“He listens to every word, to every comma after every word, that you are saying," sister Kim Reeves once said.
Keanu Reeves is not just one of the nicest men in Hollywood but he's also adored by his siblings. The John Wick actor was born in 1964 in Beirut to Samuel Nowlin Reeves, who is half-Chinese and half-Hawaiian, and the English-born costume designer Patricia Taylor. When he and his sister Kim were toddlers their parents split up. But the two remained close as ever and shared a special bond through the years. In an interview with PEOPLE in 1995, Kim confessed, “My brother is my prince. He listens to every word, to every comma after every word, that you are saying.”
Kim admitted that their childhood was far from easy. “How we lived our lives depended on the man of the moment,” she told the outlet. “We never had anyone to play with us, to watch me riding horses or Keanu playing hockey… You can’t miss what you never had.” Despite the difficulties, she found solace in her brother and described his spirit as “content.”
Keanu Reeves with his sisters Kim and Karina during the premiere of Matrix 📸 pic.twitter.com/C0kJ5Z4fis
— 𝑰𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒔 (@IconicsPics) October 16, 2020
Reeves has been through many heartbreaks including the death of his close friend River Phoenix, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose. “I think of it as an accident,” Reeves said at the time. “I can’t make sense of it.” His manager said the actor's death shook Reeves to his core. “Like the rest of us, he experimented.” But his friend's death and his passion for his career helped the actor be sober. “He loves acting. And you don’t do the kind of work he has done unless you put the past behind you. The simple story is that Keanu has grown up.”
Reeves goes out of his way to help people in need and his close ones are no exception. Reeves's sister Kim was reportedly diagnosed with leukemia around 1991 and battled the disease for nearly a decade. He was not only there for his sister as her primary caretaker but he also ran a private foundation that works towards helping out children's hospitals and cancer research.
According to the fact-checking website Snopes, the actor made the revelation in a 2009 article published by Ladies Home Journal. "I have a private foundation that’s been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children’s hospitals and cancer research. I don’t like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does," he reportedly said at the time.
The Matrix star even does a lot for his mother who he brought as his Oscars date in 2020. Everyone expected the star to bring his partner, Alexandra Grant, as his date for the Oscars. But he proved why he is everyone's favorite guy when he turned up with his mom. In a moving gesture, the 58-year-old actor even bought his mother a home in Los Angeles before purchasing one for himself and his two sisters. His other sister Karina and him are very close as well and share a special connection too.
References:
https://people.com/archive/cover-story-much-ado-about-keanu-vol-43-no-22/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/keanu-reeves-tragic-story/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Marc Piasecki
