Jack Nicholson's 6 Children: All About His Sons and Daughters

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty

Jack Nicholsonmight be one of the most famous actors on the planet, but he’s also a father to six children.

He shares his daughter Lorraine and son Ray with actressRebecca Broussard. In 1994, he welcomed his youngest daughter, Tessa Gourin, with Jennine Gourin. However, Jack and Tessa have been estranged for most of her life.

In a 2010 interview withAARPMagazine, Jack spoke about his relationship with Lorraine and Ray, saying, “We’ve always gotten along. I want to be inspirational, or some kind of good influence on them without overburdening them. It’s their time of life to find out who they are.”

He added, “I always read to them, from childhood on; I think that’s a father’s responsibility. I took them to things I knew they might not love — opera, ballet. They like going to the ball games with me. And they are very comfortable around show business; they are good set rats.”

Here’s everything to know about Jack Nicholson’s six children.

Jennifer Nicholson, 61

Jack Nicholson with his daughter Jennifer Nicholson.Chris Weeks/WireImage

Nicholson met his first and only wife, actress Sandra Knight, while filmingThe Terror. The two got married in 1962 and were together until 1968. Their daughterJennifer was born in 1963.

Jennifer spent most of her childhood with her mother in Hawaii, according to theLos Angeles Times. “I like being Jack Nicholson’s daughter and I’m proud of him, but people don’t understand the pressures that come along with that,” she told the outlet in 2003.

Jennifer has two children of her own, sons Duke and Sean Norfleet, whom she shares with her ex-husband Mark Norfleet. Duke haspursued acting like his grandfatherand had a role in 2018’sUs.

Caleb Goddard, 54

Nicholson starred opposite Susan Anspach in 1970’sFive Easy Pieces. The pair were close, and Anspach became pregnant with a child that she said was Nicholson’s while they were filming the movie.

Susan Anspach and Jack Nicholson in ‘Five Easy Pieces.'.Bettmann

The actress went on to marry Mark Goddard while she was pregnant, and Goddard adopted the son that Anspach conceived with Nicholson, Caleb Goddard.

Twenty-five years later, Nicholson publicly denied paternity, although Caleb told PEOPLE that the actor recognized him as his son in private.

Honey Hollman, 43

Jack Nicholson and Winnie Hollman in 1976 in Paris, France.Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty

Like her father, she took up acting for a short time and starredin the 2010 Danish filmEmpire North.

Lorraine Nicholson, 34

Noel Vasquez/Getty

Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard welcomed their first child together, daughter Lorraine Nicholson, on April 16, 1990.

Nicholson and Lorraine appeared close while she was growing up, and were oftenspotted having dinner togetherand attending Lakers games.The Departedactortook Lorraine to the Golden Globesin 2007.

Jack Nicholson and daughter Lorraine Nicholson.LORRAINE NICHOLSON/Instagram

LORRAINE NICHOLSON/Instagram

Most recently, on Jan. 2, Lorraine shared holiday photos onInstagramthat included a picture of her and her dad in an embrace. Her brother Ray can also be spotted in the photos, along with her nephew Duke, who is her sister Jennifer’s son.

“The giving season🎁,” she captioned the post.

Ray Nicholson, 33

Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Nicholson’s youngest son, Ray Nicholson, was born on Feb. 20, 1992.

The two seem to share one major interest: the Los Angeles Lakers. Nicholson and Ray have beenphotographed courtsidenumerous times over the years.

Of all Nicholson’s children, Ray has most seriously pursued a career in acting. He wascast in the season finale ofMayan M.C. in 2018, and returned to the screen inOut of the BluealongsideDiane Krugerin 2022.

Jack Nicholson and his son Ray Nicholson attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks on January 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.Allen Berezovsky/Getty

Ray spoke positively of the experiencein an interview with ScreenRant. He explained, “It was a really wonderful thing to know that I didn’t have to give anything more than I was capable of giving, and I know that I poured everything that I had at the time into it. I hope that it showed up.”

He also starred in the 2022 holiday filmSomething From Tiffany’salongsideZoey Deutch.

In his latest project,Smile 2, Ray drew comparisons to his famous dad and his iconic grin fromThe Shining.Though their memorably creepy expressions do look similar, Ray toldDeadlinethat he and Nicholson are “very different people.”

“I love him. He’s my inspiration. I ate dinner with him every night. I studied it, that’s how I learned to be a human being,” he said. “So of course we’re gonna be kind of similar.”

Tessa Gourin, 30

Tessa Gourin.Tessa Gourin Instagram

Nicholson’s youngest child, Tessa, was born on Aug. 15, 1994. However, the actor has never publicly claimed Tessa, whom he shares with Jennine Gourin, as his daughter.

In February 2023, Tessapenned a piece forNewsweek, detailing her life as Nicholson’s “illegitimate” daughter.

“The truth is, in all of my 28 years of life, we have never had a relationship,” she wrote. “Although I flew from New York City to Los Angeles to meet on the odd occasion as a young girl (at the behest of my mother), it was always clear that he wanted no part in my life. Have you ever been on a date and sensed that the other person just wasn’t feeling it? That’s pretty much how every interaction I have ever had with Jack Nicholson has gone.”

Tessa continued, “I don’t hide the fact that Jack Nicholson is my biological father. Why should I? However, it is also not something I’ve ever led with in a conversation. So many people have been forced to live with the pain of a parent’s absence, famous or not. But it makes it that much harder when that absent parent is actively in the lives of their other children, which is the case for me.”

Shortly after the article was published, the actress spoke with The Daily Beast and shared thatshe hasn’t talked to Nicholson in years.

“From a very young age, my mother told me not to tell anyone that I have this famous dad,” Tessa said. “I knew he was powerful and Daddy Warbucks-level rich, so I kind of equated my life to being like Orphan Annie’s.”

source: people.com