John Ritter’s legacy lives on in his children.
The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor died suddenly on September 11, 2003 at the age of 54 after suffering an aortic dissection. In addition to contributing to comedy, Ritter was also the proud father of four children. He shared sons Jason (43) and Tyler (39) and daughter Carly (41) with his first wife, Nancy Morgan, with whom he was married from 1977 to 1996; as well as his son Noah (25) with his wife Amy Yasbeck, with whom he was married from 1999 until his death.
All of his children are now grown, and many of them have followed in their late father’s footsteps and embarked on careers in the entertainment industry. Over the years, several of the Ritter children have spoken openly about the impact the loss of their father had on them and the legacy he left behind.
“When you have someone in your family who is a force of nature, when they walk into a room and focus on that, it’s bizarre when that person isn’t there,” Ritter’s oldest, Jason, said on the podcast. Group text by Melissa River. “There’s like a black hole of energy… and your family becomes something different, but it’s hard to realize that that kind of life is over.”
Keep reading for everything you can know about John Ritter’s children.
Jason Ritter, 43
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Ritter’s oldest child, son Jason, was born on February 17, 1980, in Los Angeles.
Jason began following in his father’s footsteps at an early age, landing his first acting gig in an animated Christmas special when he was 6 — thanks to the help of his famous father.
“I will say, without any hesitation, that this was like a completely nepotistic hire. I’ll admit it. He certainly gave me the job. I tried to stay away from it later,” Jason later admitted during a March 2023 appearance on The Jess Cagle Show. “I have to play a little acorn The real story of the Christmas treeand he played my Uncle Piney.”
After graduating from New York University, he began acting full-time, booking his first major role in a slasher film in 2003. Freddy vs. Jason.
In an interview with S. in 2002 Party tonight, Ritter boasted about his son, explaining, “My son is in Vancouver now. He’s an actor, God help him, he’s 22 years old and he’s making a horror movie up there.” At the film’s premiere, just a month before Ritter’s death, Jason said his dad advised him to be himself and “try not to be nervous.”
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Jason became a successful television actor. He has more than 100 awards, including shows like Girls, A million little things and Raising Dion. He was also nominated for two Emmy Awards for his roles in Parenthood and Tales of the Titans.
As for his personal life, Jason is one half of Hollywood’s power couple. He was with his current wife, Yellow vests star Melanie Lynskey, since 2013 and the couple share one daughter.
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Although the couple is friendly on social media, the two keep their relationship a secret. However, they have shared the screen together several times and continue to star in each other’s projects, including Yellow vests, The last of us, Candy, Intervention and We will never have Paris.
Carly Ritter, 41
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Carly Ritter is Ritter and Morgan’s second child and only daughter. She was born on March 1, 1982 in LA
While both of her parents were actors, Carly pursued a career in country music, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Country Music Hall of Famer Tex Ritter.
Despite having a legendary country artist in her family, Carly said she only fell in love with the genre later in life. “My dad didn’t play that much [country] music for us growing up,” she told KCET in 2013. “Because he was so exposed to country music as a kid, once he discovered rock and roll, he never looked back.”
Carly released her self-titled debut album in 2013 through Vanguard Records. Although she hasn’t released another album since then, Carly continues to write music and sing. In 2021, she published the song “They Don’t Work Here Anymore (Ballad of a Gone Climate)” on YouTube.
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Carly is also an activist and heavily involved with the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, where she has performed many times for the HDSA’s annual Freeze HD event. She was also supportive Moms demand actiona mass movement fighting armed violence.
Tyler Ritter, 39
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John’s third child and second son with Morgan, Tyler Ritter, was born on January 31, 1985 in LA
Tyler is also an actor with several TV shows including Arrow, The McCarthys, NCIS and Young and hungry. Over the years, Tyler has been candid about how his father inspired his acting career.
“It feels very surreal because he hasn’t seen much of my acting ability,” he told za Party tonight 2014 “I feel his presence and I know he’s proud of me somewhere.”
He continued: “I’ve really seen my dad enjoy every day he’s been working… Everyone should be able to have this much fun going to work. He really paved that path for us and here I am.”
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Before starting his acting career, Tyler graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a teacher in Argentina for three years, where he met his current wife, Argentinian director Leila Parma. The two got married in 2007 and had a son, Benjamin Parma Ritter, on June 11, 2017. He shared the news on Instagram, writing: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life. He’s Benjamin Parma Ritter. And we feel good.”
Benjamin was the first grandchild of the late Ritter.
Noah Lee Ritter, 25
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Ritter’s fourth child, Noah Lee Ritter, with his second wife Yasbeck, was born on September 11, 1998. Ritter died on Noah’s 5th birthday, during his first week of preschool.
Noah leads a much more private life than his older siblings. His Instagram and Twitter accounts are private, as is his Twitter account was reading: “I don’t use social media much anymore, private guy… rarely accept follow requests. Have a nice day.”
In May 2022, Noah made a rare public appearance with the rest of the Ritter clan at the Dinner of the Heart in LA to support the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health.
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