All About Robin Williams' Daughter, Zelda Williams

Robin Williams passed on his comedy and acting genes to his daughter Zelda Williams.

Deceased Jumanji the actor welcomed his second child and only daughter on July 31, 1989 with his second wife Marsha Garces. He is also the father of son Zak with first wife Valerie Velardi and Cody Alan with Garces. After his tragic death by suicide in 2014, all three of his children came together and put their efforts into mental health support.

Following her father, Zelda worked as an actress and director in Hollywood with her first feature directorial debut Lisa Frankenstein out in February 2024. However, she previously told PEOPLE in 2017 that she didn’t grow up thinking she’d follow in his footsteps.

“I didn’t go into acting with any ideas of where I would end up,” she said. “Maybe this is pessimistic, but I knew I was never going to be my father, so I went into it because I love it.”

Robin Williams’ Three Children: All About Zak, Zelda and Cody

From how she dealt with her father’s death to her directorial debut, here’s everything you need to know about Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams.

She was born in 1989

Robin Williams and daughter Zelda during Teen People’s sixth annual “25 Hottest Stars Under 25” Celebration.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Robin and Garces welcomed their first child together on July 31, 1989 Jumanji The actor explained that Zelda’s name comes from a video game The Legend of Zelda, which they played while Garces was pregnant, he said during a June 2011 ad campaign with Nintendo.

“A lot of people come up and ask if she’s named after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife,” Robin said at the site. “No, that’s Zelda for The Legend of Zelda.”

Zelda, who was also in the interview, said that when she was young she thought about changing her name, but as she got older, she liked it better, and that it was chosen after the princess.

“It’s magical,” Robin explained. “The way she is, which is amazing.”

She and Robin had their own family traditions, including cooking

Robin Williams and Zelda Williams during the world premiere of “Happy Feet”.

SGranitz/WireImage

In December 2023, Zelda spoke to PEOPLE about what the holidays mean to her family and how they’ve kept their traditions, like cooking, going year-round.

“Dad’s job made it pretty hard to keep anything like an annual tradition, other than Thanksgiving or the day the sets would close,” she said. “So we didn’t really have much in the way, but cooking together was a big part of our family. We would eat together every Tuesday, no matter how many family members were in town.”

She added that although “not everyone” was the most skilled in the kitchen, everyone tried to be present.

“My brothers and my dad weren’t good cooks,” she joked, adding, “But my mom and I would participate, and that was a big part of our family.”

Regardless of each member’s cooking skills, Zelda said the point of their Tuesday cooking sessions was guaranteed time together in the midst of everyone’s busy lives.

“Being together was important, because otherwise, especially with people scattered to the wind with work, it became even more special to do it,” she explained.

She accepted her parents’ divorce

Robin Williams and daughter Zelda at the premiere of “RV” on April 23, 2006 in Los Angeles, California.

Kevin Winter/Getty

When Zelda was 18, her parents divorced. However, she told PEOPLE in 2008 that it wasn’t “a complete surprise,” and that her family was still a tight-knit unit.

“It’s never easy to finish,” she said. “[But] there is no bitterness — we are all family.”

She added that she gives credit to her parents for almost 20 decades of life and just wants them to be happy. Her parents’ divorce coincided with Robin taking on fewer roles, which she said allowed him to have a greater presence in her life.

“He’s resting more,” she said then. “He doesn’t do four films a year; he works one or two… Now he has more time for us.”

She was “fascinated” by her father’s acting career, which inspired her to pursue her own

Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda Williams arrive at the screening of “House Of D” during the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival on May 7, 2004.

Matthew Peyton/Getty

From a young age, Zelda grew up on sets and alongside legendary actors and directors, capturing her attention in the industry early in life.

I was fascinated by it early on, said Zelda Party tonight accompany Robin to work. “When you’re that young, I don’t think you realize it’s actually a job; just a fun thing to go and visit.”

Zelda recalled being behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi drama A two-hundred-year-old manadmiring the “beautiful” set.

“That was when I was old enough to really realize there’s a whole bunch of jobs you can do too,” she said.

Now Zelda has appeared on TV in shows like The Legend of Korra, a teenager Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jane the Virgin and her directorial debut, Lisa Frankenstein, should be published in February 2024.

The film stars Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton as the latter’s character brings a zombie to life in the creepy comedy. “I’m still not sure it’s all just ‘out there’ now, instead of existing as dozens of emails and messages behind the scenes,” Zelda wrote on Instagram ahead of the film’s release.

She relied on the support of her friends after her father’s death

Zelda Williams and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of “Old Dogs” on November 9, 2009 in Hollywood, California.

John Shearer/WireImage

Robin died by suicide on August 11, 2014, aged 63 – just two weeks after Zelda’s 25th birthday. After his death, Zelda tweeted a passage from Antoine de Saint-Exupery The little prince.

“You – only you will have the stars like no one else,” she wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted. “I will live in one of the stars. I will laugh in one of them. And so it will be as if all the stars are smiling, when you look at the sky at night.”

She added in her own words: “I love you. I miss you I’ll try to keep looking.”

Three years later, speaking to PEOPLE in May 2017, Zelda said she leaned on her friends during the challenging time.

“I had those friends who were nice and I really appreciate when they told me: ‘Come on! Let’s go to Disneyland!’ and I said, ‘No, not today. I’m having a panic attack today,’ she said. “But the ones who would show up and bring groceries and sit with me and just want to be there, those people made a big difference.”

The actress added that on days when she had particularly difficult mornings, she had friends who brought her everything from mimosas to eggs, helping her express her feelings.

“They really helped me open up to people so that I didn’t keep everything inside and kind of get to a place where I said, ‘This would never happen,'” she said. “You have to move forward without trying to push him aside, because that doesn’t help.”

Every year on the anniversary of his father’s death, he takes a break from social media

Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda Williams at the after party for “House Of D” on May 7, 2004 in New York City.

Scott Gries/Getty

Around the time of the anniversary of her father’s death each year, Zelda chooses to stay away from social media, explaining that it can be difficult to balance her own emotions with everyone else who is remembering and grieving.

“For those who always wonder why, it’s so that people can commemorate Dad on the anniversary of his death however they want without feeling bombarded by it or pressured by the expectations I put on myself or my family to publicly acknowledge or join in on so ,” she explained in a since-deleted post on X in August 2016.

She encouraged others to memorialize her father in whatever way they wished, before adding that she would do so privately.

Four years later, in August 2020, Zelda announced that she would be staying off social media again around the anniversary of his death.

“It’s hard for me on a regular, good day to remain a person who is expected to graciously accept the world’s need to share their memories of him and express their condolences for his loss,” Zelda wrote in a since-deleted message on Xu, formerly known as Twitter. “As I’ve said in the past, while I’m constantly moved by your boundless abiding love for him, I can sometimes feel like you see me as a roadside memory – a place, not a person – that people drive by and leave their feelings behind to spend their days comforted that their love for him was witnessed.”

On the 10th anniversary of her father’s death in August 2024, Zelda took the opportunity to correct the rumor of X (formerly Twitter) who claimed Robin had a pet monkey.

Re-sharing the post, which featured a photo of Robin with a monkey on his shoulder, Zelda wrote: “Some probably AI written BS has been brought to my attention as this has gone viral. Dad didn’t have a pet monkey, NO ONE should, and if ever tempted, support your local exotic animal rescue Night at the museum Costar, who now lives in one.”

Since his death, she has been passionate about mental health advocacy

Robin Williams and Zelda Williams at the 33rd Annual People’s Choice Awards on January 9, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

Stephen Shugerman/Getty

In December 2021, Zelda and her brother Zak attended Bring Change to Mind’s 9th annual Revels and Revelations event, which raises awareness to support teen mental health efforts.

Zelda also frequently posts messages advocating for mental health and dealing with depression on her social media. A year after her father died, in September 2015, Zelda penned a message of positivity in a since-deleted Instagram post, urging those struggling not to ignore their grief and to also cherish their moments of joy.

“And for those suffering from depression, I know how dark and endless that tunnel can seem, but if happiness seems impossible to find, please hold on to the possibility of hope, no matter how small,” she wrote.

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