Meet Sir Ben Kingsley's actress wife and children - including 2 who followed in his footsteps

Sir Ben Kingsley is back in Netflix's highly anticipated crime comedy, The Thursday Murder Club, based on the best-selling books by Richard Osman. The 81-year-old is part of a star-studded cast featuring the likes of Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, David Tennant and more. Off-screen, however, the Academy Award-winning actor leads a relatively peaceful life with his wife, children and grandchildren. Scroll down to find out more about Sir Ben's four marriages, and his two kids who decided to follow in his footsteps…

Sir Ben Kinglsey's marriages

The Gandhi star has been married four times. First, he was married to actress Angela Morant between 1966 and 1976. The pair share two children, Thomas Bhanji and Jasmin Bhanji, who became an artist. His second wife was theatre director Alison Sutcliffe, to whom he was married for 14 years; they share two children, Edmund and Ferdinand Kinsley, who are both actors like their father.

© Mike Marsland/WireImage

Sir Ben was briefly married to Alexandra Christmann between 2003 and 2005, and he married his current wife Daniela Lavender, a Brazilian actress, in 2007. At the time of the wedding, he told the BBC: "It is a perfectly-balanced relationship, which like scales, includes its swings." He revealed that their ceremony was "blissfully private and beautiful", adding: "We had a lovely lunch on the lawn. It was very simple and very happy."

Sir Ben Kingsley's children who followed in his footsteps

While Thomas remains out of the spotlight, and Jasmin is a practising contemporary artist, his two sons from his second marriage both became actors like their father. Edmund appeared alongside his father in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning drama, Hugo, meanwhile, Ferdinand has starred in ITV's historical drama Victoria and Prime Video thriller Reacher. 

© David M. Benett

The 81-year-old is also a grandfather; though it is unclear how many grandchildren he has, The Times reported that he had seven in 2015. He opened up about them in an interview with The Guardian last year. "I recently had a wonderful birthday party organised by my darling Daniela. All my children and grandchildren were present. It was an extraordinarily beautiful occasion. I was delighted to see how easily I communicate with my grandchildren. There is a connection between us that I'm grateful for."