Kelsey Grammer Welcomes New Baby at 70

A round of cheers for actor Kelsey Grammer, 70, who recently announced a new addition to his already large brood: a newborn son, Christopher.

On the October 27 episode of the Pod Meets World podcast with Boy Meets World cast members Danielle Fishel (Topanga), Rider Strong (Shawn) and Will Friedle (Eric), the Frasier star said, “We just had our fourth one,” referring to his wife, film producer Kayte Walsh, 46.

“It just became eight kids,” Grammer said. “It was like three days ago. Christopher has just joined the family. Pretty cool. Yeah, isn’t that lovely?”

Grammer and Walsh also share a daughter Faith, 12, and sons Gabriel, 10, and James, 8. The star has a daughter, Spencer, 41, with his first wife, Doreen Alderman; a daughter, Greer, 33, with Barrie Buckner; and a daughter, Mason, 23, and son, Jude, 20, with Camille Grammer.

(Left to right) The cast of ‘Frasier’: Peri Gilpin, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves, Kelsey Grammer, John Mahoney

NBC/Everett Collection

The Emmy winner spoke to AARP in 2024 and shared his perspective on later-in-life fatherhood, saying that “there are more opportunities for me to be delighted than ever before.”

“My seven children range from age 40 down to 7,” he said. “With my oldest daughters, especially, I missed occasions and wasn’t as present as I should have been. Now we’re reconnecting, healing. The new batch is a total do-over. We’re like a pack. The three youngest still sleep in our room, and around 3 a.m. this morning, James, the 7-year-old, rolled over with a little kick and I thought, ‘This is the best thing that ever happened to me.’ ”

Grammer also said he isn’t “sad about getting older.”

“I feel better now than ever, honestly,” he said. “Sometimes, though, that line comes to me from the poem To His Coy Mistress: ‘At my back I always hear / Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.’ There are things I haven’t quite done yet. I do face that ticking clock. Of course, time is not really God’s issue; it’s our issue.”

The age of new fathers in the U.S. increased from 27.4 to 30.9 years from 1972 to 2015, according to a 2017 study by Stanford University researchers. The share of new dads in their 40s doubled during that period, reaching almost 9 percent. 

Advantages of being an older dad include bringing life experience to parenting and being better informed, while some disadvantages are health risks and lower energy levels.

AARP shares information on how older parents are parenting for a longer period and the positives and negatives of parenting older children.