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Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey, his wife Camila Alves McConaughey and their children attend the ceremony honoring Matthew McConaughey with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Michael Tran/FilmMagic
"I want my kids to be conscientious and understand the world we live in and that there are certain expectations, rules and regulations. But hey, be an original thinker, too,” shared the Oscar-winning actor, 51, who has three children with wife Camila Alves, in AARP The Magazine's June/July 2021 cover story.
Vern Yip
Vern Yip and Craig Koch attend the 14th Annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball in New York City.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for UNICEF
"We want [our kids] to be globally minded, we want them to be kind, good people,” the Hong Kong-born interior designer, 52, who has a son and daughter with partner Craig Koch, told People in 2017. “We love to expose them to as much as possible … an important part of parenting is to teach your children that the world is a big place.”
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John Stamos
Actor John Stamos with his son Billy Stamos and wife Caitlin McHugh.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts, Inc.
"At the end of the day, you don't want a trophy and you don't ‘win,’ you don't get a ring. But if you do it right, you've raised a kid that's loving enough, that's smart enough, and that's caring enough to be a better version of yourself. I get choked up thinking about it,” said Stamos, 57, who became a first-time dad with the 2018 birth of son Billy, in an interview with ET.
John Leguizamo
Lucas Leguizamo, Justine Maurer, John Leguizamo and Allegra Leguizamo attend the Tony Awards in New York City.
Steven Ferdman/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
"There are some great qualities to my father, but he was an absent father figure, and now he's an absent grandfather figure. I want to be present,” the 56-year-old actor and dad of two told Psychology Today in 2005. “Men are realizing that there's a great thing to be had by [spending time with] kids. It feeds you."
Will Smith
Actor Trey Smith, singer Willow Smith and actors Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith attend the Environmental Media Association 26th Annual EMA Awards.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Environmental Media Association
This 52-year-old dad of three says he takes a “gardener/flower” approach to fatherhood: “The gardener is not trying to make the seed become what the gardener wants; the gardener wants to create an environment where the seed can become what it wants to be,” Smith explained during a 2020 episode of Facebook series Red Table Talk, hosted by wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso.
NICK AGRO/AFP via Getty Images
"The only way I can describe it — it sounds stupid, but — at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows like five times? Everything is full; It's just full all the time,” the actor, 50, said of parenthood (he's dad to four girls with wife Luciana Barroso) in a 2011 interview with Parade magazine.
