Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage ; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Alec BaldwinandKim Basinger’s marriage may have ended after nine years, but the pair will always be connected through their daughterIreland Baldwin.
The model-turned-writer is the only child of Alec and Basinger, who weremarried from 1993 to 2002. Ireland was only 7 when her parents divorced. She found herself in the center of a public and acrimonious split whenan angry voicemailAlec left for Ireland was made public, causing her father to temporarily lose visitation rights.
During a 2022 appearance with her daughter onRed Table Talk, Basinger recalled toJada Pinkett Smiththat she and Alec didn’t always see “eye to eye” when it came toco-parenting.
“Alec’s a funny one. We’re all fine and we all get along, whatever. But … he’s a challenge,” she said. “We’ve had our challenges. And I don’t think Alec was emotionally or mentally available for that kind of talk.”
Challenges aside, Ireland has developed a close bond with both of her parents, and regularly spends quality team with her blended family, which includesAlec’s seven childrenwith his wifeHilaria Baldwin.
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The extended Baldwin family grew even more when Irelandgave birth to her daughter, Holland, in May 2023. Holland is Alec and Kim’s first grandchild.
Ireland announced that she wasexpecting her first child with boyfriend RACin December 2022. A month later, she spoke about her hopes for her own parenthood journey during an appearance onGirlboss Radio.
“What I’m most excited about is … things I really wanted in terms of stability as a child myself,” she said. “I get to raise this little human and do things completely differently than what I was taught was the norm. It’s cool that I get to unconditionally love this person and do my best to make her as equipped for this world and badass as possible.”
So who is Ireland Baldwin? Here’s everything to know about Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s daughter.
She was born in 1995
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Ireland Eliesse Baldwin was born on Oct. 23, 1995, in Los Angeles.
Three days after her birth, Alec was arrested after allegedlygetting in an altercationwith a photographer who was videotaping the couple’s return home from the hospital with their newborn daughter. In a statement released through his publicist, Alec disputed that he had seriously injured the photographer, Alan Zanger.
Ireland’s parents split when she was 7. They went through a tumultuous divorce and custody battle, which included avoicemail message from Aleccalling his daughter a “rude, thoughtless, little pig,” leading to his temporarily losing visitation rights. In 2012, then-16-year-old Ireland toldPage Sixthat the call was blown out of proportion.
“The only problem with that voicemail was that people made it out to be a way bigger deal than it was,” she said. “He’s said stuff like that before just because he’s frustrated. For me it was like, ‘Okay, whatever.’ I called him back, I was like, ‘Sorry Dad, I didn’t have my phone.’ That was it.”
In the same interview, she said she understood why her father had a volatile relationship with the paparazzi. “My dad has been going through it for so long, I can see how he gets frustrated,” she told the outlet. “If [my] acting or modeling takes off, and I make a name for myself, I can see how I might get pretty frustrated.”
She was a star volleyball player in high school
Ireland was very athletic growing up. In addition to playing volleyball in high school, she also enjoyed surfing and paddleboarding as a teen.
IrelandtoldVanity Fairin 2013 that it took her a long time to find confidence despite her athletic pursuits.
“I went through a lot in middle school, and you always try so many different looks and try to be so many different people,” she said. “I finally realized I’m awkward, I’m lanky, and I’m going to embrace it — make fun of myself and just laugh.”
She is a model and actress
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
“Whatinspired meto become a model was my mom who wanted me to try her profession and see if it would suit me,” Ireland told PEOPLE in 2013. “I love it. My mom has told me not to listen to what other people say about you if it’s negative. To always keep positive and if you felt as though you did your best and you look beautiful then you do.”
She added, “I don’t think my dad knows too much about modeling but he has given me a lot of advice regarding confidence and ignoring the haters.”
Less than a year later, Ireland began studying cinematography at New York Film Academy, she toldGenluxmagazine. She has since starred in the filmsGrudge Match(2013),Campus Caller(2017) andA Dark Foe(2020). She also appeared on a 2016 episode ofLove Adventand in the 2022 music video for St. Lucia’s “Gimme the Night.”
“For any kid raised under the circumstances I was raised — having a famous family — people often think you have everything laid out for you and you don’t need to work,” she toldVanity Fairin 2013. “But everyone has to work for what they want, and everybody has to make a name forthemselves.”
She is candid about her health struggles
Ireland Baldwin Instagram
Ireland has been open about her struggles withanxiety and panic disorder, addiction and eating disorders, includingattending a rehab programin 2014.
She first wrote about her eating disorders on social media in 2018, sharing an older photo of herself that she captioned “anorexia throwback.”
“I battled with many eating disordersand body issues as a younger girl and it took me a long time to find self love and acceptance!” she wrote.“Trust me, all of that pain and destruction I inflicted on myself wasn’t worth it. Turning down so. Many. Sides. Of. Fries. Wasn’t worth it!!”
In 2020, she celebrated the anniversary of being “free” from her eating disorders. “Today marks six years that I have been free of anorexia and bulimia and all of my other food compulsion and eating disorders that I struggled through for many years,” she said.
Ireland got even more candid during an April 2022 appearance onRed Table Talkwith her mom, opening up about “self-medicating with Xanax” and “drinking.” Regarding her pastsubstance use, she toldWillow Smith, “I had isolated all of my real friends, all of my family. I had no control in anything in my life.”
That same month, the L.A. native shared a since-deleted post on Instagram about dealing with her body insecurities after she had “reached a boiling point.”
She continued: “I have my bad days, of course. But overall, I f—ing LOVE food … like romantically. I love my body. I love the way it moves. I love how I feel in it. I am in the most freeing mental headspace I have ever been in about my body image.”
She is close to her dad, stepmother and half-siblings
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Though Ireland and her dad had a rocky relationship for a while, they have since become close. The father-daughter duo haswalked several red carpets together, including at the 2009Screen Actors Guild Awards, the 2015 premiere ofMission Impossible: Rogue Nationand the 2013 PrimetimeEmmy Awards.
Joking aside, Irelandpublicly supported Alecafter he accidentally shot and killed cinematographerHalyna Hutchinon the set of his filmRust. Not long after the tragedy occurred, Ireland shared a “beautiful comment” she received, detailing a memory of her actor father’s rider, which simply requested his trailer have cereal for Ireland when she visited him at work. Alongside the screenshot, she wrote, “I know my dad, you simply don’t. I love you, Dad ❤️.”
She is also close toher half-siblings. Her stepmother,Hilaria Baldwin, posted a sweet video to Instagram of her and Alec’s oldest daughter,Carmen Gabriela, sharing the news with her siblings thata niece was on the way, which included a shot of Alec acting coy about becoming a grandfather.
In April 2019, Hilaria opened up to PEOPLE abouther “great” relationship with Ireland, calling her “so smart, so funny, she just is a special soul.”
“And yes, a lot of that is just who she is,” Hilaria said. “But it’s also nurture, and that is her mother and her father. They did a really great job creating a really, really fantastic kid.”
Ireland has also credited her entire family for helping her after she sought treatment for emotional trauma in April 2015. At the time, she tweeted, “Both of my parents, step mom, carmen and friends were all there for me at all times. Little do you know … We’ve never left each other’s sides.”
She has many tattoos — including one for her dad
RAC Instagram
Ireland has at least two dozen tattoos, including a portrait ofDavid Bowie, the cartoon character Totoro, a scorpion, aKill Bill-inspired tattoo and Hello Kitty with a skull bow.
In 2015, she even honored her dad with ink reading Écureuil" — which is French for “squirrel” and reportedly Alec’s nickname.
Ireland has written about being proud of her body, including her tattoos, on Instagram.
“This is who I am, take it or leave,” she wrote in 2018 alongside a since-deleted pic of herself in her underwear. “I am not going to be body shamed for being pale or not stick thin. I’m not going to spend hours photoshopping my authenticity away. I’m not going to beat myself up for not looking like someone else. I’m not going to be told that I’m damaged goods because of my tattoos.”
She shaved her head for a “refresh”
Ireland Baldwin/Instagram
In August 2022, the model revealed afreshly shaved head, saying that she “unlocked” her “GI Jane/Evey Hammond level.”
“Don’t tell me I won’t do something because I will,” she wrote on an Instagram post showing off her new bleached platinum cut.
She has posed nude for PETA — just like her mom
Kim Basinger Ireland Baldwin.Alexandra Wyman/WireImage
Two decades after her mom stripped down to protest the use of fur in fashion, Irelandbared it all for PETAin 2018.
“I saw the images from when my mom shot this campaign, so it was something that I had aspired to do since I was a little girl,” she said in an accompanying video abouther mom’s 1994 shoot. “This is something my mother has fought her entire life and has advocated for and something I am trying to do as well.”
Before shooting herPETAcampaign, Ireland had known her allegiance to the cause.
“I actually have it in my contract as a model that I won’t wear fur,” she said. “I didn’t want that to be a part of my brand. I’ve had wardrobe people try to put me in fur coats and jumpsuits and lay on a fur rug and do whatever, and I’ve actually told people to f— off.”
Ireland Baldwin and boyfriend RAC with newborn daughter Holland.Ireland Baldwin
Three months later, Ireland opened up about her breastfeeding journey.
“To be completely transparent,I did not want to breast-feed,” she wrote on Instagram. “I had my own personal reasons for that choice. But it turned out that me and little Miss were kind of good at it!!! It just took a little time to get there.”
The new mom added: “She was supplemented with formula and still gets formula/breast milk combo! I take pride in my ability to feed her with these milk jugs.”
Ireland added that she had grown up “with a very jaded perception of what love really looked like,” and because of that, “I always wanted to have a child of my own with someone who would treat us right and love [them] unconditionally.”
She continued: “I underestimated just how hard pregnancy would be on my mind and my body. Being someone who deals with extreme health anxiety on a daily basis, pregnancy turned things into high gear. I’ve struggled to adapt to these changes.”
Ireland Baldwin.Ireland Baldwin Instagram
“I thrifted so many fruit themed goodies,” she wrote in the caption. “The furniture we chose were pieces from my childhood. And of course I spent way too much money on @jellycat stuffies because I had NO CHOICE. 🍋🍓🍍🥑🍉”
source: people.com
