Ryan Reynolds' Parents: All About Mom Tammy and Dad James Chester Reynolds

Mar. 15, 2025

Ryan Reynolds with his parents, Tammy and James.Photo:E. Neitzel/WireImage

E. Neitzel/WireImage

Long beforeRyan Reynoldswas a Marvel superhero, an entrepreneur, a husband toBlake Livelyand afather of four, he was just the son of Tammy and James “Jim” Chester Reynolds.

Born to the couple on Oct. 23, 1976, in Vancouver, Canada, Ryan completed the family of six.

“It’s intense when you’re theyoungest of four boys,” Ryan previously told PEOPLE. “You sort of cultivate all these other aspects, survival aspects, that you wouldn’t normally cultivate, you know, being the oldest.”

Ryan also struggled to connect with his father, James, whodied on Oct. 25, 2015. “My dad was a tough guy,” he shared withMr. Porterin 2018. “He was good in many ways as well, but he was tough on us.”

For the actor, who dealt with anxiety as a child (“I’ve had anxiety my whole lifereally,” he told CBS Sunday Mornings in 2022), it was a tough environment. “Growing up in my house, it was never relaxing or easy and I know that, throughout my life, I’ve dealt with anxiety in different ways,” he toldMr. Porter.

Despite his struggles, Ryan maintains a close relationship with his family, including his mother Tammy, whosupported himat his November 2022 awards ceremony for the American Cinematheque Award.

“We’re never splitting,” Ryan jokinglytweetedabout his relationship with his mom amid split rumors with Lively in 2018. “She’ll always be my mom. No matter how much jazz-cabbage she smokes with her rollerblading friends.”

Here’s everything to know aboutThe Proposalstar’s parents, Tammy and James Chester Reynolds.

Tammy and James shared four sons

Ryan Reynolds and his brothers on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.Frank Trapper/Corbis/Getty

Frank Trapper/Corbis/Getty

Ryan was the last of four boys born to the Canadian couple, who also shared Patrick, Jeff and Terry Reynolds. “I wasn’t considered a younger brother, I was considered a moving target,” Ryan once told PEOPLE.

According to theDeadpoolstar, theReynolds brood could be destructive. “My brothers and I … we would destroy the house,” he toldEWRadio in 2016.

Still, as Ryan toldMr. Porterin 2018, their shared experiences growing up brought them together. “My brothers and I are all very, very close and we all share a bit of that type of humor together,” he said.

He elaborated toDavid Lettermanin 2022, saying, “Laughing can serve you in those dark moments and even help you crawl your way back out. There were times of real darkness. But I think I found those slivers of light, I think my brothers did too. I think we had each other.”

The Reynolds’ humor also got them through James’ death in 2015. “In my dad’s dying moments, we were making him laugh,” Ryan later shared withMen’s Health. “We were all in there together, me and my brothers, just joking with him.”

“Receiving the Order of British Columbia is the honour of a lifetime. I could have been born anywhere but I had the dumb and incredible luck to be made in Vancouver,” he wrote. “Huge thanks to my three older brothers, Patrick, Terry and Jeff as well as my mom, Tammy… we’realways there for each other. No matter what. Love you.”

James was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1995

Ryan Reynolds speaks during “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s” 2008 Benefit.Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

When Ryan was a teenager, James was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

“My father really hasn’t ever said he has Parkinson’s disease,” Ryan toldTodaywhile doing press in 2014 for theMichael J. Fox Foundation, for which he serves on the board of directors. “He comes from a pretty prideful generation, and he doesn’t talk about it too much. He’s maybe said it once or twice out loud.”

Despite James’ lack of openness about his diagnosis, Ryan said that it brought his family closer. “It kind of galvanized everybody else, to sort of seek resources,” he told the outlet. “And for us, in a strange way, it’s really kind of brought us together.”

James died in October 2015 following a nearly 20-year journey with the disease. In an essay for TIME, published in April 2024, Ryan creditedMichael J. Foxfor helping his dad “feel less alone” while dealing with Parkinson’s.

Tammy was James' primary caregiver following his Parkinson’s diagnosis

While talking with PEOPLE in August 2024, Ryan shared that his mom lived a “life of true isolation” while being the primary caregiver for James.

“When somebody is not necessarily speaking from their baseline or right mental state, they can make life really tough for the only person [there]. My mom was a backboard for my father during that time, but it really broke her,” he said, adding, “Caregiver fatigue is very real — it’s one of probably the most unreported side effects of diseases like this.”

Ryan regularly trolls Tammy on social media

Ryan Reynolds and Tammy Reynolds attend the 2017 Time 100 Gala.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Ryan is known fortrolling his wifeon social media, but he’s also been known to roast his own mother. In 2017, the actor shared a photo of himselfon Instagramwith the Reynolds matriarch from the TIME 100 Gala red carpet, in which he Photoshopped copious tattoos across her face and neck. “My Mom had the best time in the #Deadpool tattoo booth at Brazil Comic Con,” Ryan joked.

He struck again in March 2023 while announcing the sale of his company, Mint Mobile, toT-Mobile for $1 billion. “We are so happy T-Mobile beat out an aggressive last-minute bid from my mom Tammy Reynolds as we believe the excellence of their 5G network will provide a better strategic fit than my mom’s slightly-above-average mahjong skills,” he teased.

James worked as a police officer

Ryan Reynolds with his mom Tammy Reynolds on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2014.Rick Madonik/Toronto Star/Getty

Rick Madonik/Toronto Star/Getty

Prior to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, James had several careers, including one as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “I would probably have been one [a Mountie] too, if it wasn’t for this job,” Ryan reportedly toldThe Timesin 2010. “Being a Mountie is actually a dirtier, rougher and a much more difficult job than you’d think.”

As PEOPLE’s2010 Sexiest Man Aliveexplained in his 2022Welcome to Wrexhamdocumentary, James changed careers later in life, however. “My dad started as a cop and then became a food broker, which sounds like a cover for a CIA agent or something but it’s an actual job,” he said.

Ryan had a complex relationship with James

Ryan Reynolds and his father, James Reynolds.Ryan Reynolds Twitter

Ryan Reynolds Twitter

Ryan’s relationship with his dad was often fraught. He explained their dynamic toGQin 2016, saying, “I had a rough ten-year patch with my father. So we were estranged.”

According to theTwo Guys and a Pizza Placealum, he envisioned a father figure like Wilford Brimley, “who would put me on his lap and just dispense incredible life advice and guidance, and I would go out into the world and execute it beautifully,” he said. Instead, Ryan told the publication that his dad was “that stereotypical tough guy” who kept things inside. “The hardest part for me is that he was always kind of a mystery,” he said. “I just don’t feel like I ever had a real conversation with him.”

Ryan has since reconciled that Parkinson’s played a big part in their disconnect as father and son. James often experienced two of the disease’s lesser-known symptoms,hallucinations and delusions, which the actor says “destabilized” their relationship.

“At the time I just thought, ‘My dad’s losing his mind.’ My father was slipping down a rabbit hole where he was struggling to differentiate between reality and fiction,” Ryan told PEOPLE in August 2024. “And subsequently, everyone else in his life was losing the bedrock faith and trust that they had on his point of view.”

TheRed Noticestar went on to express regret for the way he handled his remaining years with James.

“It was very easy for me to dine off the idea that my father and I do not see eye to eye on anything and that an actual relationship with him is impossible. And as I’m older now, I look back at it, and I think of it more as that was my unwillingness at the time to meet him where he was,” Ryan shared. “I could have maybe been there with him toward the end, and I wasn’t. He and I just drifted apart, and that’s something I’ll live with forever.”

Blake Lively lovingly teases Tammy, too

Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Ryan’s not the only one who has fun teasing Tammy. While making aloving speechabout her husband before he was presented with the American Cinematheque Award in 2022, Lively thanked her mother-in-law and his late father for conceiving her spouse on what she called a “magical night in 1976.”

“I’m looking at you, Tam-Tam.You little hussy,” she joked.

Ryan named his daughter after his late father

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

As the actor toldMr. Porterin 2018, James was also able to meet his namesake, who was born in December 2014, before his death. “He got to see her, which makes me happy,” Ryan told the publication. “It felt right.”

Ryan credited his spouse for helping him get to a better place with his father at the end of his life. “She has a gift for foresight,” he said.

Tammy costarred in a commercial with Ryan

Aviation American Gin

For Mother’s Day 2022, Tammystarred alongside her youngest sonin an ad for his gin company, Aviation Gin.

In the clip, Ryan can be seen attempting to make a cocktail called “Mothers Ruin Punch” as Tammy critiques his every move.

“As this chills for an hour, you’ll want to spend that time reflecting on everything your mom has done for you over the years,” he says, as she cuts about his lack of coasters. “Or just add champagne while it’s warm and drink the ever-loving s— out of it,” he then deadpans.

Tammy trash-talked Chris Hemsworth at her son’s request

Tammy Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth.Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan/Getty ; Brendon Thorne/Getty

Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan/Getty ; Brendon Thorne/Getty

Ryan also enlisted Tammyto trash-talk Chris Hemsworthduring a fantasy football battle between the two men for charity.

“Chris Hemsworthis everyone’s least favorite Australian,” she read from a paper she said Ryan had prepared for her. “And as a reminder, Hugh Jackman still exists.” She added, “Chris is a no good asshat who looks like a bodybuilder f—- a platypus.”

source: people.com