Sam Waterston and James Waterston. ; Sam Waterston and Katherine Waterston attend Oceana’s 2015 New York City benefit on April 1, 2015.Photo:WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy ; Craig Barritt/Getty
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy ; Craig Barritt/Getty
Sam Waterston’s four children — James, Elisabeth, Katherine and Graham — have all followed in his footsteps.
TheLaw & Orderstar wed Barbara Rutledge Johns in 1964, perThe New York Times.Though the couple ultimately split, they welcomed one child together, son James, during their marriage. The actor remarried and wed model Lynn Louisa Woodruff in 1976. The pair celebrated the arrival of three kids: daughters Elisabeth and Katherine and son Graham.
Sam Waterston and Elisabeth Waterston at the premiere of “Beyond Borders”.Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/Getty
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/Getty
Sam paved the way for his children in Hollywood, with all of them pursuing creative careers both in front of and behind the camera. TheGrace and Frankiestar toldThe New York Timesin July 2004 that he didn’t specifically set out to have his children become actors, but was happy with the outcome nonetheless, describing his parenting style as ‘‘oversight without imposition.’’
Here’s everything to know about Sam Waterston’s children: James, Elisabeth, Katherine and Graham.
James Waterston
James Waterston attends the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” 25th Anniversary Celebration on January 16, 2024 in New York City.Arturo Holmes/WireImage
Arturo Holmes/WireImage
Sam and Johns welcomed their first and only child together, son James, a handful of years after they married. The actor spoke toThe New York Timesin 1972 about the birth of his eldest child. “We went through the whole thing, natural childbirth, all the training. I was in the hospital, the delivery room," he said. “It was fantastic.”
Much like his father, who graduated from Yale University in 1962, James studied at the prestigious university where he received a degree in English with a minor in theater, according to theLos Angeles Times.
As an actor, he initially made his film debut in 1989’sDead Poets Societyas Gerard Pitts. James has several other acting credits across movies, stage and television productions, includingChristy: Return to Cutter Gap, Red Oaksand several episodes across theLaw & Ordertelevision franchise.
When it came to pursuing a career as an actor, James told theLos Angeles Timesthat his father was “very unopinionated” about the decision. He recalled Sam telling him, “‘If you’re interested in this, here’s some books you should read. But there are a lot of other things to do in the world.’ "
James decided on his career in time, citing the moments he spent on set and backstage as a child as partial inspiration. It wasn’t until he was an adult, however, that he realized acting was his true passion. “I didn’t really find out how exciting it was to act until I did a production ofLong Day’s Journey Into Nightwhen I was 26. And from there I thought, ‘This is what I want to do,’ ” he told the newspaper.
After appearing in a Pittsburgh production of the play,Playbillreported that James starred alongside his father in a 2000 stage production ofLong Day’s Journey Into Nightin Syracuse, New York.
James has been married to Line Lillevik since 2000.
Elisabeth Waterston
Elisabeth Waterston attends “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” premiere on April 24, 2014 in New York City.Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
Sam and Lynn welcomed their first child together, daughter Elisabeth, about a year after they wed.
Their elder daughter pursued a similar educational path as her father in addition to his career. Elisabeth graduated from Groton School in Massachusetts before attending Yale as a theater major.
In a July 2004 interview withThe New York Times,Sam said their real-life dynamic added to their delivery. “The fact that we are father and daughter in real life gives the performance an extra bit of muscle,” he explained.
Sam Waterston as D.A. Jack McCoy and Elisabeth Waterston as Rebecca McCoy in ‘Law & Order’.Peter Kramer/NBC/Getty
Peter Kramer/NBC/Getty
Elisabeth married her husband, actor Louis Cancelmi, in 2006. While they remain private about their personal lives, Cancelmi revealed on theFilmwax Radiopodcast in February 2020 that the couple live outside of N.Y.C. with their two children.
Katherine Waterston
Katherine Waterston attends The 26th British Independent Film Awards on December 3, 2023 in London, England.Mike Marsland/WireImage
Mike Marsland/WireImage
Sam and Lynn celebrated the arrival of their second child, daughter Katherine, a few years later.
Katherine attended The Loomis Chaffee School, where she graduated in 1998. Her father even served as the commencement speaker that year, according to theHartford Courant.Afterward, she attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts to study acting.
Speaking toTown & Countryin October 2015, Katherine said she didn’t initially aspire to be a professional actress. “I was so naive about the business,” she explained. “Maybe I just perceived it as a grown-up world because it was what my father was doing.”
While she referred to her father as “such a brilliant actor” in her discussion withTown & Country, she said that being his daughter didn’t necessarily help her book roles in the industry.
After noting that he was better at comforting her than giving advice, the actress said, “People think the advantage of a parent in the business is that they’ll open doors for you. But the true advantage for me is having someone who knows exactly what you’re going through. The business is mysterious and hard to navigate, and he really feels that way too.”
Sam Waterston and Katherine Waterston arrive at the Annual SeaChange Summer Party To Benefit Oceana on September 10, 2010 in Laguna Beach, California.Valerie Macon/Getty
Valerie Macon/Getty
Katherine reflected on having a famous father again during a March 2021 interview withCollider, including opening up about some of her earliest memories of her dad.
“It’s a strange thingwhen you’re the child of a successful actor, because you don’t see all the years of training and blood, sweat and tears and humiliating auditions. You just see them in their element,” she explained, noting that it “gives a child a very false sense of how the business works.”
Katherine was previously in a relationship with playwright Adam Rapp for six years before the pair split, according toThe Standard. In 2018, Katherine revealed she was expecting her first child but hasn’t shared further details since.
“Before I had a kid it never occurred to me when I was cast as someone who had children that I needed to do research,” she said. “I thought: ‘Well, my siblings have children, I’ve been around a lot of kids, I was a kid once, I know what this is … massive mistake. I regret every performance I did before I had kids where I played a mother because I didn’t know.”
Graham Waterston
Sam Waterston, Lynn Louisa Woodruff and Graham Waterston at the Opening Night of The Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park production of “The Tempest” on June 16, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
Sam and Lynn completed their family with their third child, son Graham.
Like his older sister, Katherine, Graham attended college at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study film, according tohis biofor the Brooklyn Film Festival. After graduation, he began his career in film production before moving into production design.
He has created video installations for Fendi as a video designer, as well as forRentstar Anthony Rapp and Design Miami.
Graham directed his first short film,And It Was Good,in 2015, which starred his brother, James, dad, Sam, and brother-in-law, Cancelmi. The project even won the Spirit Award at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
source: people.com
