Alec Baldwin is a true Hollywood icon. Having got his start in the 1980s, he’s since appeared in the theater as well as numerous movies and TV shows, showing off both his dramatic and comedic acting chops. Now in his 60s, Alec still has a big presence in Hollywood.
Although he’s now happily married to his wife Hilaria Baldwin, with whom he shares six children, Alec’s first marriage was to movie star bombshell Kim Basinger. The attractive couple was only together for about 10 years, but in that time they were married and had one daughter named Ireland Baldwin.
Much older than Alec’s children with Hilaria, Ireland is 25 years old and making a name for herself in Hollywood. A model and actress, she’s also begun to DJ. On top of her professional work, Ireland is an animal rights activist and has even posed nude for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Considering her genes, it’s no surprise that Ireland is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Her mom was one of Hollywood’s reigning bombshells in the ’80s and ’90s, while her dad has always been a handsome leading man.
Although they’ve had a strained relationship at times — as evidenced through a very public voicemail that Alec left Ireland back in the 2000s — the father and daughter appear to have made up, with Ireland even making a joke at Alec’s expense during a comedy roast in honor of her dad. Let’s take a look at the famous father and daughter’s relationship timeline and what Ireland looks like today.
Born on April 3, 1958, in Amityville, New York, Alec Baldwin is the eldest son of Carol Newcomb and Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr., who is a descendent of Mayflower passenger John Howland. One of six children, Alec wasn’t the only Baldwin to go into show business — very famously, all three of his brothers, Daniel, William, and Stephen Baldwin, all became actors as well. Suffice to say, the Baldwins are a very famous Hollywood family.
Alec got his start in the performing arts when he attended New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. His first acting job was in the soap opera “The Doctors,” from 1980-1982. He continued working in television but also made the switch to the theater, with his first Broadway appearance in the 1986 play “Loot.” Only a few years later his turn in “A Streetcar Named Desire” would earn him a Tony Award nomination.
It was also around this time in the late ’80s-early ’90s that Alec’s movie career took off, with his performances in movies such as “The Hunt For Red October” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” placing him firmly on the map. His acting career has only continued to shine, with his award-winning turn in TV comedies such as “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” showing off his full performance range. In all, Alec has won three Primetime Emmys, three Golden Globes, eight Screen Actors Guild Awards, and been nominated countless times, including both Oscar and Tony Award nominations.
It was during his movie boom that Alec met actress Kim Basinger in 1990 when they both starred as lovers in the movie “The Marrying Man.” A bombshell of her day, Basinger was a model-turned-actress who was a prominent sex symbol in the ’80s and ’90s. One of her early roles was as a Bond girl in the 1983 film “Never Say Never Again,” while she also appeared in “The Natural,” “9 1/2 Weeks,” “Batman” and more. She earned an Academy Award for her role in the neo-noir film “L.A. Confidential” and in 2002, she played rapper Eminem’s mother in the movie based loosely on his life, “8 Mile.”
After starting their relationship, the couple got married in August 1993, before starring in another movie together, “The Getaway,” in 1994. Then on Oct. 23, 1995, the couple had a daughter named Ireland Eliesse Baldwin. The young family was happy for the first years of Ireland’s life, but by 2000, Alec and Basinger had separated, with their divorce finalized in 2002.
Sadly, their breakup wasn’t an easy one, and the divorce proceedings resulted in a nasty seven-year custody battle for Ireland. In his memoir “A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce,” Alec posits that Basinger spent over $1.5 million to keep him from his daughter. That clearly didn’t set the right tone for the first years of Ireland’s life and her relationship with her father, which only escalated into a very-public incident in which Alec left a dreadful voice message to his daughter.
The unfortunately very public voicemail incident occurred on April 11, 2007 — amid Alec’s ongoing custody battle for Ireland. Claiming that he hit a breaking point after the many years of legal proceedings, Alec left an extremely angry voicemail message for his daughter after an unanswered arranged call. During the tirade, he called her a “rude, thoughtless little pig.” Soon after the recording became public as it was sold to TMZ.
Admitting he made a big mistake, Alec admitted to being suicidal in the aftermath of the incident. He told “Playboy” in June 2009, as reported by “People”:
“I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me. If I committed suicide, [Kim Basinger’s side] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal.”
Following the incident, Alec went on “The View” and publicly apologized for his actions. He said in the same “Playboy” interview that he called Whoopi Goldberg, who is a friend, and asked if she thought he’d be able to get a “fair shake,” as the show has a strong female audience. He added:
“I trusted Whoopi and Barbara Walters. Whoopi is an impeccably decent person, and I am grateful she gave me a forum.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same positive experience with NBC’s “Today,” despite appearing on an NBC show at the time. Allegedly, when the voicemail incident happened, Matt Lauer interviewed TMZ head honcho Harvey Levin before they even called Alec. In the same interview with “People,” he put it simply:
“I saw that and said, ‘My relationship with the ‘Today’ show is over.’ I’ll never do ‘Today’ again, ever. Life’s too short.”
Only a minor during the voicemail incident, Ireland was thrust into the spotlight when it happened, but thankfully interest in her died down afterward and she was able to have a relatively normal upbringing.
Then in 2013, when she was nearly 18, Ireland signed with IMG Models and began her career in the public eye. Her modeling debut was in an editorial for the “New York Post,” and later that year she appeared as an “it girl” in “W Magazine” and “Vanity Fair” and even had an interview in “Elle.” That same year she also had her acting debut, appearing in the movie “Grudge Match,” in which she played a younger version of her mom Kim Basinger’s character. The following year she began studying acting and cinematography at the New York Film Academy.
Unfortunately, a stint in rehab led her to resign from IMG Models in 2015, but she was picked up by another agency, DT Model Management, soon after. She has appeared in various fashion campaigns including True Religion Jeans and Guess, as well as garnering magazine covers for “Elle” Bulgaria, “Marie Claire” Mexico, and “L’Officiel” Ukraine.
A big moment for her came in 2018 when she posed nude for PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” anti-fur campaign. Ireland’s mom had also posed in the same campaign for PETA in her heyday, 24 years earlier.
In 2019, Ireland DJed at a few parties, but was quick to point out she’s not planning on changing careers anytime soon, having said she’s, “definitely not a full-time DJ.”
Despite the awful voicemail incident, Alec and Ireland’s relationship appears to be on much better terms these days. In fact, she even poked fun at her dad at a comedy roast in his honor in September 2019. After making a few jokes suggesting that her dad didn’t really know her, she came out with the zinger:
“It’s good to be here. I almost didn’t even know about it because I haven’t checked my voicemails from my dad from the last, like, 12 years or something.”
Her deadpan delivery sold the joke and garnered big laughs from the audience, while Alec sat coyly on stage. As well as being able to poke fun at the situation now, Ireland and Alec’s relationship appears to have grown, as Ireland came to the defense of Alec’s second wife Hilaria Baldwin, after an incident in December 2020.
Accused in a tweet that has since gone viral of having a fluctuating accent that noticeably sounds foreign at times, while other times American, the allegations claimed that Hilaria was faking both her accent and ethnic background, claiming that she was Spanish. Twitter user @lenibriscoe tweeted, “You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin’s commitment to her decade-long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person.” The tweet featured a long thread of apparent evidence that Baldwin has allegedly been faking her accent and ethnic background.
Following this, the 37-year-old former yoga teacher tried to clear up the issue by explaining that she grew up between Mallorca, Spain, where her parents and sister still live, and Boston, Massachusetts, where she was born. Additionally, she grew up speaking both Spanish and English.
However, even after trying to clear the situation, some naysayers weren’t satisfied with Hilaria’s claims. This prompted her husband Alec to step in and release an eight-and-a-half minute video on Instagram. Not only did Alec try to help his wife, but Ireland also vocally supported her stepmother. She expressed her love and appreciation for the wellness guru, insisting that she is a “good person.”
“She’s a caring person who has always respected my relationship with my dad and I have a great relationship with her. . . . Hilaria is a wonderful mother who takes great care of her kids and she takes great care of my dad and that’s really all that matters to me,” Ireland said, as quoted by “US Weekly.”
Ireland then took to the comment section in an Instagram post of Hilaria’s, where she wrote:
“I wish people had the chance to know you and know your story the way that I do rather than from a fabricated nine hour long Instagram story,” she wrote. “I think you are an incredible mom and an inspiration. I know what it’s like to have a really awful piece of s–t woman in your place trying to be my stepmom… And I thank God often that the stars aligned and I wound up with a stepmom like you.”
She continued:
“I love you and I find it really sad that people have the time that they do to play detective and make up a lot of lies and fabricate a lot of truths to fit a story. . . . I know who you are and I know what you are not and I’m lucky to know you for who you truly are.”
It’s quite moving to see Ireland defend her stepmother so staunchly and it shows that she has her heart in the right place. It also suggests any issues with her father stemming from her upbringing have been repaired.
In fact, on Father’s Day a few years ago, Ireland posted a touching tribute to Alec. Alongside a candid photo of the two of them reading a book, she wrote:
“I love you. I always have and I always will. You’re unique. You’re strong. You’re by far the funniest person I’ve ever known or will ever know and you make me so proud to be related to you. Thank you for all that you’ve ever taught me. You’re the best dad to me, Carmen, Rafa and Leo and I can’t wait for them to grow up and share the same beautiful memories with you as I do. I love you and thank you for always lifting me up and helping me figure out who I am! Happy Father’s Day ❤️ from your little piggy girl 🐷”
It’s lovely to see that despite a troubled period in their relationship, Ireland and Alec seem to be as close as ever. Although only in her twenties, Ireland has managed to achieve a lot in the seven short years she’s lived in the spotlight, and we’re sure this is only the beginning of her career. Whether she continues with modeling and acting, or switches to something else, Ireland’s future looks incredibly bright. And no doubt, she has the full support of her father and his family.
Did you know Alec Baldwin had a gorgeous daughter with Kim Basinger named Ireland Baldwin? If you learned something from this article, be sure to pass it on to your friends!
If you or anybody you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please call Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
