Val Kilmer's Kids Grew Up To Be Stunning
Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley are parents to two children, Mercedes Kilmer and Jack Kilmer. They grew up in the spotlight, which had its challenges but also its perks. "It's a blessing and a curse," Jack said in an interview with i-D in 2017. "We got to have nice tables at restaurants and occasionally fly on private jets, but we were tormented by paparazzi and sycophants for years. We had a sense of humor about it and protected each other."
Now they are all grown up, they have not shied away from their own careers in the public eye, and Mercedes and Jack are talented and creative individuals dedicated to their art. Acting is not the only thing they have in common with their famous dad. Mercedes has commented on some of the ways she is like the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" actor. "We are both very creative and love to write. Dad wrote as well as starred in 'Citizen Twain' a one-man show about the life of Mark Twain," she told Cowboys and Indians in a 2022 interview. Meet Val Kilmer's children.
Mercedes Kilmer is a musician
Mercedes Kilmer is the daughter of Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley. She was born on October 29, 1991, and like her parents, she has pursued a career in the public eye. Mercedes has worked as an actor, with roles in the 2016 drama "Prettyface" and in 2020, she acted alongside her father in "Paydirt." "I really always tried to keep my family separate from me when it comes to my work, especially my acting," she told Hollywood Life in a 2020 interview. "I think this film was really healthy to actually finally integrate my family and my personal life and the public." However, in the same interview, she commented that it was "really hard" to star opposite her dad because it was the first time.
Mercedes may be a skilled actor, but her passion appears to be music. She has posted many photos of herself performing on social media and has used Instagram to promote her upcoming performances. A career in the limelight seemed to be the right move because she's used to the attention that comes with fame, commenting on how she has always been aware of her parents' celebrity in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. "It was about navigating how other people perceived us rather than any kind of reckoning."
She is an animal lover
Mercedes Kilmer's Instagram gives you a glimpse into who she is as a person and how much she loves animals. In an Instagram post from August 2023, Mercedes urged fans to help her find a home for a rescued cat. "I wouldn't normally do this as I already have a cat, but I found this kitten by Griffith Park in the peak of the heat wave, and she was so instantly loving and friendly (and thirsty!) that I brought her home" she told fans in the caption. "I'm looking for someone that can take her permanently." She also listed several qualities that she felt the feline had, including its gentle nature, referring to her as "the sweetest, most perfect little cat."
Mercedes shares her kind heart and passion for animals with her father, Val Kilmer. "Ever since Mercedes was very young, we both shared a love for animals and the natural world, and this shared love has brought us together," the veteran actor told Cowboys & Indians in 2022. "We also loved taking riding lessons and jumping horses." Mercedes does not have many photos on Instagram, but she did post a picture of a horse in October 2022.
She's not a big fan of all of her dad's films
Val Kilmer has enjoyed an incredible career and is considered an acting legend, but surprisingly, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, has not watched one of his most celebrated performances. Val appeared in the 1986 movie, "Top Gun" as the character Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, and while it is considered an iconic role, it would not be his daughter's first choice.
"I've never seen 'Top Gun.' It's not the kind of film I like, to be honest. It's not my cup of tea," Mercedes said in a 2022 interview with The Mirror. "Top Gun is classic Hollywood — total fantasy. My parents would joke about it all the time," she said. She also commented on her father's hairstyle. "He would never have that hair in real life!" she said. But this doesn't mean Mercedes is not a fan of her dad's work, and she acknowledged his talent in an interview with Hollywood Life in 2020. "My dad is so talented naturally," she said.
As the daughter of two actors, following in their footsteps could be challenging, but Mercedes had their support without them pushing them in any specific direction. "I think my parents have done a very good job of allowing both my brother and I to have our own experience of acting and our own development," she said in an interview with TooFab in 2020.
Jack Kilmer is an actor
Jack Kilmer was born on June 6, 1995. He is the second child of Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley. He has also followed in their footsteps and is an actor. Some of his most memorable performances have been in "The Nice Guys" and "Palo Alto." Jack's talent is undeniable, but it was not always the career path that he envisioned.
"I actually didn't always want to be an actor," he said in an interview with HuffPost in 2014. "It's funny, people asked me as a kid all the time, 'Do you want to do what your parents do?' And I always said no because it's different, I don't know, to be stubborn or something." While Jack may have initially rejected acting, he knew he wanted to pursue a creative path. "I have always wanted to be an artist of some kind," he told i-D in 2017. "As a kid, I was compulsively drawing and playing music all the time, but I didn't find acting until much later on." And if things don't work out, he claims life as a cowboy would not be too bad.
Even before becoming an actor, Jack acknowledged in a chat with Interview in 2014 how he had "always had other creative outlets."
He is not hungry for fame
Jack Kilmer's decision to follow in his parents' footsteps was not because he wanted fame. "The work is my number one priority. If, through fame, I can inspire people, then I will embrace it. But I see celebrity culture as being separate from movie culture, and I'm not that interested in celebrities," he told i-D in a 2017 interview.
He also has a very practical outlook regarding criticism and trolling, telling i-D, "Haters gonna hate, you know." Val Kilmer has also commented about fame and his discomfort with it in a chat with Interview in 2011. "I make a lot of jokes about fame because I'm just shy," he said. "I still will be uncomfortable in a room ... I'm laughing at myself because I've been doing interviews for 30 years. I should know how to do it by now. But that's why I live out in the wilderness."
A positive has come from both men pursuing acting, though. "We can relate on a whole other level," Jack told Interview in a chat in 2014. "It was exciting to read a script with him."
His dating life has made headlines
Jack Kilmer starred alongside Bruce Willis in the 2023 film, "Detective Knight: Independence." It was a role he was thrilled to get and a film he was pleased to be included in. "It was a total surprise," Kilmer told Casting Networks in 2023. "It was one of those things where you get a call saying, 'We want you to do a Bruce Willis movie. It shoots tomorrow. Get on the plane.' I was like, 'Okay, I can do that.'" Bruce Willis is a father to five children, including Tallulah Willis, his third child with his ex-wife, Demi Moore (he is also a father to two younger children with Emma Heming Willis). In 2019, Kilmer's relationship status made headlines when he attended a premiere for "Hala" at the AFI Fest in 2019 with Tallulah. Despite headlines that the outing resulted in "romance rumors," the pair are friends, as Tallulah's Instagram post indicated. She posted a photo of them from the event, which she captioned with, "2 eligible bachelors."
This is not the first time Kilmer's relationships have been discussed. In 2014, he was linked to Elle Fanning despite the reports not being substantiated.
Val Kilmer's children make him proud
Val Kilmer has spoken about his children with great affection. In a 2020 interview with People, he called his kids "really brilliant." He continued, "I am just madly, wildly entertained by them. My only gripe is that I never see them enough, so I never get enough of the wild entertainment that everyone else gets, but they're really, really entertaining."
The "Song to Song" actor has also posted pictures of his kids on social media. In 2013, he posted a photo on Instagram of Jack's graduation. In 2014, he posted a blurry photo on X (formerly Twitter) from an event his son attended, lovingly referring to him as "my boy Jack." In 2018, Val posted a photo on Facebook taken from a photoshoot of himself with his children. "Look how gorgeous my kids are. And so talented," he wrote in the caption. "My daughter does everything, art and acting, and singing ... And my son also does everything; just finished his 15th film and rushed home to do this photoshoot for 'Hollywood Reporter' and just a couple days ago did a modeling job in LA." His praise makes it clear just how proud the star is of his children.
They grew up surrounded by nature
Val Kilmer's star status ensured there would always be interest in his personal life, including his children. But he decided to get away from the glitz and glam as often as possible. In a 2022 interview with Cowboys & Indians, the star told the publication that one of the things he and daughter Mercedes Kilmer do together is "hikes in the wilderness."
In the same interview, Mercedes commented on her childhood. "When I was growing up in Santa Fe, we would go into the mountains, and he would warn me, 'Don't get lost,'" she said. "We also loved to go camping in Ojai, California. He would make my brother and me go camping both in the rain and snow. It was really important to my dad for us to know the land around where we grew up."
Jack Kilmer has also acknowledged the great outdoors's important role in his life. "The landscape of New Mexico is such a big part of my identity. I spent a lot of time outdoors, riding horses, exploring and camping, like Huckleberry Finn," he told i-D in 2017. "It was so important for my family and I to reflect in nature."
They were involved in a documentary about their dad
In the Amazon Studios documentary, "Val," fans are given an insight into Val Kilmer's life and career. Jack Kilmer and Mercedes Kilmer have been involved in and appear in the project. They also attended the premiere in August 2021 (although their father was noticeably absent because of his health). The reaction to the film has been memorable for the actor's children, which Jack discussed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "Yeah, he loves it; it was kind of a surprise," he told the outlet of his decision to narrate some of his father's words. "We sort of brought him in, and there is a scene in the movie where he comes into the studio, and I am there, and we embrace, and it was sort of a surprise for him, and it was something that really means a lot to him."
The young Kilmers' presence in the film and closeness with their father puts their relationship on display. It also shows the similarities between father and son. "It was shocking to hear how much he sounded like the young version of me," Val Kilmer told The Los Angeles Times in 2021 of his son's voice. "There were several times when I couldn't tell who was talking."
They have supportered Val throughout his health issues
Val Kilmer had throat cancer in 2015, which resulted in a tracheotomy and has affected his ability to speak. Mercedes Kilmer and Jack Kilmer have spoken about their father's health and his strength, both mentally and physically. "When he was first diagnosed, the prognosis did not look very good," Mercedes said in an interview with People in 2021. "But he's always been very physically resilient. The way he's related to his illness has definitely been very inspiring. He has such a sense of humor. Even in the hospital, he'd be cracking jokes and making all of the doctors laugh." However, she did acknowledge the struggles of her father having to navigate his health concerns in the spotlight.
Jack Kilmer has also been incredibly supportive of his father and has praised him for his determination. "He's a guy who wants to go out there and just be the best that he can be, and he doesn't have time to think about how vulnerable he is because he's thinking about the next smash box office hit," he told People.