Entertainment
7 Celebrity Dads Who Inspire Their Kids (And The World!) By Going Above & Beyond
Anyone can father children, but it takes a real man to step up and commit to being the kind of dad who works hard to make the world a better place for his kids and inspires them by going above and beyond with love, acceptance, and kind words. These seven celebrity dads break the mold because, despite having successful careers before babies, their parenting responsibilities seem to have transformed them into even more complex, interesting people who are taking on bigger and better roles and, in many cases, using their fame to try and change the world for the better.
In honor of Father's Day, here are famous dads who have earned the title the hard way: by sharing parental responsibilities that they acknowledge belong to both moms and dads and serving as inspirational role models for their children.
Ben Affleck
Forget for a minute the totally sad rumors that are currently plaguing Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, because their relationship status doesn’t change the fact that Affleck is a devoted and doting dad to their three children: Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3. On more than one occasion, he has spoken about how he wants his daughters to be raised to believe they are as strong and capable as Garner, and the Gone Girl star is doing his part as a role model, as well — he won the Favorite Humanitarian Award at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards for his work with the Eastern Congo Initiative, which he founded in 2010.
Will Smith
One of the greatest gifts a dad or mom can give to their children is the gift of acceptance — and Will Smith has given it in spades when it comes to the teen offspring he shares with wife Jada Pinkett Smith: Jaden, 16, and Willow, 14 (he also has a 22-year-old son named Trey from a previous marriage). Although the 46-year-old actor is criticized every time Jaden appears in public in a dress, whether or not you may think he’s too lax doesn’t take away from the fact that he once said this, as reported by Huffington Post: “With our kids, Jada and I believe that it’s their lives and we are helping them with their lives. And they’re not our property. They are people that are deservant [sic] of our respect and consideration in the same way that any other human being should be.”
Brad Pitt
Who could have imagined that the guy who made us drool in the ’90s would grow up to father six children with Angelina Jolie, appear in family photos like a calm breeze amidst the chaos, and support his wife 100 percent in her brave choices — whether that means having her ovaries removed to avoid the chances of developing developing ovarian cancer or asking her family to temporarily relocate to Malta so she could the war movie Unbroken . Pitt is so bleeping cool because he is man enough play co-pilot to Jolie, but is also quietly doing amazing humanitarian work of his own — through the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation he is helping to eradicate poverty around the world and has donated millions of dollars to a U.N. refugee agency to help Pakistanis — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Jon Stewart
The world craves more people with common sense — which is the exact reason Jon Stewart has transformed from the funny, goofy host of The Daily Show we once knew to, at times, the nation’s sole voice of reason — seriously, did you catch his speech about the Charleston shooting? He always has the guts to say what others won’t and the 52-year-old will no doubt pass on this important trait to his children, Nathan, 10, and Maggie, 9.
David Beckham
Here’s just one of the many reasons why David Beckham kicks butt. He’s the hottest soccer play to ever grace this planet, but he isn’t out bedding models every night. He has been a committed family man and husband to Victoria Beckham since 1999, and they share four children: Brooklyn, 16, Romeo, 13, Cruz, 10, and Harper, 4. He has spoken about playing chauffeur for his kids and even chaperoning Brooklyn’s dates, but what he said about Harper on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tells you everything you need to know about his values now that he’s a dad: ”My little girl turned ‘round to me the other day, I’d just bathed her and I was in the bath as well, so I got her out and you know, I was toweling her down and she said, ‘Daddy, I love you so much but I don’t like you, you’re so chubby!’ I mean, I didn’t think I was!”
Matthew McConaughey
Besides winning the award for goofiest, quirkiest celeb dad (best award ever), Matthew McConaughey is one of those celebrities you love more the more your learn about him. Since becoming a dad to Levi, 6, Vida. 5, and Livingston, 2, with wife Camila Alves, he has taken on some of his meatiest roles yet, including cowboy Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club, a role that scored him his first Academy Award for Best Actor. What many don’t know about the big-hearted actor is that he and his wife are the founders of Just Keep Living Foundation, which aims to give high school students fitness, nutrition, mental wellness, and service goals to help fulfill their dreams in life.
Chris Martin
It isn’t easy maintaining a marriage for many years — and it must be close to impossible when you’re as famous as Coldplay singer Chris Martin and his former partner Gwyneth Paltrow. But Apple and Moses’ parents are attempting and, so far, succeeding at doing something few married couples can imagine: consciously uncoupling in a way that respects their family, privacy, and the friendship they seem intent on fostering. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Martin is focusing his attention on doing good in the world and recently agreed to curate the Global Citizen festival for the next 15 years of his career, according to The Guardian.
