Alec Baldwin Family History

Alexander Rae Baldwin III, better known as the actor Alec Baldwin, was born on April 3rd, 1958 to Alexander Rae Jr and Carol Baldwin in Amityville on Long Island.  His father was a high school teacher and Alec went to high school near their home in Massapequa.  He and his five siblings were all raised as Catholics.

Alec then attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.  Later he was accepted as a member of the Actors Studio.  His first acting role came as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime TV soap opera The Doctors in 1980.  He went on to appear in the show Knots Landing from 1984 to 1985.

He made his Broadway debut in 1986 and his first film (in a minor role) in 1987.  He then gained wider recognition as a leading man in 1990 with his role as Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October.

Since that time he has continued to be prominent in his performances on stage, on television, and in films.  When Donald Trump was President, Alec Baldwin became extra famous for his Trump impersonations in the skits that aired on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

The Baldwin Family

Alexander Rae Baldwin, who was born and died (in 1969) in Brooklyn, might be considered as the patriarch of the Baldwin family of actors.  He was a lawyer by profession.

His eldest son Alexander Rae Jr. was a high school teacher and football coach on Long Island for twenty-eight years.  He also taught riflery there.  He died of lung cancer in 1983 at the age of fifty-five.  It may have been the unventilated shooting range that caused his early death.

Alec is the eldest of his four sons.  The others are Daniel, William (Billy), and Stephen.  They too are well-known actors and some of their offspring also have claims to fame.

Alec,  The first of Alec’s children is his fashion model daughter Ireland, from his first marriage to actress Kim Basinger.  His other six children were born to his current wife, wellness guru Hilaria Baldwin nee Thomas.

Daniel.  His first marriage was to ex-wife Cheryl McGreevy and they have one daughter Kahlea who works as a film producer.  Daniel’s only son, Atticus, was born to his former girlfriend Isabella Hofmann. Atticus works as an actor and writer.  With his third wife, Joanne Smith, Daniel welcomed two daughters – Avis born in 2008 and Finley in 2009.

Billy.  Billy wed singer Chynna Phillips in 1995 and they’ve been together ever since. They share three children – Jameson, Vance, and Brooke.

Stephen.  Stephen married his wife Kennya, the daughter of Brazilian artist Eumir Deodato, in 1990. The pair have two model daughters together.  Alaia married Andrew Aronow in 2017 and Hailey married the pop star Justin Bieber one year later in 2018. Known for her high-profile modeling campaigns, Hailey has made a household name for herself aside from her famous parents.

Back to the Mayflower

The Baldwin family’s patrilineal line traces back to a Richard Baldwin who lived in England in the 1500’s. Through Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr, the Baldwins are also descended from the Mayflower passenger John Howland.  Alec Baldwin is thus the thirteenth generation of his family to be born in America.

John the Immigrant.  The first of the Baldwin name in America was John Baldwin from Buckinghamshire who came to New England with his parents and five siblings on the Martin in 1638.  His father Sylvester died on the voyage across.

John married Rebecca Palmer, the daughter of an early settler, in 1672 and they made their home in Stonington, Connecticut.  He died there in 1683.  His son Theophilus was the first deacon of the North Church in Stonington.

Later Baldwins.  The line from him led to two Sylvester Baldwins who had the misfortune to die in the same year, the elder at home of natural causes in 1795 and his son, a sea captain, being lost at sea.

Despite this mishap, more Baldwin sea captains followed. Roswell Baldwin was the sea captain of the Isaac Allerton which was shipwrecked off Key West in 1856 during a hurricane.  He survived.

Roswell was the last of the Baldwin seafarers.  He later moved to Brooklyn and his son Sylvester was a police captain there.  The family line up to this time was covered in Charles Baldwin’s book The Baldwin Genealogy – from 1500 to 1881.

Alec Baldwin’s Family Tree

• John Baldwin from Buckinghamshire (1635-1683) m. Rebecca Palmer (1647-1713) in Stonington, Connecticut in 1672
• – Rebecca Baldwin (1673-1701) m. Elnathon Miner
• – Mary Baldwin (1675-1766) m. John Randall
• – Sylvester Baldwin (1677-1732) m. Elizabeth Avery
• – Theophilus Baldwin (1683-1736)

• Deacon Theophilus Baldwin of Stonington m. Priscilla Mason (1691-1719) in 1710; rem. Jemina Billings (1695-1733); rem. Sarah Woodbridge (1651-1708)
• – John Baldwin (1711-1762) m. Eunice Williams
• – Priscilla Baldwin (1713-1744) m. Daniel Calkins
• – Theophilus Baldwin (b. 1716) m. Sarah Lamb
• – Sylvester Baldwin (1719-1795)

• Sylvester Baldwin of Stonington m. Anne Satterlee (1718-1754); rem. Bridget Chesebrough (1737-1818) in 1759
• – Sylvester Baldwin (1761-1795), died at sea
• – Bridget Baldwin (1768-1857) m. John Leray

• Captain Sylvester Baldwin II of Stonington m. Rebecca Bryant (died 1794) in 1785
• – Sylvester Baldwin (1788-1822)
• – Theophilus Baldwin (b. 1789), press-ganged and died in England

• Captain Sylvester Baldwin III of Stonington m. Esther Brown (1796-1845) in Connecticut in 1815
• – Sylvester Baldwin (b. 1817) m. Susan Holmes
• – Roswell Baldwin (1818-1885)
• – Mary Baldwin (1820-1889) m. Latham Brightman

• Captain Roswell Baldwin from Connecticut m. Hannah Miles (1829-1872)
• – Sylvester Baldwin (1857-1923)
• – Roswell Baldwin (1859-1896)

• Sylvester Baldwin from Brooklyn m. Helen McNamara (1860-1942) in 1883
• – Alexander Rae Baldwin (1897-1969)
• – Leo Baldwin (1898-1974) m. Loretta Pless
• – Charles Baldwin (1902-1948)

• Alexander Rae Baldwin Sr from Brooklyn m. Ruth Noble (1898-1968)
• – Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr (1927-1983)
• – Joseph Baldwin (1929-2007) m. Harriet Nolan
• – Charles (Black Craw) Baldwin (1932-2011) m. Mary Gander

• Alxander Rae Baldwin Jr from Brooklyn m. Carol Martineau (b. 1929)
• – Elizabeth (Beth) Baldwin (b. 1955) m. Charles Keuchier
• – Alexander (Alec) Rae Baldwin III (b. 1958)
• – Daniel Baldwin (b. 1960) m. Cheryl McGreevy, Elizabeth Hitchler, Isabella Hofmann and Joanne Smith
• – William (Billy) Baldwin (b. 1963) m. Chynna Phillips
• – Jane Baldwin (b. 1965) m. Randy Sasso
• – Stephen Baldwin (b. 1966) m. Kennya Deodato

• Alec Baldwin from New York m. Kim Basinger (b. 1953); rem. Hilaria Thomas (b. 1984)
• – Ireland Baldwin (b. 1995)
• – Carmen Baldwin (b. 2013)
• – Rafael Baldwin (b. 2015)
• – Leonardo Baldwin (b. 2016)
• – Romeo Baldwin (b. 2018)
• – Eduardo Baldwin (b. 2020)
• – Maria Baldwin (b. 2021)