Donald Sutherland spent nearly 60 years in the acting business, passing his passion down to his kids and granddaughter. Sutherland died on Thursday, June 20 at 88, leaving behind five adult children who have all spent their careers in show business or media, either in front of the camera or behind it. He named each of his four sons after directors he worked with.
Sutherland’s first acting credits came in 1962, with single-episode roles on anthology series Studio 4 and crime drama Man of the World. He became internationally known for his roles in M*A*S*H and Animal House, then later in the Hunger Games franchise, as multiple generations of audiences got to know him on the screen.
Keep scrolling to meet those who knew him in private, his wives, kids and granddaughter.
Francine Racette
Donald met Racette on the set of the drama Alien Thunder, which Donald starred in as Sgt. Dan Candy. The two had three sons, Rossif, Angus and Roeg, and remained married from 1972 until his death.
Donald looked back on his career in a 2005 interview and reflected on how the decisions he made ultimately led him to finding his wife.
“Everything was my fault. I was so dumb,” he told the Guardian. “But if I hadn’t made the mistakes I made, I wouldn’t have met the wonderful woman I’ve been married to for over 30 years, so I guess that makes the mistakes OK.”
Shirley Douglas
Donald and Douglas were married for four years and had twins Kiefer and Rachel in 1966 before their split in 1970. Douglas was a Canadian actress and daughter of Canadian politician Tommy Douglas. She was an activist for most of her life, protesting the Vietnam war in the 1960s and campaigning for political candidates into the 2000s.
Though her marriage to Donald did not last long, she remained close to Kiefer and Rachel. When she died from pneumonia in 2020, Kiefer called her “an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life.”
Kiefer
The most famous of Donald’s children, Kiefer, and his twin sister, Rachel, were born in London in 1966. He is best known for portraying Jack Bauer on the hit Fox series 24, as well as for his roles in The Lost Boys, Phonebooth and Designated Survivor. Though Kiefer and Donald were not close during Kiefer’s childhood, they developed a close bond as Kiefer’s acting career gained steam.
Kiefer told People in 2016 that working with his father in the 2015 western Forsaken was “something I have wanted to do for 30 years.”
The actor released a statement after Donald’s death, calling him “one of the most important actors in the history of film.”
He added, “Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
Rachel
Rachel does her work behind the camera as a producer. She’s currently working on Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, which aired its first season this year. The series has been renewed for two more.
Rachel and Kiefer remain “incredibly close,” Kiefer told The Guardian in 2018.
”When I was having my first child I said to my mother, ‘My gosh you had two at the same time.’ She said, ‘Oh, sweetheart, it was fine. By the time you were 2 you were looking after each other,’” Kiefer said. “She made it sound like she’d got a deal, which always made me laugh.”
Roeg
Roeg was born in Los Angeles in 1974 and is the oldest of Donald and Francine’s kids.
Though he isn’t directly involved in film or television, Roeg works for the talent and sports agency, CAA. He works in the media finance department, which “handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Films like The Lighthouse, Pavarotti and Knives Out have all been packaged or sold by CAA Media Finance.
Rossif
Born in 1978 in Vancouver, Rossif did not originally plan to go into acting. Then, he filled in for another student in a film made at Princeton. When his father saw Rossif’s work, his plans changed.
“There were tears in his eyes, and he said, ‘Kid, that’s what you’re supposed to do,'” he recalled to People.
Rossif’s acting credits include Orphan: First Kill, Three Pines and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Angus
As the youngest of Donald’s children, Angus has spent time as both an actor and producer. His middle name, Redford, is a nod to actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, whom Donald worked with on Ordinary People.
“I wanted to name another son after Robert Redford,” Donald told Variety in 2019. “But when the child was born [a woman in the maternity ward] said ‘no you can’t do that, you can’t name a child ‘Redford.’ So we named him Angus — Angus Redford.”
Sarah
Sarah is the daughter of Kiefer and ex-wife Camelia Kath. Born in Los Angeles in 1988, Sarah is best known for her first TV role, playing Catherine Meyer on the HBO comedy Veep.
Wanting to blaze her own trail, Sarah first turned down roles offered to her by her father, according to W Magazine.
“The truth is she’s worked so hard to do this on her own,” Kiefer told Kelly Ripa in 2016. “I couldn’t even tell you her agent’s name. I would have no idea.”
