All About Chris and Liam Hemsworth's Parents, Craig and Leonie Hemsworth

From raising three sons in the Australian Outback, to their children-focused charity work, here’s everything to know about Chris and Liam Hemsworth’s parents

The Hemsworth brothers — Luke, Chris and Liam — share a tight-knit bond with each other and their parents.

The trio of actors grew up all around Australia together, living in Melbourne, the Outback and on Phillip Island before going on to pursue their respective careers in acting.

As they’ve each made a name for themselves in Hollywood, they’ve repeatedly attributed their grounded outlook on life to the lessons they’ve learned from their parents, Craig and Leonie Hemsworth.

Related: The Hemsworth Brothers: All About Luke, Chris and Liam

Chris has referred to his dad as his “inspiration,” while Liam has gushed that his mom is the “best person ever.” The Thor star and Hunger Games actor frequently shout out their parents on social media, offering glimpses into their family’s close ties during holidays or group vacations.

Outside of being featured in their son’s posts and making a rare red carpet appearance, the couple largely keeps themselves out of the spotlight.

So who are Chris and Liam Hemsworth’s parents? From their work with children and charities to their close relationship with their sons, here’s everything to know about Craig and Leonie Hemsworth.

Craig and Leonie raised their sons in the Outback

The couple welcomed their first child together, son Luke, on November 5, 1980. Just a few years later, Luke became a big brother with the arrival of another son, Chris, on August 11, 1983. For the remainder of the decade, it was just the four of them — until son Liam joined the family on Jan. 13, 1990.

Leonie, a teacher, and Craig, a counselor, raised their brood partially in the Outback — a lifestyle that Chris told SilverKris that he’s “very proud of.”

“I grew up around buffaloes and crocodiles, not phones and video games,” he said during a 2019 interview. “Growing up in the Australian outback, I had adventures and spent most of my time outside — it shaped me and I am very proud of that."

Luke comically painted a less idyllic picture of their upbringing in a 2016 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, explaining that he grew up in “the Hemsworth House of Horrors,” where he and his brothers would ride motorbikes without helmets and “introduce [other kids] to one death trap after another."

These days, Luke and Chris have returned to live in Australia with their respective families, and to be closer to their parents. While Liam lives in Los Angeles, he spent the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic with his family in Australia.

They have 6 grandchildren

In addition to being the parents of three successful actors, Craig and Leonie are also proud grandparents to six little ones, who they get to see more often now that sons Luke and Chris have moved back to Australia.

Luke and wife Samantha Hemsworth, who wed in 2007, share three daughters together: Holly, Ella and Harper. Explaining why they moved from L.A. back to Australia to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2020, he said, “The quality of life back home is unparalleled. You just don't get that over there.”

He added that being close to his parents was a big draw, as was living within walking distance from the beach. “We are all loving it. It's good to be back,” he said.

Related: Everything to Know About Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky's Kids

Chris is also a dad of three kids with wife and Spanish model Elsa Pataky, whom he wed in December 2010: daughter India Rose, born in 2012, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, born in 2014. Back in 2015, their family also moved back to Australia for a more laid-back lifestyle.

Leonie once broke her finger trying to stop her sons from fighting

Before the brothers began showing their affection by roasting each other on social media, they most frequently took to roughhousing — which sometimes got out of hand.

In 2012, Liam joked to Conan O’Brien that punching was the brothers’ love language growing up. “That was how we did it in our house. ‘Hey, man, good to see you, here’s a punch in the face for you,’ ” he recalled on Conan.

The Last Song star admitted that their fights were “pretty bad” — particularly between himself and Chris, with whom he is closer in age.

“We would have a fistfight about who was going to sit in the front seat of the car,” Liam remembered. “I threw a knife, like a proper — I don't know why my grandpa thought it was a good idea to give little kids a proper throwing knife, but he gave it to us ... I threw it at [Chris’] head when I was about 8 and the handle hit him in the head.”

While the two were often left to sort things out between themselves, Liam noted that their mom once broke her finger when she attempted to break up one of his and Chris’ fist fights. He described that as “a low point” in their dynamic.

Meanwhile, Luke hardly took the high road — he recounted during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2016 that he often beat up both of his brothers growing up. “Every chance I could, and I still do,” he told host Jimmy Kimmel. “They're really tall, but they're actually quite soft — and they cry a lot. I take great joy in making them cry.”

They worked in child protection services

For over two decades, both Craig and Leonie dedicated their time to helping children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

“My parents worked in child protection for many years,” Chris told El Pais in 2023. “My dad put aside his own experiences in life to be in servitude of helping children,” he added, going on to explain how his parents’ dedication and altruism deeply motivated him to make a difference where he could.

“The influence of my parents and what I grew up with in that environment — that motivation was a huge inspiration. We have to put aside our own personal well-being to help others,” the Extraction actor said.

Inspired by their parents, Chris and Liam both work with the Australian Childhood Foundation, which supports children who have experienced abuse. Their parents have also been involved with the organization, for which Chris is now a patron and Liam is an ambassador.

“I have the best parents you can have,” Liam told the foundation, according to his bio page. “They have worked in child protection for twenty years and have only ever given me encouragement and support, and I always felt safe and loved. The world is a scary enough place as it is for children,” he said, adding, “It is important that home should always be a safe place for them.

Chris paid off all their debt

In 2015, Chris achieved a goal he’d had since starting out in the entertainment industry — to help support his parents by paying off their debts. “We grew up with no money, very broke. I thought I could make some money here and get my parents out of debt and pay for the house and help friends and family,” he told El Pais of his initial interest in acting.

Liam opened up about his brother’s altruistic decision to The Independent at the time, sharing that his parents were stunned by the act. “[My father] called my brother Chris back and said, ‘I don’t know how to feel. Since I left home, I have had debts and I thought I’d be paying them off until I died and have this weight hanging over me, and now to have them completely cleared,’ ” Liam recounted with emotion.

“They are so happy now and able to spend more time with us,” the Isn’t It Romantic star continued. “I would love to be able to do something for my parents like that.”

They’ve joined their sons on the red carpet

While Craig and Leonie tend to stay out of the spotlight, they’ve shown support for their sons on the red carpet on a handful of occasions over the years. In October 2015, they showed up along with Chris to cheer on Liam at the premiere of his film The Dressmaker, an Australian film in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet.

The family playfully posed for portraits together, which Liam later shared on Instagram. “Another strange family portrait to add to the mix,” he wrote alongside a shot of him cracking up beside his dad, while Chris and his mom seemed otherwise preoccupied, adding the hashtag, “#wheresluke.” In another selfie, he thanked his family for coming, calling them “legends.”

The following month, their parents flew to L.A. for the premiere of Mockingjay, the fourth and final installment of Liam’s Hunger Games franchise.

Leonie prioritizes staying active and practices intermittent fasting

The mom of three remains active, taking hikes with her family and committing to intermittent fasting at times, according to daughter-in-law Elsa Pataky.

“She just looks amazing! She's 60 almost, 59, and every year looks even better," Chris' wife said in an interview with Body + Soul in 2019, revealing that Leonie was an early adopter of the method. “She started with one day of fasting, once a week, and then she started with the 15-16 hours of fasting.” She became instrumental in guiding Pataky and her fitness-loving husband through the process as well, which they embarked on together.

“So we started doing it a day here, and a day there and she was like ‘No, that doesn't work! You have to be consistent,' ” Pataky revealed of the advice Leonie offered up. “She lost so much weight, and then she found that this is the way your body has to be. She looks so, so good.”

In May 2018, Liam also shared a sweet snap of himself on a seaside hike in Australia along with his parents. “Climbed a mountain with the oldies this morning,” he captioned the photo, in which his parents looked noticeably fit behind him.

Craig helped Chris train as a kid

Craig helped to nurture Chris’ love of fitness in his youth — a passion which has since developed into the actor building out his own health and fitness app called Centr.

Reflecting on their fitness journey together, Chris took the time to shout out his dad on Father’s Day (which is celebrated in September in Australia) in 2022. “Some of my greatest memories from when I was a kid are training with my dad,” the actor wrote alongside a video of the pair working out together on Instagram.

“I used to compete in the 110m hurdles but didn’t have enough space to train as we lived on top of a very steep hill. My dad built me a single hurdle out of timber and I used the 15 meter driveway we had to practice over and over again. Just he and I till the sun went down havin fun, havin a laugh,” he wrote, adding that beyond the special time they got to share together, he also earned awards thanks to his dad’s patience and support. “Here we are 25 years on still laughing and still moving. Happy Father’s Day, champ.”

Both sons can’t help but gush over their parents

The Hemsworth boys have shared a number of sweet posts dedicated to their parents over the years, referring to them as “the best” and as major sources of inspiration for them.

In 2017, Liam wished his “beautiful mum” a happy birthday, sharing a throwback shot from his parents’ wedding — which quickly went viral for how much Liam is the spitting image of his father in the vintage snap. “I Love u mum you’re the best! Dad you’re an idiot,” he wrote alongside the photo. He later referred to her as the “best mum ever” and “best person ever” in a 2020 birthday post.

Related: Liam Hemsworth Is the Spitting Image of His Father in This Sweet Wedding Photo of His Parents

In another post, Liam shared a close-up photo of Craig at sunset, smiling with a drink in his hand. “The man. The myth. The legend. My Dad,” he proudly captioned the shot.

Recently, Chris honored their dad on his 68th birthday, which the family celebrated all together during a summer getaway to Mykonos. Alongside a slideshow of posts from the festivities — including a video where Liam hugs their father as sparklers shoot out of a birthday cake — he gushed about his dad being “the greatest man I know!”

Wishing him a happy birthday, he went on to call him “My hero, my mentor, my inspiration. love ya dad!”

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