James Caan's children: All about the actor's family as 'The Godfather' star dies aged 82

On July 6, Oscar-nominated actor James Caan passed away at the age of 82. The news of his demise was shared by his manager a day later. In a tweet, the manager confirmed the death of the veteran star, who passed away on Wednesday evening.

The aforementioned tweet read:

“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6.”

As of now, no cause of death has been revealed. The Hollywood icon’s last publicly reported health scare was in 2015 when he was hospitalized in Toronto for a chest infection.

Caan was best known for his portrayal of Michael Corleone’s elder brother Sonny in 1972’s The Godfather. For the iconic role, the actor was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the category of “Best Supporting Actor.”

---

James Caan’s family and children

The 82-year-old Hollywood legend was married four times and had fathered five children. In 1960, he married Dee Jay Mattis, with whom he had six years of marital life. Two years prior to their separation, Cann and Mattis welcomed their daughter, Tara.

A decade after his separation from his first wife, Caan married Sheila Marie Ryan in 1976. The former couple, who separated within a year of their marriage, have a son together. Their son, Scott Caan, followed in his father’s footsteps in becoming an actor and is best known for his portrayal of Turk Malloy in Ocean’s series.

Meanwhile, in 1990, Caan married Ingrid Hajek and his marriage to her lasted for almost five years. The former pair welcomed their son, Alexander James Caan, in 1991. Following his separation from Hajek, Caan married Linda Stokes in the same year.

The two welcomed their first son together, James Arthur Caan, in 1995. Their second son, Jacob Nicholas Caan, followed in 1998. Prior to his demise in 2022, Caan’s marriage with Stokes was his longest one, as they separated in 2017 after 22 years of marital life.

Amongst all his five children, Scott Caan is the most famous, owing to his association with Hollywood in prominent roles in blockbuster films. According to reports, James Caan’s only grandchild as of now is Scott’s daughter, Josie James Caan.

---

Exploring James Caan’s legacy

Born in The Bronx, the New York native studied at Hofstra University in New York and was a classmate of longtime collaborator Francis Ford Coppola. James Caan worked with Coppola on multiple projects, which included the aforementioned The Godfather and The Godfather II, as well as The Rain People in 1969.

The latter of which garnered him significant praise and ended up being a breakthrough role for his career.

James Caan had forayed into acting with off-broadway plays in New York and debuted in Hollywood with a one-time brief role in Naked City (1961) TV series. Following a few portrayals of one-off characters in various TV series, Caan played the role of Private Anthony Duganin in 1965’s The Glory Guys, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of “Most Promising Male Newcomer.”

Four years later, in 1969, the actor appeared in The Rain People as Kilgannon.

According to his IMDb profile, he has four Golden Globes nominations and one Oscar nod in his career spanning over six decades. The database also revealed that James “Jimmy” Caan had appeared in over 135 projects, with his last venture, Fast Charlie, still in production. However, some of these projects also included his uncredited roles.

---