George Clooney and wife Amal embrace French citizenship move with kids
George Clooney’s family now calls their farm in France home, prioritizing privacy and a more ordinary life for their kids.
France is saying bienvenue to the Clooney family.
George Clooney, his wife Amal, and their two 8-year-old children, Alexander and Ella, have been granted French citizenship, according to government documents viewed by USA TODAY.
The “Ocean’s Eleven” star, 64, has previously discussed moving his family to France so his kids could grow up with a more normal life outside of Hollywood.
“We live on a farm in France,” Clooney told Esquire in an October profile. “A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it. But now, for them, it’s like – they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.”
He continued, “I was worried about raising our kids in L. A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France – they kind of don’t give a s— about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”
According to a New York Times profile of Clooney published in February, the actor also has a place in England and a home in Kentucky, where he was born, but the farm in France is his and his family’s primary residence.
“Growing up in Kentucky, all I wanted to do was get away from a farm, get away from that life,” he told the Times. “Now I find myself back in that life. I drive a tractor and all those things. It’s the best chance of a normal life.”
Clooney has been married to his wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, since 2014. They welcomed twins in 2017.
The Oscar-winning actor is coming off a role in “Jay Kelly,” a Netflix drama where he plays a fictional A-list movie star with some similarities to Clooney himself.
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Speaking to USA TODAY about the film, Clooney noted he “didn’t have a great interest in having a family” until he met his wife. “Listen, I’m a father of two 8-year-olds at 64 years old, so clearly I put some stuff off,” he joked.
Clooney also recalled a conversation he had with his father 25 years ago about having children that stuck with him.
“I remember saying, ‘Having kids is a version of living forever. Well, my version is the movies that I do, those are my children,'” Clooney said. “And my dad was like, ‘How many stars could you name from 1920?’ I named five or something. He goes, ‘That’s five. That’s how many you can name, and that’s 80 years ago.’
“He goes, ‘You’re not buying forever with these movies. You’re buying maybe 80 years.’ And it was a funny thing. I disagreed with him at the time, and now I completely understand what he was saying because I’m so happy in my life.”
Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY