All About Charlie Sheen's Parents, Martin and Janet Sheen

Charlie Sheen is the son of actors Janet and Martin Sheen

Acting runs in Charlie Sheen's family.

Born on Sept. 3, 1965, the Two and a Half Men actor is the son of Janet and Martin Sheen.

Martin (whose real name is Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez) is an Ohio native, born in Dayton to immigrant parents: a mom from Ireland and a dad from Spain. Janet was also born in Dayton, though grew up in Cincinnati.

Despite sharing a home state, the pair didn't meet until years later following their respective moves to New York City. Shortly after, they tied the knot and began to expand their family.

Each of the Sheen/Estevez siblings followed in their parents' footsteps and pursued a career in entertainment. Of their four children, however, Charlie is the only one who chose to take the Sheen stage name professionally.

When asked if he thought his children would get the acting bug, Martin said in an interview that he "didn’t have any idea that the kids were at all interested." He explained, "I was focused on the work and the travel and the commitment and the need to make a living so I wasn’t really aware of their interest in becoming a part of it. I was always surprised."

Read on for what to know about Sheen's parents, Martin and Janet Sheen.

Related: Charlie Sheen's 3 Siblings: All About Emilio, Ramon and Renée Estevez

Martin Sheen has received many accolades for his acting career

Martin Sheen is an acclaimed actor who's appeared in numerous titles across television and film. He's received three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work that spans six decades.

Badlands marked Martin's breakthrough role in 1973, followed by Apocalypse Now in 1979. He has appeared in a number of notable titles since, including 1982's Gandhi, 1987's Wall Street, 1993's Gettysburg, 2002's Catch Me If You Can, 2006's The Departed and 2021's Judas and the Black Messiah.

In addition to film, Martin boasts a successful career in television. His role as fictional Democratic president Josiah "Jed" Bartlet in NBC's drama, The West Wing, is among his most notable — of which he earned a Golden Globe award for best actor and six Primetime Emmy nods for outstanding lead actor.

Other famed TV titles he's appeared in include 1979's Blind Ambition, 1983's Kennedy, 1994's Murphy Brown (for which he won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor) and Grace and Frankie which ran from 2015 to 2022.

Janet Sheen is an actress and producer

Like her husband, Janet is in the entertainment industry as an actor and producer.

In 1983, she played the role of Elaine de Kooning in the television miniseries Kennedy alongside Martin. She went on to serve as associate producer for Beverly Hills Brats in 1989 and later produced the 2010 film The Way which was directed by her son Emilio and starred Martin.

Related: Charlie Sheen's 5 Kids: All About Cassandra, Sami, Lola, Bob and Max

They've been married for over six decades

Martin and Janet are both Ohio natives, though they met each other in New York City in the early 1960s. Martin relocated to N.Y.C. to pursue a career in theater and Janet moved to study art at the New School.

“I was there for 10 years. Jan and I met there, were married there, and all our children were born there," Martin recalled of the city when speaking with Closer Weekly in 2022. "Those 10 years were vital in my life as a husband, father, an activist and an actor.”

The pair wed in a 15-minute ceremony in 1961. “I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day,” Martin wrote of their wedding in his dual memoir, Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son (co-written with Emilio).

Martin tried to pinpoint the secret to their long-lasting marriage, though couldn't quite find the words. "I haven't a clue," he told The Guardian in 2011. “I really don’t. I’ve never met a person with more integrity in my life, though ... It's taken me a long time to be as even and direct with her as she has been, always, with me.”

Martin changed his name due to prejudices in the industry

The actor has opened up about why he changed his name from Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez to Martin Sheen in the past. However, he further explains his reasoning during an episode of The Thread, titled "Martin Sheen: Lights, Camera, Activism."

"I had difficulty with my name because there was a lot of prejudice against Hispanics, but it was the Puerto Rican community. They were the blame for everything. They were the new immigrants," Martin says in the episode released on YouTube in March 2024.

"That was the racist attitude in New York at the time — and so I was considered, with my name, Puerto Rican. So, if I’d be on the phone or in any other context without seeing my mug, I was considered Puerto Rican," he continues. "I thought, ‘Oh God. I’ve got enough trouble trying to get a job as an actor.’ So that’s why I chose Sheen.

Martin said he decided on his last name because he "was fascinated" with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who was considered among the first televangelists in the 1950s. "So, as much to honor his presence, I just started using ‘Sheen.'"

As for his first name, the actor says "Martin" was inspired by Robert Dale Martin, who was the casting director at CBS in New York when he arrived in 1958. "I met him and he was very, very encouraging to me," Martin says in the episode.

They have four children

Martin and Janet are the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter. They welcomed their first child, son Emilio Estevez, less than six months after they got married in May 1962.

The couple had their second child, son Ramon Estevez, in August 1963. In September 1965, Carlos Estevez (better known as Charlie Sheen) was born followed by their only daughter, Renée Estevez, in April 1967.

Emilio told Jon Foss that his siblings were close when they were young, forming strong bonds as they traveled together while their dad filmed movies around the world. “We’re a pretty tight unit,” he said.

They ultimately followed in their parents' acting footsteps, becoming performers in their own right. Having all worked in front of and behind the camera, Emilio once told Bobbie Wygant that they "share a lot of the same characteristics."

When speaking of his kids in an interview with Route Magazine, Martin once said that he and Janet "love them all equally, but differently." He explained, "Each one has different needs and you have individual relationships with each one and you have a family relationship with the whole."

Related: Charlie Sheen Opens Up About Being a Single Dad to His Teenage Twin Boys (Exclusive)

Martin Sheen has acted alongside Charlie Sheen

While Martin and Janet's children went on to pursue their own acting careers, they've all worked alongside their famous father — with Emilio and Charlie becoming household names in their own right.

“It was surprising to me,” Martin told The Guardian in 2011 of his kids’ decision to pursue careers in entertainment. “But when I saw [Emilio] acting, I realized how talented he was. I was so relieved.” He went on to add, “Each of my children [is] an individual talent. They didn’t get anything by favor — nothing, not once.”

Charlie has appeared in several projects with his father, with 1990's Cadence being among the most notable. Martin directed the historical prison film and played the role of Otis V. McKinney opposite Charlie in the role of Franklin Fairchild Bean. Ramon also appeared in the movie as Gerald Gessner.

They are grandparents

Martin and Janet's family has expanded over the years. They now have 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Emilio and his ex-girlfriend, Carey Salley, share two kids, son Taylor and daughter Paloma, as well as a grandchild. Ramon has three adult children: Katherine, Christopher and Luis Jr.

Charlie is a father of five. He shares two daughters, Sami and Lola Rose, with ex-wife Denise Richards, and two sons, twins Max and Bob, with ex-wife Brooke Mueller. He also has a grandchild, Luna, from his eldest daughter, Cassandra Estevez, whom he shares with his high school girlfriend, Paula Speert.

Martin opened up to PEOPLE in June 2021 about Charlie's brood, saying, "He's very involved with his family, his children and grandchildren."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.