Dustin Hoffman First Became a Father by Adopting His Ex-wife's Daughter — Now He's a Doting Dad of 6 Kids

Dustin Hoffman became a father when he adopted his first wife's child. Unfortunately, she used to get in trouble with the law quite often. Later on, his own son, Jake Hoffman, almost died in childbirth. Dustin and his son recently started acting in a movie together.

Dustin Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, in the United States of America, on August 8, 1937. He began his studies in music at Santa Monica City College in California but decided to drop out at 19. Instead, he moved to New York City, where he tried to get an acting job.

At first, the going was tough, and he had to rely on odd jobs to make a living. Eventually, he landed some minor roles on TV and made some headway playing leading roles Off-Broadway. He even won an Obie award for his theatre work.

In 1967, he started landing roles in small movies. Finally, in the same year, he landed the role of Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate." The film became popular with younger audiences due to its poignant social commentary delivered as comedy.

By this time, Dustin was becoming recognized for his talent. In 1969, he portrayed "Ratso" Rizzo in the film "Midnight Cowboy," which won an Academy Award. So, the actor became famous for playing off-beat characters and managed to elicit much sympathy from his audiences.

Dustin Became a Father for the First Time

After gaining fame with the film "Rain Man," Dustin started focusing on family. The actor had a tense relationship with his own father, so he wanted to be a better one. He admitted that whether he liked it or not, certain aspects of his dad, Harry Hoffman, were part of him:

"You inherit certain things. There were times when the kids were little and I would get upset, and [his wife] would say, '[Your father] Harry's coming out.' I don't think there's a way around it. You spend a lifetime – I do anyway – trying to un-wreck yourself. Because you've been wrecked."

Dustin's first wife was Anne Byrne. The two married in 1969 and shared two children by the time they divorced. The first child Dustin helped raise was Karina Hoffman-Birkhead. She wasn't his biological daughter, but he adopted her when he married Anne.

Besides Jake and Karina, Dustin has four more children, all with Lisa.

Unlike many of her adopted siblings, Karina prefers to stay out of the spotlight. However, in 1998 she was involved in a trial after she admitted to swindling around £5,000 from her employer. She pleaded guilty in court.

Dustin's daughter explained her actions by saying she was in a terrible financial situation. Due to the failure of her marriage and an unfortunate custody battle for her daughter, she had many legal fees to pay, which she couldn't afford anymore.

These days, she has been lying low. Her court case was later resolved, but she hasn't popped up in the news since. She was warned she could have been jailed for theft. What happened in the custody battle for her child is also unknown.

Dustin Almost Lost His Son During Childbirth

Dustin and Anne eventually went their separate ways, and the Oscar-winning actor ended up with Lisa Gotseggen (now Hoffman). Dustin brought one biological daughter, Jenna Byrne, from his previous marriage. Jenna decided to go into acting, just like her dad.

Despite her father's best attempts not to influence his children, almost all of them went into acting.

Dustin's third child, and his oldest son, was born in 1981. Jake Hoffman was born a month too early, which meant he had to be delivered by an emergency cesarian section. However, the fresh new baby's lungs hadn't developed yet, and no one thought he would survive:

"The doctors said I was a fighter. So I was named after the boxer Jake LaMotta, from the movie 'Raging Bull.' It's one of my favorite films."

Jake decided to follow in his dad's footsteps, and the two are very close. He has become a successful actor, with titles such as "Wolf of Wallstreet" to his name. Jake is starring in an upcoming comedy film, "Sam and Kate," with his father.

Dustin's Other Kids

Besides Jake and Karina, Dustin has four more children, all with Lisa. Jenna was his first biological child. His second oldest daughter, Rebecca Hoffman, was born in 1983. Despite appearing in the film "Hook" with her father, she decided not to go into acting.

Dustin plays the fatherly role of Bill, while his son, Dustin, portrays Sam.

A year after Dustin and Lisa had Rebecca, another son came along. Maxwell Hoffman was born in Los Angeles in 1984. He attended Brown University as well as the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Despite his kids following in his footsteps, Dustin never influenced them:

"There were no posters on the wall. I don't have a kid who's seen everything I've done. I don't want to belabor them in that way."

Dustin's youngest was named Alexandra Hoffman, nicknamed Ali. Despite her father's best attempts not to influence his children, almost all of them went into acting. Ali starred in "Moonlight Mile," and at one point, she dated Jonah Hill.

Starring in a Movie with His Son

In 2022, the first trailer for the film "Sam and Kate" was released by Vertical Entertainment. Interestingly, Dustin plays the fatherly role of Bill, while his son, Dustin, portrays Sam. Sissy Spacek and her daughter Schuyler Fisk play the roles of Tina and Kate. The synopsis reads:

"While home, Sam falls for a local woman, Kate (Fisk). And at the same time, Bill starts to fall for her mom Tina (Spacek). But finding love is complicated and for these four, it is no different."

Throughout the movie, the four have to traverse many obstacles to make their relationships with each other work. In the film, Bill and Sam seem to grow closer, and with some heartfelt fatherly advice, Bill helps his son get closer to Kate as well:

"If you want to get a girl like that, you've got to start acting like a man. You're working at the chocolate factory, you're drawing pictures, not to mention the fact that you're still living under my roof."

Judging from the trailer, the characters have personal flaws that need sorting out before they can further their relationships. The film is Darren Le Gallo's directorial debut, with his wife, Amy Adams, as a producer. Dustin's latest film was released on November 11, 2022.