they enjoy it. They roll their eyes half the time."

Felix Chang Hong Grant, 11

Hong and Eberstein became pregnant only months apart. In December 2012, Grant and Hong welcomed son Felix Chang Hong Grant. He was born three months after brother John Mungo.

Grant announced Felix's birth on Twitter. "Am thrilled my daughter now has a brother," he wrote. "Adore them both to an uncool degree. They have a fab mum."

The actor later told PEOPLE what he loves about having kids. "It's just lovely to have all that love around," he said. "Suddenly you love someone more than yourself. It's unheard of in my case and they love you and it's all enchanting."

Grant and Eberstein's 8-year-old daughter

Grant and then-girlfriend Eberstein welcomed their second child together, a daughter, on Dec. 16, 2015, making Grant a father of four.

"I should have done it before," he said in 2018 after marrying Eberstein. "I'm just lucky. I've got a great wife. I love her. We've got three kids together, we live together."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant used the time at home to pick up a skill — with special thanks to his daughter. "I started by cutting my daughter's Barbie's hair out of sheer boredom, and I discovered I was extremely talented," he joked. "Then I started cutting my children's hair, whether they wanted a haircut or not. I just strapped them to a chair and cut their hair."

Grant and Eberstein's 5-year-old child

In January 2018, Eberstein's mother confirmed that her daughter and Grant were expecting another baby. The couple welcomed their third child together, Grant's fifth, in March 2018.

Grant's ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley announced the birth on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. "Well, he had another last week," she told Cohen. "He has five." (Hurley and Grant remained good friends after their split — in fact, Grant is godfather to Hurley's son Damian Charles.)

"He was over 50 when he spawned them all," Hurley joked, adding, "No, he's an enchanting dad. Really, really sweet. Having these kids has transformed him from a very miserable person into a fairly miserable person. It's improved him. He's gone up the scale."

In October 2020, Grant told Radio Times that he had come to understand it was "damned nice" having a family.

"Anyone with young children would probably agree that it's simultaneously the worst time in your life and the best," he told the outlet. "On a day-to-day basis, as you tread on another broken toy with a hangover, it's just awful. But when you look back at the photographs on your iPhone, you realize, 'Oh, I have been extremely happy. This is very nice.'"

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