Meet Cate Blanchett's Four Children
Cate Blanchett and her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, are parents to four children: Dashiell John Upton, Roman Robert Upton, Ignatius Martin Upton, and Edith Vivian Patricia Upton. There is a significant age gap between their daughter and Dashiell, but not long after their first son arrived, the couple considered adoption. When the time was right, they looked into it again. As Blanchett shared at Women in the World's Tina Brown panel in 2015 (via Now To Love), "I felt we had space, enough emotional room in our hearts, and we're privileged enough to have the capacity to have another child, so it wasn't about biology."
Blanchett is raising her children in an environment where they feel safe to be themselves and open with their parents. "I think I'm pretty loving, but what I do know is that you have to let them talk, and you have to listen," she told Daily Mirror in 2011 (via Irish Examiner). But her caring nature does not mean she forgoes boundaries. "I don't enjoy being the bad cop, but sometimes I have to be. My husband and I worry about our generation trying to be friends with their children rather than parents of their children," she said. Of course, finding the time to juggle a successful career and raise four children has been no easy task, but Blanchett is a bit of a superwoman because she still manages to bake and do pickups from school. Meet Cate Blanchett's four children.
Dashiell Upton is interested in filmmaking
Born on December 3, 2001, Dashiell John Upton is Cate Blanchett's eldest child. Given their parents' respective careers, it checks out that at least one of Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton's kids likes the performing arts. In a 2009 chat with People, Blanchett dished that Dashiell was following in his mom's footsteps. "My oldest already performs his own version of 'Hamlet,'" she said.
Dashiell's parents have only continued to support his interest in the arts, and once he was done with high school, he headed to film school. Blanchett has acknowledged the mixed emotions that come with watching your children leave the nest. In a May 2020 interview with iO Donna, she said, "It is difficult to break away, very difficult, but I am so proud of my son."
The "Ocean's 8" actor never pushed her son to get into the "family business." "I think if I was in a different profession, if I was a lawyer, or a doctor, or an architect, maybe, or if I had a trade that I could actually use in the Armageddon, then there would be a sense that that would be a great and expected thing," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2018. "Certainly, my children do not want to be 'the son of,' and I know that my feisty daughter will not want to be 'the daughter of.'" That said, as Dashiell continues to pave his own way, certainly having parents with experience in his chosen field should certainly come in handy.
Roman Upton was named after a disgraced director
Naming children can be challenging for any parent, but Cate Blanchett opened up about how her three sons got their names in an interview with "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2015 (via People). "Dash, I guess, came from Dashiell Hammett and Roman ... Polanski, but it's also the French word for book, and Ignatius came from this book called 'Captain Underpants,'" she said. "I was eight months pregnant and hallucinating, and there's a section in the book where he gets so upset that everyone teases him because his name is Professor Pee-Pee Poopypants that he forces the world to change their names. They have this interior code, and they give these examples of names. You go down to 'I,' and the example is Ignatius." It was at this moment Blanchett realized she had found her son's name (although he is often affectionately referred to as Iggy).
Many will find it humorous that the "Carol" actor named her third child after finding inspiration from a children's book, but Roman Upton (born on April 23, 2004) is named after a much more controversial person. Director Roman Polanski fled the United States in the 1970s after pleading guilty to a statutory rape charge.
Ignatius Upton's mom wants her kids to care about the world
In 2021, Cate Blanchett appeared in Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up," a dark comedy that is an allegory for climate change. The following year, she and friend Danny Kennedy released a podcast called "The Climate of Change." Back in 2011, she appeared in an ad that encouraged Australian voters to support a tax on carbon. She has supported environmental organizations like the Australian Conservation Foundation. And she's made an effort to raise her kids to be environmentally conscious.
"I'm extremely concerned about climate change as a mother, because I want to ensure for my children a very safe and sustainable future," she said in 2007, according to The Daily Telegraph. "It's great to see my children engaged in these things, like when you put the water on when you put the toothbrush under the tap, you turn it off the minute you take it out and you don't let the water run.
Blanchett doesn't shy away from talking to her children about the state of the planet. "As I say to my kids [on climate change], if we're going out, how do we choose to go out? It's a terrible conversation to have with your 13-year-old, isn't it? But anyway," she said in Porter magazine while promoting "Don't Look Up" in 2021. Based on the timing of the interview, we can deduce she was talking about Ignatius Upton, who was born on January 1, 2008.
Edith Upton was adopted
Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton adopted their daughter, Edith Vivian Patricia Upton, on March 6, 2015. As previously noted, the couple looked into adoption long before that. "We've been talking about it since our first son was born," Blanchett told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2015. "Adoption — the process — it's potluck." She added that it "wasn't necessarily about having a girl, but that's what landed in our lap, and we feel absolutely blessed." That said, Edith was the first girl for the family after three sons, and her arrival has "been an extraordinary blessing for all of us," the "Nightmare Alley" actor told Harper's Bazaar.
Blanchett has also tried to be present for her daughter, being there for the big things and the little ones, like fetching her from school. "Being able to do what you say you're going to do — there is nothing better," she told the publication. "I love it when I wake up thinking that there's something on, and then I realize that I've got the day wrong, and all of us can just stay in our pajamas."
Edith Upton changed the family dynamic in the best way
When Edith Upton joined the Blanchett-Upton household, her arrival was met with great excitement. "It's extraordinary. It's been an absolute gift, and we're utterly besotted," the "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" actor told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2015. Before this, Blanchett was raising her boys — and loving it. "Having boys is great. It's a neat position to be in, and I love the high energy that comes along in raising boys. It's fun," she told People in 2009.
A new child would change the family dynamic, but for the better, as Blanchett noted how her sons welcomed Edith into the family. "They've been extraordinary," she gushed to The Sydney Morning Herald. She recalled her childhood memories and the time she spent with her siblings, something which she knows her children will have. "I find it extraordinary, glimpsing them becoming a unit," she said. "And a very welcoming unit. I'm very proud of them."
The silver screen icon echoed this sentiment when asked about the latest addition to the Blanchett-Upton family at the "Cinderella" premiere. "Fourth time around — it's extraordinary," she said to Sky News (via Today Parent). "You know, there are a lot of children out there who don't have the good fortune that our biological children do, so it's wonderful to welcome a little girl into our fold — we're besotted."
Cate Blanchett's kids aren't too impressed with her filmography
As big of a star as she may be, Cate Blanchett is just a mom to her children — even when she's presented with prestigious awards like Lincoln Center's Chaplin Award. "I told them, 'Oh, I'm going to New York for 36 hours. I'll be back on Wednesday ...' One of them is getting an award at school, and they went, 'Oh, OK, have a good time,'" she said to Page Six at the event.
While she may very well be one of the most acclaimed actors on the planet, Blanchett's sons sure keep her grounded. As she said on a 2018 episode of "The Jonathan Ross Show" (via Daily Mail), "I think it's natural that kids think that their parents are really uncool and embarrassing." Blanchett said that they have seen some of her movies, but evidently, they aren't always so impressed. "My son gave me some great career advice a few years ago; he said, 'Mum, when are you going to make a blockbuster? 'I said, 'I was in 'Lord of the Rings!'" she shared. "And he said, 'Yeah, for about 30 seconds.' So it didn't really count. I had no brownie points with my children." Blanchett noted that her kids were big Will Ferrell fans at the time.
At the end of the day, the Oscar winner appreciates that her kids treat her like a regular mom, not some A-list movie star. "I take the wig off and have dinner with my children, who tolerate zero navel-gazing," she told People.
Cate Blanchett talks about technology with her kids
While Cate Blanchett has always been careful not to give away too much about her family, she has shared a few details about what her kids are into. "My son is studying physics and philosophy, so he is really interesting to talk to about [technology]," the "I'm Not There" actor dished to Porter magazine in 2021. "I don't want to become a separated generation because I also feel responsible for the landscape he is about to emerge into as an adult." She didn't specify which son, but we assume it was either Dashiell Upton, who was almost 20 at the time, or Roman Upton, who was 17.
Blanchett also spoke about her own experience raising kids in the social media age. As she told the outlet, she's made an effort to teach them how to identify credible sources. "Of course, they roll their eyes. But when you hear them talk to their friends, I think they're responsible," she said.
They were almost raised as vegetarians
Cate Blanchett is a vegetarian, and she hoped her children would follow the same diet as they grew older. Alas, things didn't go how she wanted. As she told Julia Roberts for Interview magazine in 2019, she hoped having pet pigs would deter her young ones from wanting to eat meat. "I said, 'I'll get pigs as long as we tell the kids that the sausages and bacon they eat are from our pigs,'" she recalled. The "Blue Jasmine" actor's scheme, which she called her "Machiavellian vegetarian plan," did not pan out. "The kids were just totally fine with that, and I was horrified," she said. "My plan to turn my family vegetarian was a monumental failure." On the bright side, at least they welcomed two adorable pets to the family. "I'm quite happy sitting here looking at my unread Proust, talking to you and feeding my pig," Blanchett told Roberts.
While her effort to steer her children away from eating meat didn't stick the landing, Blanchett has had more success with encouraging them to follow an organic diet. And while her schedule can be rather demanding, the award-winning actor makes a point of preparing her kids' meals whenever she can. "It's very important to me to be able to enjoy taking them to school or making their lunches or cooking dinner at home for my family," she told Working Mother (via HuffPost).
Cate Blanchett's boys have been taught to be feminists
Cate Blanchett is a proud feminist, and she's raising her three boys to have the same values. "Because as a mother of sons, you have a responsibility to instill in them the need to respect and the benefits of respecting women," she told Glamour in an interview in 2017. She also discussed how, after adopting Edith Vivian Patricia Upton, she recognized just how critical it is that she teach her young daughter to be confident. "[W]hat's never been more important is the necessity to impart in young girls a sense of self-respect, a sense of having expectations, and a right to achieving quality," she said.
In a 2015 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Blanchett noted that she wishes to pass down the values that her mom instilled in her. "Having three sons, I hope I'm setting a good example for the many different things a woman can be. It's about respect," she said. "Maybe it's something my own mother said to me: it's about respecting others and respecting yourself and having boundaries." And in the Blanchett-Upton household, even the baking is inclusive. "I love making gingerbread — men and women — and I have jars of it all over the kitchen," the "Elizabeth" actor said in The Daily Telegraph in 2007.
Their famous mom is very present in their lives
Cate Blanchett is one of the most revered actors in the film industry, but that does not mean she's too Hollywood to be involved in her kids' day-to-day lives. "[Other parents] assume you have a nanny and a driver and a chef," she told Porter magazine (via The Daily Telegraph) in 2014. "Who gives a sh** whether I do or not? The fact is, I don't, but you know there is a certain circle of people — and we all get insecure — who then ask, 'Why can't she brush her hair?' You just have to shrug that off."
What's more, when Blanchett's not away on a movie set, she's more than happy to take on some household chores. In a 2009 interview with People, she described vacuuming as being "therapeutic." "It's a very satisfying noise when you hear all that grit sucked up from the floor and into the machine," she said.
All that said, Blanchett is still a human being who still appreciates a nice break from household responsibilities. When the subject of Mother's Day came up in a 2017 chat with Glamour, she stated, "I'm looking forward to having no plans whatsoever. Just an open horizon for the whole day. That's my idea of bliss."
They've seen their mom balance work and motherhood
With motherhood and a successful Hollywood career, Cate Blanchett has her hands full. Finding time to do it all has not been easy, which she acknowledged in an interview with Glamour in 2017. "When anything momentous happens in your life ― if you take a big career turn, or you fall in love for the first time, or you have a child, adopt a child, even when you turn a certain age ― it often takes a while to recalibrate and work it out," she said of navigating life's challenges and trying to find equilibrium. When her children were young, she sometimes involved them in aspects of her work. "The kids have been to New York before, and they love it ... But they will come visit me at work," she told People in 2009."We did a show earlier in the year in Sydney, and our little child actually watched the show backstage, which is a really interesting and exciting place with people putting on makeup and costumes, and so they love it."
In her aforementioned 2014 chat with Porter (via The Daily Telegraph), the star discussed how she needed to travel for work and the impact it had on her and her kids. "Playing the lead in a film where you shoot for three months away from home is not an easy thing for me when my children are in school, and my husband is running a theatre company," she said.
Edith Upton put her mom's acting skills to the test
When it comes to her four children, Cate Blanchett clearly places a great importance on education. So much so, that when virtual school became the norm during the pandemic, she did whatever it took to keep Edith Upton's interest.
"My older kids were fine, they would sort of self-direct," Blanchett said of her children's remote learning experience on an episode of "The Project." "I realized that I couldn't even teach [Edith's] grade 1 math and she sniffed that out after 14 days." So, Blanchett did what she does just about better than anyone else: She got into character. "I had to dress up as her teacher, I had to put on her teacher's voice, and she wouldn't start the classes until we had a full array of stuffed animals — all of which had the names of the people in her class," she said. In a separate chat with the BBC, Blanchett said all of this was per Edith's request.
Like many other parents who put on their teacher hat during the pandemic, Blanchett has nothing but respect for professional educators. "That is an inherently dramatic situation where you have to stand up in front of a class of 30 often disinterested pupils and try and get them engaged in medieval history," she told the BBC. Needless to say, it's not quite like teaching a room full of stuffed animals.