George Clooney knows Hollywood well enough to not want to raise his kids there. Since welcoming his twins, Ella and Alexander, with wife Amal Clooney, who he married in 2014, the Jay Kelly actor has lived largely outside the United States, including in his famed Lake Como villa, which he purchased in 2002. The couple however also owns homes in England as well as in the Provence region of France, where the doting dad has confirmed he and the human rights lawyers are raising their eight-year-olds.
Speaking with Esquire, George first gushed about how "very lucky" he and Amal are, before sharing: "You know, we live on a farm in France. 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?" George is originally from Lexington, Kentucky.
© Getty ImagesFurther giving insight into the kids' life in Provence, George said: "They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life," and admitted he 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 [expletive] 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," he emphasized.
Though Amal and George are firm on raising their kids in France and away from the spotlight, the four of them did recently live in New York City while George made his Broadway debut, starring as famed journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck, a play based on his 2005 movie, itself based on how the CBS News team of the 1950s handled the Red Scare and McCarthyism.
© Getty ImagesSpeaking with GQ last year about how he manages his time and work, and the fact that his Broadway stint meant moving his family to New York City for six months, he said: "I'm going to give myself time with my kids. I really enjoy driving them to school, and my wife and I are having a really wonderful time. So I don't want to lose all of that." Still, he did note at the time: "But this is an opportunity to do something that I have never done before. I've never been on Broadway. So we're still trying to do things and new things and try things, but we're also saying, 'Well, let’s also remember that we want to see our life in a kind of nice way too.' A little of both. Everything in moderation, including moderation."
© Erik Pendzich/ShutterstockBack in May, he was nominated for his role as Murrow — he initially starred as Fred Friendly in his 2005 film — and though it ultimately went to Cole Escola for Oh, Mary!, at the time, he couldn't help but gush about what a special time in his life working on his Broadway debut had been. He especially gushed about his wife's support, and her own impressive accolades, telling E! News: "I have this incredible partner who I couldn't be more proud of." In May 2024, Amal was one of the legal experts who recommended that the ICC chief prosecutor seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in his ongoing war on Palestine, which on September 16 an independent United Nations inquiry ruled a genocide.
© Getty"She's the bravest human being I've ever met in my life. I am deeply proud of her and the fact that she's in any way proud of me, if just, I can't believe how lucky I am," George endearingly added.
