Robert Downey Jr.'s Family: All About His Wife, Kids, and Parents
Much like Iron Man, he married a co-worker.
Oppenheimer star and bedrock of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Robert Downey, Jr. is known for his on-screen charisma and ability to juggle comedy and drama. Off-screen, though, he's got more of a cool dad vibe, enjoying life with his wife and kids and staying young at heart. Check out this montage of his 57th year he posted to Instagram for a fun peek at his numerous and diverse projects:
And below, read on for more information about RDJ's family:
Robert Downey, Jr.'s dad, Robert Downey, Sr., was a filmmaker
Known simply as Robert Downey for most of his career, the writer-director made low-budget counter-culture satirical films in the 1960s and '70s. Small parts in his father's films gave Robert Downey, Jr. his first taste of life on a movie set. Downey, Sr. passed away in 2021 at the age of 85, shortly after filming a documentary with his son titled Sr., which is streaming on Netflix.
The actor's mother, Elsie Ford, also appeared in some of Downey, Sr.'s projects.
His wife, Susan, is a producer
Yep, it's one big happy entertainment industry family! Robert Downey, Jr. met Susan Levin, now Susan Downey, while working on the 2003 horror film Gothika; he was a star, she was co-president of Dark Castle Entertainment. According to Entertainment Tonight, they announced their engagement just two months later, and tied the knot in a Jewish ceremony in 2005.
“We were up in Montreal prepping for Gothika, and we had lunch with the director and Halle Berry,” Susan told The Hollywood Reporter of her first impression of the man who would become her husband. “Everybody else ordered Japanese, but Robert told us how oatmeal was the ‘superfood.’ He brought his own packets of oatmeal to have at lunch. And he had this box of various herbs and stuff. And then he started doing these yoga moves. I mean, he was interesting but weird.”
In the same piece, Downey Jr. credits Susan with helping him achieve longterm sobriety after a struggle with substance abuse, as well as his big career comeback. “She is the font of all good things,” he said.
The Ally McBeal star had an equally life-changing effect on Susan; “I was very focused, driven, rigid, work-oriented,” she said of her pre-RDJ life. “I didn’t care about having a family or making a home. I didn’t think about kids. It’s not that I didn’t want those things, I just didn’t think about them. And then I had someone who came in as a tornado, this creative, beautiful ball of insane energy and passion. And it completely opened me up.”
In 2010, Mr. and Mrs. Downey co-founded Team Downey, a film and television production company.
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About Robert Downey, Jr.'s three kids
Downey, Jr. shares son Indio, a musician, with his ex-wife, Deborah Falconer, and has daughter Avri and son Exton with Susan.
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He's a huge supporter of his son's band, and wrote lovingly of him for his 29th birthday, sharing on Instagram, "Happiest of 29th bdays to Indio Falconer Downey. His growth as an Artist and man have been astonishing. Over the last several years, many storms have been weathered, and he’s emerged as one of my favorite recording Artists, no joke. Anyone who knows him will tell you he’s one of the kindest, strongest, most talented, and least materialistic humans they know. I dropped by a recording session a few weeks back and witnessed his musicianship up close and was literally gobsmacked."
Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock now.
