Success in Hollywood came at a price for Patrick Stewart, who said his biggest regret had nothing to do with his career.
The 86-year-old Hollywood star lost his life following a “brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, according to a statement that went up on his Instagram page.
The late actor once made a heartbreaking confession about his estranged children, Daniel Stewart and Sophie Alexandra Stewart, before his passing.
Highlights
- Patrick Stewart admitted his “practically non-existent” relationship with his children caused him “significant grief.”
- The ‘X-Men’ star confessed he always put his acting career before his family.
- “I could’ve done better as a parent,” he said.
- His son, Daniel, once spoke about how his “upbringing” was not normal.
Patrick Stewart made a heartbreaking confession about his kids, Daniel Stewart and Sophie Alexandra Stewart
His dedication to acting, however, came at the expense of his family life, he admitted.
He shared son Daniel and daughter Sophie with his first wife, Sheila Falconer, whom he married in 1966 and divorced in 1990.
Daniel and Sophie were born to the couple in 1967 and 1972, respectively.
The Star Trek actor admitted his “practically non-existent” relationship with his children caused him “significant grief.”
“There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not pained by the memory of my children, who they were and by a sense of responsibility that they became who they are in part because of me and my influence or lack of influence on them,” he said during a 2023 interview with the Irish Independent.
“I always put my acting work first, before my family,” he added.
During the chat, the actor was asked about his role of the wise and discerning commander Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
He was asked whether his portrayal of the character was a reflection of the kind of father he wished he had growing up. But Stewart said it was the opposite.
The late actor was “pained” by the memory of his children, and their relationship was “practically non-existent
“I think it might have been more the one I wished I was,” he shared, admitting it was difficult for him to be the “kind of father he wanted to be.”
“Given that I’m separated from my children now, we don’t have relationships; they have become very important,” he said.
“I never thought that this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s, they’re not children anymore, they’re adults. And my relationship with them is practically non-existent.”
Stewart’s daughter Sophie has largely remained out of the limelight in her adult years.
“I loved Daniel when he was little, and when he was a baby, I loved holding him. It was fantastic,” Stewart previously told People.
The Star Trek actor’s son followed in his footsteps, but Stewart initially had qualms about it
Daniel is based in London and has title credits in a number of American and British projects, including 1993’s Detonator, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Silent Witness.
When Daniel first told his famous dad he wanted to be an actor, the late star was “horrified” because of his own guilt over his relationship with his kids.
“I could’ve done better as a parent when my kids were little. I was just obsessed with my work and everything else took second place,” he told Independent in 2009.
“I was just obsessed with my work, and everything else took second place,” he continued.
At the time, the actor said he had been trying to “correct that” with his grandchildren, and his own children “seem to have forgiven [him].”
Daniel has shared the screen thrice with his father. They did a 1992 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 1993 action movie Death Train, and the 2015 Starz sitcom Blunt Talk together.
Stewart was able to look positively at having his son in the same profession as him during a 2015 interview with USA Today.
“It has so brought so much into both our lives that we can share and enjoy talking about. It’s terrific,” he said during the joint interview with his son.
In an interview with his father, Daniel once admitted his upbringing “wasn’t a typical one”
Daniel also spoke about being in the same industry as his dad.
“This industry and the fact that we’re both in it brings up all kinds of bizarre circumstances,” he told the outlet.
“The lives we lead can be sort of ridiculous. My upbringing wasn’t a typical one in that my mum and dad came home at 5 and dinner was on the table at 6.”
While talking about his relationship with his daughter, Stewart said Sophie was born at the time when his “work was slowing down.”
“The first two years of her life I was very much a caretaker because her mother was a wonderful dancer and appeared in musicals,” he once told People. “I took over the job of being mom and dad, and I loved it. It was marvelous.”
Following his divorce from Falconer, Stewart was married to his second wife, Wendy Neuss, from 2000 to 2003.
He married Sunny Ozell in 2013 and was with her till his passing this week.
In the announcement about his passing, the statement said Stewart was “in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny” when he took his last breath at home in LA.
“I didn’t even know he had kids,” one commented online
