Richard Thomas had no intention of copying his iconic fictional family, but just like John and Olivia Walton, the actor has seven children of his own: Richard, Brooke, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar, Kendra and Montana.
“It wasn’t planned,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “I guess seven is my number.”
The Waltons the actor married Alma Gonzales in 1975, and the following year they had their first child, Richard Francisco Thomas. In 1981, the couple had triplets: Barbara Ayalla Thomas, Gwyneth Gonzales Thomas and Pilar Alma Thomas.
Richard and Alma divorced in 1993. The following year he married Georgiana Bischoff, who has two daughters from a previous marriage, Brooke Murphy Thomas and Kendra Kneisel Thomas. The couple has one son, Montana James Thomas.
Here’s everything you need to know about Richard Thomas’ children: Richard, Brooke, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar, Kendra and Montana.
The triplets were supposed to be twins
Richard Thomas and Alma Gonzalez with daughters Gwyneth, Pilar and Barbara and son Richard.
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Richard told PEOPLE in 1982 that he and Alma believed she was carrying twins. It wasn’t until she went into labor three weeks before her due date that the doctors discovered the third heartbeat and scheduled a C-section for the next day.
“There are three of them,” she told Richard, who was performing on Broadway at the time. “They’re coming out tomorrow, so come.”
Identical triplets Barbara, Gwyneth and Pilar were born just a few minutes apart on August 26, 1981.
At first the pair had to use earrings to tell who was who, but Alma said their distinct personalities soon put them at ease: “Barbara, the eldest, is quiet and obviously feels more secure. Gwyneth, the youngest, is cheerful and eats quickly, like that she knows she has to catch up Pilar is hysterical, nervous.”
The younger Richard felt “outnumbered” by the triplets
Richard Thomas and Alma Gonzalez with daughters Gwyneth, Pilar and Barbara, son Richard, sister-in-law Magdalena and friend Patsy Curtin in 1981.
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Bringing home three newborn girls was a big adjustment for the former family of three — especially for the younger Richard, who was just 5 years old at the time.
“When we brought the girls home, I asked, ‘What do you think?’ ” the actor recalled telling his son. “He said, ‘I think I’m outnumbered.’ I told him, ‘We’re both in this together.’
So that his eldest son would not feel forgotten among the chaos of three newborns, Richard took his son with him when he traveled to work.
In 1982 The New York Times reported that the actor agreed to film a television special about rhinos only if his son could accompany him to Africa and appear in front of the cameras.
“This is something that Richard will be able to share with me,” the star said. ”He’ll be able to hold it over the girls’ heads if they ever get too stuck.”
Kendra is a yoga instructor
Richard Thomas and his wife Kendra at the opening night of ‘Wolf Hall’ at the Winter Garden Theater on April 9, 2015.
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Although Richard said Smashing Interviews magazine in 2014 when his youngest daughter was an up-and-coming actress, Kendra has since found a second passion as a certified vinyasa yoga instructor in New York.
According to her website, she first fell in love with the practice when her mother, Georgina, let her take yoga classes as a child.
“Yoga is where it all started,” Kendra wrote in an Instagram post in 2022. “I found yoga as a college student when I didn’t even realize it was what I needed most. Later in life, it found me. showed me what I was meant to do in life and how I can help people in my own small way.”
Georgina’s older daughter, Brooke, followed in Richard’s footsteps into show business as a post-production producer.
Brooke has one daughter
Brooke is also a mom. In a 2023 Instagram post, Kendra shared photos from visiting her older sister and niece in Los Angeles.
“First back to LA to see friends and family since 2019,” the yoga instructor wrote. “Some things stay the same, but others have changed dramatically.”
She added: “My niece is basically my size (no small thing 🤪🤣), funny as hell and one of the few ‘kids’ my dog loves. My sister and brother-in-law were a sight for sore eyes (I miss our weekly family dinners takoooo).
Montana is a poet
Richard Thomas, son of Montana James Thomas and Georgiana Bischoff.
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Richard’s youngest child, Montana, is a poet living in New York.
According to his biography on Bylinepublished his first full-length book of poems called As for dinner 2024, and is the co-host of the “fragrance and culture” podcast called Top Notes.
In an interview with S. 2024 Paperhe said that he worked on the poetry collection for five years.
“I think I’ve always—ever since I was a kid in LA—wanted to write poetry,” he told za Office magazine 2023 “But I’m also very interested in performance. I studied fine arts, and that came with various forms of expression.”
Montana added: “Poetry has always been close to me, but I would say that in the last three, four years I’ve started to dive deep into it, developing a rigorous practice with it, even the visual art I create relies heavily on the language and poetics of the image. ”
Four children were together in commercials
Richard Thomas and his three daughters.
All about the Walton family
In the 1980s, Richard shot several commercials for Minute Maid, promoting the brand’s orange juice. He starred alongside Alma, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar and son Richard for the video.
The actor told The Washington Post 1985 that the partnership allowed his children to earn money, which was left for their future.
“It’s very simple: the kids are running around and my wife is pouring orange juice and I’m drinking it,” he said of the ad. “We’re kind of a mess, just like a family.”
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Source: HIS Education