William Shatner Feels Proud of His Daughters and the Way They Have Raised Their Family

All parents sometimes wonder if they are doing a good enough job of parenting. Our favorite celebrities share our anxieties too. Actor William Shatner welcomed three daughters during his thirteen-year marriage to his first wife, Gloria Rand, from 1956 to 1969. The Star Trek actor, who has spent over forty years in Hollywood, used to be away from his daughters while working in the movies for a long time. He only met them around weekends. This made him worry if he did a good enough job at parenting. 

However, his worries were put to rest by his daughters. Shatner told The Guardian, "I must have been a hands-on dad because that's what my children tell me. In my mind, I was gone a lot of the time to make a living, so I am gratified that my kids think that they are who they are today because of my influence on them and my sense of being there for them – although it was only at weekends."

According to Closer Weekly, William’s first child was born on August 31, 1958. Leslie made her acting debut as Miri in Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966. She was also a part of the TV documentary, This Is Your life in 1989, but this was her last appearance as an actor, per IMDb. Later, she welcomed two sons, Grant Walker and Eric Walker, with her husband, Gordon T. Walker. They also gifted Shatner a certificate to go skydiving. According to Hollywood Life, her sisters Lisabeth and Melanie also followed their father and became actors. While Lisabeth married Andy Clement, Melanie married Joel Gretsch in 1999 and gave birth to two girls, Kaya and Willow. 

Shatner added, "They have turned out to be three of the greatest mothers. But I'm always worried about whether I've done a good job as a parent. They have brought their family up in the way I wish I'd brought them up. So something good must have happened!" He recently became a grandfather of 5 children, three girls, and two boys. He added, "Being a grandparent is the greatest joy for me. I have the time now to grab a grandchild and talk, and hug and kiss them and make sure that I'm taking time to be with them and to give them some aspect of the things I've learned."

He also emphasized the importance of family life, "Family life is totally encompassing. I see my daughters every weekend. And we go off on holidays together – everything from skiing to snorkeling. I loved going with my three young grandchildren to Escape From Planet Earth, a wonderful family film."

He also spoke of the problem of giving one's children too much money as it could ruin them. He said, "The person who earns it has to do that with a singularity of vision and drive and ambition and hustle and hard work," per The Guardian. He added, "The problem is if I'm living from hand to mouth, and my children are living hand to mouth, then we're all in the same boat." He further said, "But if I've held on to my money and I am living well and my children are struggling, that's not a good situation for any of us. For me, for the person who has held on to some money, I can't have my child living in poor circumstances. Finding the balance is a continual source of conversation. Not giving too much to rob them of incentive to follow their dreams and their initiative."

 References:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/14/william-shatner-my-family-values

https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/william-shatner-children-4538583/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6361572/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Emma McIntyre / Staff