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Liv Tyler - Biography

The Lord of the Rings actress made her start as a model aged 14

liv tyler posing red carpet
Jenni McKnight
US Lifestyle Editor
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Who is Liv Tyler? 

Liv Tyler was born on July 1, 1977, in Portland, Maine. The daughter of Playboy model and famed groupie Bebe Buell, she spent her first-decade thinking musician Todd Rundgren was her father. In fact, Liv was the result of an eight-month involvement with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler

Liv Tyler's upbringing 

liv tyler posing with steven tyler© Gilbert Carrasquillo
Liv Tyler discovered her biological dad was Steven Tyler when she was 10

It seems Liv's mom, Bebe wanted to shield her daughter from her biological father's wild past. Facial similarities between Steven and Liv made the secret hard to conceal, however. Aged 10, Liv figured it out for herself, and Mom came clean. "So, I now have two fathers I am very happy with that," she once said. 

Bebe and Liv moved to New York City when the future starlet was just 14 years old. Modeling contracts came quickly, but after two years Liv gave it up to focus on acting. 

Liv Tyler's acting career 

Liv Tyler started her career as a model before landing roles in 'Silent Fall' and 'Heavy'© Getty Images
Liv Tyler started her career as a model before landing roles in 'Silent Fall' and 'Heavy'

Acclaimed debuts in 'Silent Fall' and 'Heavy' got Liv noticed, as did her pole-swinging antics in Aerosmith's seminal video, 'Crazy'. Soon the girl with the pillow lips was appearing in director Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty

She made a name for herself playing the girl next door in a series of films including Tom Hanks' feature film directorial debut, 'That Thing You Do!' and the high-octane blockbuster 'Armageddon' alongside Ben Affleck. "If I seemed sweet and naive, that's because I was sweet and naive," she said of her early career.

"I was 16 when I started out. It wasn't like I had a huge variety of options to pick from. I was just learning." Clearly, she was a good student. She quickly racked up screen credits with directors Robert Altman and Oliver Stone, and in 2000 decamped to New Zealand to shoot the epic trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings'.

The first in the JRR Tolkien series hit screens during Christmas 2001, with the next installments following in 2002 and 2003.

Liv Tyler's personal life 

liv tyler dave gardner smiling together© David M. Benett
Liv Tyler and Dave Gardner split in 2021

Liv was in a relationship with Joaquin Phoenix from 1995 to 1998. Shortly after, she found love with British rocker Royston Langdon, and they became engaged in 2001. The two wed secretly in Barbados in March 2003 and welcomed their son, Milo William Langdon in December of the following year. 

By May 2008, however, the relationship was in trouble and the couple announced they were splitting up. 

Her next long-term relationship was with Dave Gardner. Liv and the British sports and entertainment manager started dating in 2014 and became engaged the following July. They have two children together: a son, Sailor Gene, born in February 2015, and a daughter, Lula Rose, born in July 2016. Liv and Dave split in 2021 after seven years together.

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