Jeff Bridges is known to many people The Big Lebowski fans as “The Dude”, but known to his family as “Little Brother” and “Big Brother”. Jeff is the middle child of three: older brother Beau Bridges is an actor and younger sister Lucinda Bridges is an artist.
As children, they grew up in the exclusive neighborhood of Holmby Hills, California, near Beverly Hills. Father Lloyd Bridges was a famous actor, and mother Dorothy Bridges was a homemaker, who loved to write and eventually published a collection of her works. The couple married in 1938 and remained together until Lloyd’s death in 1998.
The Bridges moved from New York to California just in time for the birth of their first son, Lloyd “Beau,” who was born on December 9, 1941. The couple had a son, Garrett Bridges, on June 14, 1948, but he died just a few months later from pneumonia Son Jeff was born on December 4, 1949, followed by daughter Lucinda “Cindy” on October 18, 1953.
Inspired by their upbringing, all the Bridges siblings have large families of their own. Beau has five children – two with ex Julie Bridges and three with Wendy Treece – and six grandchildren. Cindy has three sons and Jeff three daughters and two grandchildren with his wife Susan.
“My mom was great about bringing the family together,” Beau told PEOPLE, adding that he and Jeff live about an hour and a half away from each other and try to get together once a month. “And now my wife Wendy is doing the same.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Jeff Bridges’ siblings.
They were born into an artistic Hollywood family and built creative careers
Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges at the premiere of the movie ‘Cleopatra’.
Bettmann
Both Lloyd and Dorothy studied acting in college. Lloyd pursued it as a career right after graduation, moving to New York and struggling for years before landing a role in a Broadway play and subsequently signing a studio deal with Columbia Pictures.
Soon Lloyd began to involve his family in his projects. On his breakthrough goal sea hunting, Lloyd brought his kids and wife to the show and they all showed up The Lloyd Bridges Show from 1962-1963. Both Beau and Jeff followed in their father’s footsteps. Beau appeared in shows like Fugitive and bonanza, and in movies like Norma Rae and Hotel New Hampshire. Jeff became famous in movies like The last movie show, Tron and Starman. Cindy became a visual artist, with a BA in Art and Creative Writing from UC Santa Barbara, according to her LinkedIn.
The family would have a “salon night” at home
Lloyd Bridges and Cindy Bridges in ‘The Lloyd Bridges Show’.
Hulton Archive/Getty
When the children were young, Lloyd and Dorothy would host creative friends at a “parlor dinner” for an evening of board games and plays. Regular guests would be Jeff’s godfathers Larry Parks (star The story of Jolson) and Betty Garrett (from Everyone in the family). Cindy recalled during one such gathering that composer Meredith Willson played songs from a show he was working on at the time, which would become A musical man.
“Mum would host parties, encouraging those who were unfamiliar or timid to party ‘on the spot,'” Cindy said. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette in May 2023. “In the middle of all that, she would clean up, put us to bed, often with a song or a story, and go to school the next morning with her favorite lunch. This was her performance art. She was the center of our family circle.”
Beau and Jeff acted together
Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges at the ARP Luncheon IHO on August 1, 2014 in Beverly Hills, CA.
Shutterstock
In 1989, the brothers appeared as the eponymous duo in the film The Great Baker Boys, about brothers who have a tired jazz band and hire a singer (Michelle Pfeiffer) to liven up the performance.
The film has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the “consensus of critics” on the film: “Its story is nothing special, but The great Baker Boys shines beneath the brilliant performances of its perfectly cast stars.”
They also worked with their father for years
Jeff Bridges, Lloyd Bridges and Beau Bridges.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Jeff and Lloyd appeared together in the 1994 film Blown. “I remember when he came on set, in a real way, he was just joyful — it was infectious,” Jeff told PEOPLE in 2014 about working on the film. “It would go through the community. With joy comes relaxation in the way things are, and with that comes getting out of the way. And you end up with a good job.”
Beau and Lloyd starred in the series Hearts of the West from 1993 to 1994. “I really loved shooting that series. My dad and I had a lot of scenes together,” he told PEOPLE. “He was a regular guest with me. And for that reason, it was really wonderful to work with my teacher, my mentor.”
Although Dorothy only acted sporadically, she did appear A Thanksgiving Promise and The secret sins of the father, both directed by Beau and in See you in the morning with Jeff,
Cindy followed in her mother’s footsteps
Isabelle Bridges, Susan Bridges, Jeff Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, Cindy Bridges and Dorothy Dean Bridges.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Despite Lloyd encouraging Cindy to continue acting, she decided not to pursue it as a career.
“I loved acting and we did it as a game at home,” she said The Worcester Telegram and Gazette. “Dad would throw me into things. And I had fun. I played summer theater in the east. But he never bit me like a bug… I wanted to be a housewife too much. I really liked it. I like to cook. I love raising children. I love animals.”
“My mother was my role model,” she continued. “So even as a little girl I knew that more than anything I wanted to have a family and children.”
Beau continues to follow his father’s example, decades after his death
Beau Bridges and Lloyd Bridges at the ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ premiere in Century City on November 13, 1992.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty
Speaking to PEOPLE in August 2023, Beau reflected on the lessons he learned from his father, who died in 1998, and how he still follows that advice to this day. “The word we heard a lot growing up was respect,” he said. “You have to respect all the people you work with, everyone involved in making the film. You have to respect yourself. You have to respect your fellow man.”
He then described how his father lived humbly. “We weren’t really a ‘Hollywood’ family,” Beau said. “My dad was a successful actor, but I don’t think he would say that about himself. And that frustrated me. But he wanted us to truly live a life of service. He had friends from all walks of life. He and my mom appreciated diversity of all kinds and that inspired us.”
Jeff says he wouldn’t be an actor without his father’s guidance
Lloyd Bridges and Jeff Bridges attend the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Jeff Bridges in Los Angeles, California on July 11, 1994.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty
When Jeff received the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, the ceremony was on January 15, 2023 — which would have been his late father’s 110th birthday. To mark the occasion, Jeff said in his speech, he wore his father’s cufflinks in honor.
“He’s the reason I’m up here,” Jeff said in his speech. “I remember he loved showbiz so much, he loved acting so much, and as a kid I said, ‘You know, Dad, I’m not sure if I want to be an actor.’ He says, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘I want to maybe do painting, music.’ He said, ‘Jeff, don’t be ridiculous. Being an actor will invite you to do all these things that interest you. And besides, you get to tell all these wonderful stories from all these different perspectives of people who are alive. This is a wonderful profession.’ ”
Cindy encouraged their mother to fulfill her lifelong dream
Beau Bridges, Lucinda Bridges, Jeff Bridges and Dorothy Bridges at Barnes & Noble promoting their book ‘You Caught Me Kissing a Love Story’ on January 27, 2005.
Shutterstock
Every year on Valentine’s Day, Dorothy wrote a love poem to her husband, a tradition she continued after his death. At Cindy’s encouragement, Dorothy compiled them into a book, You Caught Me Kissing: A Love Story, published in 2005.
All three siblings contributed to the book, and Cindy wrote the foreword. “If I were to draw my mother, the line would be in charcoal—a permanent bold sign of her strength and ability to blend in, accentuated by the initial glow of her warmth and the random language of wit and fire,” she wrote in the book, according to The Worcester Telegram and Gazette. “Dorothy Louise Simpson Bridges nurtured our family that became a garden. She cared for us as unique souls and set us free in the landscape of unconditional love.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education