Patton Oswalt credits his daughter Alice with giving him a purpose in life.
The comedian married true crime writer Michelle McNamara in September 2005, and during their decade-long marriage, they welcomed daughter Alice in April 2009. Seven years later, in April 2016, McNamara died in her sleep at age 46 due to a combination of an undiagnosed heart condition and prescription medications.
After his wife’s unexpected death, Oswalt told PEOPLE in May 2016 that he would work to preserve her memory for their daughter. He opened up about how his late wife had helped shape Alice into who she was, including how she “got very comfortable very quickly with meeting different people” due to her mom’s large family.
“Alice had the benefit of learning from Michelle’s example from the get-go,” he explained. “Now it’s up to me to carry that on. I would be beyond happy if Alice were 80 percent Michelle and maybe 20 percent me. The 20 percent will probably be pop culture knowledge, but I’m doing what I can.”
The following year, Oswalt remarried to fellow actress Meredith Salenger in November 2017. Today, they continue raising Alice together, ensuring that she enjoys her childhood with different hobbies, including skateboarding and voice acting.
Here’s everything to know about Patton Oswalt’s daughter, Alice.
She was born in 2009
Oswalt has cited his daughter as a driving force in his life after the death of McNamara.
After his wife’s sudden death, Oswalt opened up about how he was coping with being a single father. Apart from sharing that Alice gave him a reason to keep going, he explained that she motivated him to continue living purposefully.
“I would have merely existed … [but] having Alice was like: ‘I’ve got to get up, I’ve got to make breakfast, I got to take care of this little life,’ ” he told The Guardian in June 2019.
Oswalt continued, “So, it’s almost like I had freedom from choice because I had our daughter.”
She’s embraced her blended family
Alice is no stranger to the red carpet. Starting from a young age, she’s accompanied her dad to several events, including the 2019 Grammy Awards where she posed with him for a few photo ops before the ceremony began.
Alice also joined her father and stepmother at the June 2018 premiere of Incredibles 2, which ultimately became Alice’s “new favorite flick,” according to the actor.
More recently, Oswalt, Alice and Salenger have attended red carpets for Ted Lasso and Only Murders in the Building. The teenager also walked the picket line with them during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.
She made her voice acting debut in 2019
Oswalt has famously lent his voice to characters in Ratatouille and The Secret Life of Pets, and his daughter is following in his footsteps.
In 2019, Alice made her voice acting debut in an episode of My Little Pony. Oswalt spoke about the opportunity during an April 2019 interview with Conan O’Brien, explaining that she and his wife got the opportunity to voice act for the show after the writers brought a character he previously voiced back.
“The three of us went in and recorded it together,” he said. “Alice had her little headphones on and was doing her character. It was really amazing to see her do these scenes … she got into the whole acting bug thing of like, ‘I can do that better. Let me do this again.’ “
She received skateboarding lessons from Tony Hawk
Alice has a wide range of interests, including skateboarding.
In August 2021, Oswalt shared his daughter’s attempts at a skateboard trick via a video montage cut together of Alice practicing the move. He celebrated her persistence in the caption of the post, writing, “This is the perfect approach and attitude for learning ANYTHING. It actually helped me out writing today so thank you, Alice.”
Alice previously got pointers from a skateboarding legend when she received a private lesson from Tony Hawk in August 2020.
During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Oswalt said that he received a DM from the skateboarding legend praising the show I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, based on McNamara’s final novel, and offered to send Alice skateboard equipment.
In response, Oswalt decided to shoot his shot and asked for a personal lesson instead — and his wish was granted.
He documented the occasion on social media at the time and recalled the lesson during his late-night interview, revealed that Alice learned the basics from Hawk and Andy Macdonald and witnessed their “crazy half-pipes” in person.
Source: People
