Lauren Bacall’s Three Kids, Their Lives
Even after eleven years, Lauren Bacall’s memory lives on through her three children: Stephen and Leslie, whom she shared with Humphrey Bogart, and the third child, Sam Robards, from Jason Robards. Bacall and Bogart were married in 1945; they had met while making the movie “To Have and Have Not.” Before the death from esophageal cancer in 1957, they had two children, Stephen and Leslie.
Bacall and Jason Robards, the latter actor whom she married, had a daughter named Barbara and a son named Sam Robards before divorcing in 1969. Iconic actress Betty Joan Perske, born Betty Joan Perske, had passed away at her New York City apartment when she was 89 years old on Aug. 12, 2014.
One year after that death, Stephen was interviewed and spoke about his mother being such a great one and the life she lived so she would be remembered. If you want to know the childhoods, the lives of these famous children of Lauren Bacall—Stephen, Leslie, and Sam—read along.
Stephen Bogart, 77
Lauren Bacall became a parent by giving birth to Stephen Humphrey Bogart in the year 1949 on 6th January, with Humphrey Bogart, who was Lauren Bacall’s husband. Stephen, being the child of two Hollywood superstars, was under the spotlight since he was very young. According to a piece from The New York Times he did in 1995, the issue only really rose to the fore with the father’s death in 1957.
In his words, “What it did to me was mainly the death, not the life. The death of the father brought a whole lot of public attention to our family.” “I really, really hated it,” he said. “I had no desire to have my photo be taken anymore.” Stephen found it really hard to cope in college and had the reputation of being kicked out of schools for bad behavior several times before finally passing the University of Hartford in 1979. He spent several years doing a job in the television industry before deciding to take up writing and has authored a number of books such as his best-known one, Bogart: In Search of My Father, which was printed in 1995.
Stephen, interviewed by NoirCity in 2015, admitted that researching and penning the book had opened his eyes to the humanity of Humphrey Bogart that he never knew about. “I was 8 when he died, and you don’t really get to know your parents that well at that age,” he revealed to the press. Besides, Stephen confessed that he had no recollection of his father’s voice anymore except through the movies.
Stephen Bogart Created a Life Far From Hollywood
In a Stay Thirsty Media interview, Stephen recounted how he was thankful that his mother did not have to suffer and how Lauren Bacall brought him up, guiding him to lead a life of his choice. “She was my mom, and we were raised to be a certain type of people and live a certain life. But she never told me what to do.”
At 20, Stephen tied the knot and became a parent when he was 21; the reason was a very simple one: he wanted to cut off the connection with showbiz and see what kind of a person he could be aside from being Humphrey Bogart’s son.
According to the The Guardian article (as of November 2024), Stephen was living in Florida with his wife, Carla Soviero. He has been married two times before and has three children: Richard and Jamie, two boys, and Brooke, his daughter.
Leslie Bogart, died at age 74
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart gave birth to their second child, Leslie Howard Bogart (daughter), on August 23, 1952. Bacall later thought of those young years with her kids as very happy times. As she once said, whenever “happy” is mentioned, she immediately remembers that time in her life. In fact, she and her children turned out to be the greatest support after the passing of their father, Humphrey, in 1957
“If it were not for those two little children, I just don’t know how I would have survived,” Bacall said. Leslie has not drawn attention like her famous parents, spending most of her time away from the media spotlight. At 30, she worked as a photographer’s assistant before becoming an instructor teaching yoga and working as a nurse also in Boston.
Leslie married Erich Schiffmann, a yoga master, in 1990. At one point, Stephen mentioned to Stay Thirsty Media that he and Leslie, along with their half-brother Sam, have power over the intellectual property of their late mother.
Sam Robards, 64
Lauren Bacall, who is also a mother of two, had her last baby, a son named Sam Robards, by her second spouse, actor Jason Robards. Sam was born on Dec. 16, 1961, in New York City. She named Sam her “tiny mouse” in playful affection and said that actress Katharine Hepburn was his godmother. Mostly, she was raising Sam alone as Jason’s busy acting career took him all over, creating a very close emotional connection between a mother and her son.
“Sam gave me the richness that only a few could; he did it without even trying, because of just being him,” said Bacall to Vanity Fair magazine in 2011. “Wow, that’s how good you felt if you received such a great gift.” Sam, on his part, took his parents’ professions and followed a path as an actor as well. He told PEOPLE Magazine in 1982 that his passion for performing first started when his mother staged him on stage when he was 8 years old, following her Broadway play Applause.
Sam Robards Built His Own Acting Career
Sam Robards’ interest in acting began after watching his mother, Lauren Bacall, perform on Broadway. He recalled seeing the theater after a performance and realizing that just hours earlier, the empty seats had been filled with an audience witnessing something extraordinary.“That sparked my interest,” he said. “From there, it grew.”
Robards eventually was able to establish a diverse career in the theater, cinema, and television. Among his notable filmography, Casualties of War, American Beauty, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Awake are the ones he distinguished himself in. Meanwhile, he also received a Tony Award nod in 2002 for the Broadway revival of The Man Who Had All the Luck.
On the TV side of things, one of his most popular roles was that of Howard Archibald in Gossip Girl.
Even though he is the son of two Hollywood legends, Robards revealed that he was fine with creating a persona for himself in the end. “My first time doing acting it was sort of two identity crisis,” he said. “People kept calling me ‘Robards’ kid’ or ‘Bacall’s kid.’”
He later realized that while his family name could help open a door, his own abilities had to keep him there. Robards was previously married to actress Suzy Amis Cameron from 1986 to 1994, and they welcomed a son, Jasper. He later married Sidsel Jensen, with whom he has two more children.
