Tony Goldwyn hails from a Hollywood dynasty. The son of film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and his actress wife, Jennifer Howard, the Scandal alum was born and raised in Brentwood, California, but given a "sheltered" upbringing away from the spotlight.
"My parents really went out of their way to keep me out of that sort of thing, and I'm really grateful for that," he shared in 2014. Echoing this sentiment in an interview with Los Angeles magazine, the 64-year-old noted his parents' fears that he and his siblings would become "Hollywood brats".
© Getty"I had almost no direct exposure to the entertainment industry as a kid," Tony recalled. "There were never any movie stars around, and I didn't go to Hollywood parties."
Tony's father was a top producer who worked on Mystic Pizza (1988), The Preacher's Wife (1996) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), but to the fledgling star, "he might as well have been a lawyer or a businessman". Meanwhile, Jennifer – Tony's mother – made her mark in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958) and The Twilight Zone (1960).
© GettyAn impressive pair, Tony is often asked about his parents – both of whom have since passed – but as it turns out, his Hollywood heritage dates back to his legendary grandparents. Perhaps his most famous relative of all, Tony's paternal grandfather was Samuel Goldwyn, who produced Hollywood's first major motion picture.
A founding father of cinema, Samuel was one of Hollywood's most prestigious and successful producers for over 35 years and helped to create Paramount Pictures and Goldwyn Pictures during his lifetime. He was also married to actress Frances Howard, who starred in four films from 1925 to 1935. Samuel eventually passed away at age 91 in 1974, and Frances followed two years later, aged 73.
© GettyDespite his reputation as a pioneering filmmaker, Tony has always remembered Samuel as "a nice grandpa," musing that "he was a powerful figure, but in no way intimidating."
Equally impressive, Tony's maternal grandparents were Hollywood heavyweights too. His grandfather, Sidney Howard is internationally recognised for writing the Oscar-winning screenplay for Gone with the Wind. He died in August 1939 aged 48 and was honoured with a posthumous Academy Award in 1940.
© GettyAs for Tony's maternal grandmother, Clare Eames was a Broadway star who appeared in a handful of silent pictures. She was married to Sidney for eight years, before their divorce in 1930. Eight months later, Clare died in surgery at the age of 36.
With all four of his grandparents and both of his parents impacting Hollywood, Tony has always been well aware of his family tree but maintains that it hasn't put him at a major advantage. "It just doesn't work that way. You have to find your own way," he told Next Avenue.
© NBC"The biggest advantage to me was that I had a sense of what the industry was, and I had mentors. I could talk to my dad about a script or my brother [John] who's a producer [on projects such as 'Dopesick' and 'Dexter']. That sort of built-in knowledge, that was very helpful."
