Cate Blanchett may be most well-known for her iconic acting roles and impeccable red carpet style, but behind the scenes the 55-year-old is a mother of four.
We don’t often see photos of the Aussie actress’ kids, but she’s a proud mum who often gushes over them in interviews.
Cate Blanchett has been with her husband, Australian playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, since 1997 and they couple have gone on to welcome four children together: three sons and one daughter.
The Academy Award winner has famously kept her children largely out of the public eye, and she has previously said her children are blissfully unaware of her fame.
When she was honoured with the Chaplin Award in 2022, she told Page Six that her children had “no idea” why she was receiving the award and that they are largely “disinterested” in her career, but in the “best possible, healthiest way”.
She said, “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.’”
Below, we detail everything to know about Cate Blanchett’s four children: Dashiell, Roman, Ignatius and Edith.
Born on 3 December 2001, Cate and Andrew’s eldest child Dashiell John Upton seems to be following in the footsteps of his parents.
Cate previously told W Magazine that she didn’t want the entertainment industry to “feel like a family business” to Dashiell and the rest of her children, but that hasn’t stopped her eldest son from showing an interest in the field.
In 2009, the Carol actress revealed to PEOPLE that despite being just 8 years old, her “oldest already performs his own version [of] Hamlet.”
Dashiell graduated from film school in 2022, and he has already started working in production.
Most recently, the now-22-year-old worked on The Fall Guy which was filmed right here in Australia, and the movie has seen great success at the box office.
Yahoo Lifestyle reported that he assisted in the cinematography department for the duration of the five-month shoot, and a friend of the family told the publication that “Dash never really told anybody who his mother was, as far as everyone else on set knew he was just a recent graduate that was lucky to land themselves on a [Ryan] Gosling shoot. He didn’t want people to think he was there just because of who his mum is.”
Cate and Andrew’s second eldest child, Roman Robert Upton, was born on 23 April 2004.
Roman has joined his mother on the red carpet only a handful of times, and he is one of Cate’s most private children. But that hasn’t stopped the actress from speaking about and gushing over him.
In a 2015 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 55-year-old revealed the meaning behind Roman’s name.
“Roman … Polanski, but it’s also the French word for book,” she explained.
There is little else known about the now-20-year old.
Ignatius Martin Upton, Cate and Andrew’s third son, arrived on 1 January 2008, and he seems to be the child who has spent the most amount of time in the public eye.
The 16-year-old has been seen out and about with his mother at countless events, red carpets, and even backstage or on set.
“[Ignatius] actually watched the show backstage, which is a really interesting and exciting place with people putting on makeup and costumes and so [the kids] love it,” Cate shared about her stint in A Streetcar Named Desire in 2009.
Having a house full of three boys is a joy for Cate who said, “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.”
It seems Cate and Andrew’s family didn’t quite feel complete, as the pair went on to adopt their daughter Edith Vivian Patricia Upton on 6 March 2015.
Shortly after they welcomed Edith into the family, the Aussie icon opened up to Sky News about the joy her adoption brought them.
“It’s wonderful to welcome a little girl into our fold. We’re besotted… Fourth time around, it’s extraordinary.”
The 9-year-old was the perfect addition to the family, and the Blue Jasmine actress has spoken about her sons’ tight bond with their younger sister.
“I find it extraordinary, glimpsing them becoming a unit. And a very welcoming unit,” the star told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2015. “I’m very proud of them.”
Cate spoke with the hosts of The Project in 2022 about her experience with home-schooling her children during the pandemic in 2020, admitting it was particularly difficult to get her young daughter to do her work.
“She wouldn’t start the classes until we had a full array of stuffed animals, all of which had the names of all the people in her class.
“It felt like some weird kind of cross between The Muppets and MasterClass. It was quite traumatic actually,” she joked.
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