Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood, thanks to his legendary acting career that has spanned five decades, but the Oscar winner is also a father of four.
Freeman first became a dad in the early 1960s, welcoming his sons, Alfonso and Saifoulaye, with two different women. Over the years, Freeman has been candid about dedicating his early life to acting.
“I’m not sure fatherhood changed me,” Freeman admitted to The Telegraph in 2014. “It took a while for me to become a father. I was busy trying to be an actor, and the two didn’t really go together in my youth.”
Freeman’s first marriage to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw in 1967 resulted in two more children: He adopted Bradshaw’s daughter from a previous relationship, Deena, and the couple had another daughter together named Morgana. He also helped raise Deena’s daughter, E’dena Hines, with his second wife, Myrna Colley-Lee.
The acclaimed actor revealed to The Telegraph that he was more “hands-on” with his daughters. However, it was becoming a grandfather where Freeman felt he really shined. “Now I am in my dotage, I am a great grandfather. I have 14 grandchildren,” he said.
One of Freeman’s grandchildren, Morgana’s daughter Alexis Freeman, shared a similar sentiment about her grandfather when she accompanied him to the 2016 Chaplin Awards in New York City.
“He makes you a really humble person,” she told PEOPLE. “He makes you realize that you have to work for what you want. I really work hard for everything I do.”
Here’s everything to know about Morgan Freeman’s children and grandchildren.
Alfonso Freeman, 65
Freeman’s first child, a son named Alfonso, was born in 1959, and he was raised by his mother, Loletha Adkins. Freeman was not present during Alfonso’s childhood; the actor left Adkins once he discovered she was pregnant, as Freeman told Esquire in 2012.
During his childhood, he didn’t know his connection to Freeman. “I grew up watching The Electric Company and Easy Reader,” Alfonso told USA Today in 2007, referencing one of the actor’s early roles. “I had no idea that was my dad.”
The father and son began corresponding when Alfonso was 19; they met two years later when Freeman surprised his eldest child by knocking on his door.
“I opened it, and there’s Morgan Freeman,” he told the outlet about their initial meeting. “At first, you get all those emotions. The anger, the wondering why he wasn’t there. But then all you can do is hug. I mean, he’s my dad.”
Alfonso eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued an acting career. He had several minor roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including appearances in films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Se7en — both of which Freeman had starring roles in — and on television shows like West Wing, ER and Southland.
Alfonso’s most famous role came when he appeared opposite his father in 2007’s The Bucket List as Roger, Freeman’s on-screen son. According to director Rob Reiner, Freeman believed Alfonso “should audition like everyone else and not be given special treatment.”
Alfonso has been married twice: He and his first wife, Cynthia Gafford, were together from 1982 to 1989 and share three sons (Alfonso II, Joshua and Donovan). He married his second wife, Larcenia Letice, in 1994.
Saifoulaye Freeman, 63
Few details have been revealed about Freeman’s second child, son Saifoulaye, who was born in 1960 and whose mother’s identity isn’t known.
He was the only one of Freeman’s four children who was absent at the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the actor brought his family to witness his Lifetime Achievement Award.
Deena Adair, 60
Freeman and Bradshaw welcomed a daughter, Morgana, in 1971, and it was an emotional experience for the actor.
“When I had daughters, I changed their [diapers],” he told The Telegraph in 2014. “Being hands-on makes a difference in your child’s life.”
Morgana, Freeman’s namesake, has made several red carpet appearances with her famous father.
She attended the 1990 Academy Awards with Freeman, where he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Driving Miss Daisy, and the 2010 Academy Awards, where Freeman was also up for the Best Actor award, this time for Invictus. She’s been by his side at the premieres of Batman Begins and Oblivion and was also present when Freeman received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 SAG Awards.
Morgana attended Spelman College in Atlanta, where she majored in economics, according to her LinkedIn. She also studied cosmetology and went on to own two salons in Georgia. Morgana currently serves as the executive director of her father’s nonprofit, the Tallahatchie River Foundation, which focuses on improving early childhood education in Freeman’s native Mississippi.
“My father Morgan Freeman, who grew up in Mississippi and became a very successful actor, felt that it was his responsibility when he returned back to give back,” she said in a video about the foundation. “He knew education was the way; it’s the core of everything that needs to happen in Mississippi.”
E’dena Hines
When Freeman married his second wife Colley-Lee in 1984, she was excited about raising children, and they took in Freeman’s granddaughter, E’dena Hines.
“His daughter Deena was having a hard time, so I asked for E’Dena to live with us,” Colley-Lee told PEOPLE in 1988. “Morgan functions more like a grandfather, but he’s happy I got this chance at parenting.”
Freeman and Colley-Lee raised Hines, who was born on March 4, 1982. After studying acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts from 2008 to 2011, she embarked on a career as an actress, with minor roles in the television series A Minority Report and the short film Cohab. Hines eventually landed her biggest role in the movie Landing Up, however, tragedy stuck before it was released.
On Aug. 16, 2015, Hines was brutally stabbed to death more than a dozen times by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Lamar Davenport. He was charged with her murder and was convicted of manslaughter charges in May 2018. Davenport was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing of the 33 year old.
“The world will never know her artistry and talent, and how much she had to offer,” Freeman said in a statement to PEOPLE about his granddaughter. “Her friends and family were fortunate enough to have known what she meant as a person. Her star will continue to shine bright in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. May she rest in peace.”
Source: People
