Ben Stiller's Children Have Grown Up To Be Stunning
Actors Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are parents to two children. Their eldest, Ella Stiller, was born in April 2002, and their son, Quinlin Dempsey Stiller, in July 2005. Growing up as the children of two celebrities, Ella and Quinlin, they have been exposed to the entertainment industry from a young age but have lived mostly out of the spotlight. Now that they've grown up, Ella wants to follow in her parents' footsteps, and Quinlin seeks a more private life.
Ben supports his children pursuing an acting career, although he acknowledges it's not without drawbacks. "It's not the easiest business, and I think I would try to tell them the ups and downs, you know? Or, try to give 'em some sort of overview of my experience and give them a sort of an idea of what it is. But, if you love doing it, that's why you should do it," he told Chicago Parent in 2010. Taylor echoed these thoughts in an interview with Us Weekly in 2018. "I think living in New York City, [Ella] has been exposed to so many incredible things and shows ... she has the bug," she said of their daughter wanting to be an actor. "There's nothing you can do about it, but I did not encourage it."
Regardless of who their parents are, Ella and Quinlin are two interesting individuals — and very different from each other.
Ella Stiller attends The Juilliard School
Ella Stiller is active on social media, which has allowed her fans to get a better understanding of who she is. She is passionate about acting, even attending The Juilliard School in New York. Her Instagram bio reads, "Actor. Juilliard Drama Group 53." Her father, Ben Stiller, studied in the Theater Arts program at UCLA.
Ella has shared some of her performances on Instagram, starting with the play, "Three Sisters" by Anton Chekhov in 2016. She followed up with another post a few days later when the performance was coming to an end. "Closing night. I love you guys. We had a great run," she wrote. In December 2023, Ella celebrated a milestone. "My final Juilliard production. I love this cast, I love this play, and I really, more than anything, love to laugh and make other people laugh," she captioned a photo of herself onstage, referring to the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.
Ella and Quinlin have both acted
Ella and Quinlin Stiller come from a showbiz family, as their parents and paternal grandparents were stars. In an interview with Chicago Parent in 2010, Ben spoke about his children being involved in an acting project. "I'm happy that they're both in the movie," he said, referring to "Madagascar 2." Quinlin appears uninterested in acting as a career, but his sister is. "She loves [acting], and she's very passionate about it, and she knows what she wants to do," Ben said on "The Ellen Show." "I just want to kind of support her in it in any way I can."
The "Zoolander" actor also discussed the similarities between himself and Ella in an interview with The New Yorker in 2020. "I have a daughter who wants to study acting, and so there are these parallels I see in my own life," he said.
Ella has shown her acting skills from a young age, including mimicking her father's actions. "[The kids] do impressions of me. My daughter really makes fun of me because of how I eat; she thinks I eat way too healthfully," he told Parade in 2013. But she went from pretending to be her father to working with him on the set of the "Escape at Dannemora" miniseries, which Ben directed and Ella briefly starred in. "I was very happy it went well," Ben told E! News of the experience. "She showed me a lot of respect, which I appreciated ... It was really a super positive experience for both of us."
Reading is important in the Stiller household
Ella and Quinlin Stiller found a love of reading from a young age, which was encouraged by their father. "She likes these chapter books where she can read a page or two, and then I'll read a page, or my wife will read a page," Ben Stiller told Chicago Parent of his young daughter. "But, it's fun, though, because she's reading on her own, so it's good."
In the same interview, he spoke of Quinlin, who loved his father telling him stories, particularly ones involving Thomas the Tank Engine. "He knows all the Thomas trains and all the names of the trains, which there are a lot of them, so he likes to have stories told to him that involve the Thomas trains, and the hard thing is remembering the names of all the trains because he knows them inside and out," Ben said about his son's impressive memory. He also compared reading books to his children and how it was like acting. "You know, you just sort of have to commit fully, and you don't care because you know the audience, and you want them to be happy, and kids love to be told stories, my son, especially," he said. The veteran actor's kids are too grown up for bedtime stories now, but it's likely a memory they cherish from their childhood.
Ella and Quinlin Stiller are very different
Ella and Quinlin Stiller are siblings, but they are not alike. Their father, Ben Stiller, commented on watching them grow up in an interview with Parade in 2013, also mentioning their differences. "My kids are 11 and 8 now, and I can see aspects of myself in them, but I also see two totally unique individuals," he said. "And I wonder how they became so well adjusted!" While his comments refer to how different he is from his children, the siblings also differ in their interests: Ella's passion is acting, while Quinlin is more into sports, like Nerf basketball. "He's in New York, and he loves basketball," Ben said on "The Ellen Show." "And he's, you know ... a nice, innocent 13-and-a-half-year-old."
There were also differences in their eating habits when they were younger, which their mom, Christine Taylor, told People in 2012 (via Yahoo). "My daughter loves veggies but doesn't love fruit. My son loves fruit and doesn't love veggies," she said. The siblings also have a different approach to fame. Ella has pursued a career in acting and is active on social media, whereas her brother, Quinlin, prefers to stay out of the limelight. Not as much is known about him, and he rarely attends red-carpet events with his famous family.
Ella Stiller criticized her father for not being present
When his daughter Ella was born, Ben Stiller's life changed. The actor stepped back from his work commitments to focus on being a father. "I've made the difficult decision to withdraw from 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' My priorities changed after the birth of my daughter, and the reality of being separated from my family for the better part of eight months caused me to rethink my commitment," he said in a statement, per Los Angeles Times, about giving up his role in a play on Broadway. But the actor has continued to work steadily in the industry, and when he started working more frequently again, Ella held him accountable for this.
"What I've learned is that your kids are not keeping score on your career," the "Workaholics" actor told Esquire in 2022. "It would be solipsistic to think that my kids actually care about that. They just want a parent who's emotionally present and supportive of them." In the same chat, he discussed how his daughter took issue with his increased work commitments. "She's pretty articulate about it, and sometimes it's stuff that I don't want to hear. It's hard to hear," Stiller said. It also reminded him of his own parents and their dedication to their careers (he is the son of actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara). "And I had always thought, 'Well, I won't do that,'" Stiller said. But it happened anyway.
Ella Stiller thought her parents were uncool
Fatherhood brings Ben Stiller immense joy. "It's like pure love and good things, you know?" he told Chicago Parent in 2010. His relationship with his children is also one where they can speak their minds and be honest about their feelings, even if their comments can be harsh. "I said to my daughter, 'You can talk to me about anything. I'm a cool mom. You don't have to be embarrassed. You can tell me anything,'" Christine Taylor told People in 2014. "And she goes, 'You just saying that made you uncool.'" She can't win, though. "We're at the age where our daughter gets embarrassed of us no matter what we do," she said of Ella, who was 12 at the time.
From a young age, Ella and Quinlin Stiller were made aware that their childhood differed from the norm. "It's just part of it, like young people coming up or photographers and things like that. It's a little bit abnormal, so you try to protect them from it as much as possible," Ben told Chicago Parent. In 2018, Ella accompanied her dad to the "Escape at Dannemora" premiere and posted about it on her Instagram. Ben then made it into his own post: "So so proud to make it [on]to my incredibly cool, stylish, and beautiful daughter @ella.stiller's Instagram story," he wrote. And in 2019, he posted about his date again. "So happy to be with my beautiful daughter @ella.stiller tonight at the #GoldenGlobes!!"
The Stiller kids are honest about their father's acting skills
After decades of working in the entertainment industry, Ben Stiller has earned his bragging rights. But not everyone is a fan, and his children can be candid about his work. In an interview with People in 2023, the "Tropic Thunder" actor said Quinlin Stiller is a "tough critic." In the same interview, Christine Taylor commented on how both of their children are critical, "but in a good way." Ben agreed. "Tough critic in a good way because he is very discerning," he said. "So it's fun to watch movies and see what he likes and doesn't like. Ella, our daughter, is a drama student and actor — so they know what they like and what they think is good."
Quinlin and Ella may not be impressed by all of their dad's performances, but they have enjoyed some of his work. In his interview with Chicago Parent, Stiller was asked if his children enjoyed watching "Madagascar," and he replied, "Yeah, they did, oh yeah." Although, he was not entirely sure it was because of him. "I don't think they're any more connected to it because I'm in it. I think they just like the movie," he said. However, Ella has given praise when she feels it's deserved. Speaking to E! News, Ella praised her father for his directing work on "Severance," a show she loves, and was thrilled he was getting the recognition he deserved.
Their parents divorced but put their children's well-being first
In May 2017, Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor announced their split. 'With tremendous love and respect for each other ... we have made the decision to separate," they said in a statement. "Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends." They proved the second part of this statement was true and were committed to putting the well-being of their children first, even attending events together.
"They are a very loving family," an insider told People. "[Christine] and Ben respect each other and will do anything to make sure their kids are happy." In 2018, Taylor spoke to Us Weekly about how they were still spending time together. "We're a big family. We're together all the time," she said. Stiller and Taylor's split didn't last, though. "We were separated and got back together, and we're happy about that," Stiller told Esquire in 2022. "It's been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic."
Taylor also spoke about their family in an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in 2023. "We always stayed a family unit, always continued to do things together, continued to see shows together, birthday parties, all of it," she said. She also discussed how they reconnected during the pandemic, which allowed them to spend more time together.
Family time is important to the Stillers
Ben Stiller is an in-demand actor who prioritizes time with his family. In an interview with Chicago Parent, he explained that "being together no matter what is probably the biggest thing." In the same conversation, he said this means sometimes his family has had to travel to be with him on the set of his films, but this has allowed him to have quality time with those he loves.
Stiller has also praised his wife, Christine Taylor, for her parenting. "Having a child changes everything in a most positive way, and I am extremely lucky to have a great wife who is also an incredible mom," he once said, per Parade. Another thing that encourages family time is that they actually like each other. "We like to hang out as a family," Stiller told People in 2023. "We just like to hang out. We really do enjoy hanging out as a family. Watching movies, playing silly tennis." Taylor also told People how they "play a lot of the game Celebrity." But even how they play the game revolves around their family. "The joke is it's called Celebrity, but nine times out of ten, there's someone in there that's just a family member!" Taylor said.
Ella Stiller is interested in politics
Ella Stiller is a young woman unafraid to share her views. She has been vocal about her political affiliation and support for Hilary Clinton. Her Instagram features a bunch of photos of Clinton, including one of herself with the former First Lady, whom she called her "hero" in the caption." In another Instagram post of Clinton, Stiller praised her for being "the fearless, strong, respectful, tolerant, and compassionate woman/politician/activist who should have been the one going into office today."
Ella is also a supporter of women's rights and posted "The Future Is Female" on Instagram for International Women's Day in 2017. She attended the Woman's Day March in New York City in 2017 and 2018, where she held up hand-made posters and walked among the crowd of protestors. She shares her in politics with her father, Ben Stiller, who has also been vocal about his views. In 2020, he posted about the United States presidential candidates on X (formerly Twitter). "Regardless of politics, not having a woman candidate, or candidate of color, or even a younger candidate, in the presidential race is not good a thing for any party," he wrote. In 2022, he traveled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he referred to as a "hero" — a trip that ultimately got Stiller banned from Russia.