Ron Howard Is ‘Proud’ of Only Son Who Gave Him a Granddaughter with Blonde Hair

Award-winning director Ron Howard has four children whom he shares with his wife of four decades. The couple has three daughters and one son, whose daughter does not have the family’s signature hair color.

Ron opened up about being a parent in a March 2010 interview. He discussed the challenges he faced in the early years of parenthood and how he evolved from thereon.

“I felt pressure about being a father, more pressure than I would have ever imagined — trying to do it right, to be what I should be to my kids,” said the doting parent.

Although he felt under pressure at the time, Ron admitted he would not “trade” that experience for anything. “I think I’ve probably learned more and grown more because I’m a father than for any other reason,” he expressed.

Ron and his wife Cheryl Howard wed in June 1975 and became first-time parents when they welcomed their eldest child, daughter Bryce Howard, in March 1981.

The duo later became parents of three when their twin daughters, Paige and Jocelyn Howard, were born in February 1985. Their youngest child and only son, Reed Howard, was born in April 1987.

The family patriarch explained that when he and Cheryl welcomed their firstborn, things were “manageable.” However, after learning they would be having twins later on, things became challenging.

The acclaimed actor revealed his beloved wife spent several months in bed and she was going crazy. “For the first time in my life, I had to take a lot of extra responsibility at home,” Ron remembered.

During that period, he had to film the movie “Cocoon” and questioned whether he could do it. “And I suddenly realized that I could handle it. I think that was a watershed time in my life both as a parent and as a person,” said the father of four.

In addition to being a dad, Ron is also a doting grandfather. His eldest child, Bryce, has two kids: son Theo, whom he has influenced creatively, and daughter Beatrice. The star has two other granddaughters, Elodie and Aspen.

Ron and Cheryl’s son, Reed, also has a family of his own. The Oscar winner revealed in August 2015 on social media that the Howard family celebrated Reed’s wedding with his wife, Ashley.

The Hollywood star shared pictures from the said occasion, which was an outdoor ceremony, showing the beaming newlyweds posing together. Another photo displayed Reed’s parents smiling with their arms wrapped around each other.

“[…] It was a whirlwind of a celebration at the Winvian Farm,” Ron captioned the Facebook post. Four years after the wedding, Ron gushed about his son Reed on Father’s Day.

In June 2019, the film producer posted a picture of Reed holding and feeding his then-infant daughter, Aspen, on Instagram and paid tribute to him, writing:

“Happy 1st #FathersDay @reedchoward Good job, son. I’m a proud #Dad and #Grandad today and every day.”

A year later, Reed’s wife Ashley also paid homage to him on Instagram alongside several pictures of him and their young daughter. One of the photos showcased Reed bonding with his then-newborn, whom he could be seen holding close to him.

Ashley considers herself lucky to have Reed as her spouse. “[…] I have the most loyal, honest, loving, kind man that I not only get to call my husband, but also the father to the cutest, sweetest, funniest, most independent little lady around,” she penned in a Father’s Day post in June 2020.

The mother of one further thanked her beloved husband for all he does and for being authentically himself, adding that she loves him.

Ashley has also gushed about the couple’s daughter, Aspen, on the platform. In May 2023, on Mother’s Day, she shared a picture of their little one in a long corridor and said it was an “honor” being her mom.

Aside from being doting parents, Ashley and her child’s father engage in different activities. Reed has been showing online users what he has been up to. In June 2022, he posted a video of himself “doing ice baths” after taking a cold shower, saying at the time that it was a “warm summer day.”

Reed is also an avid golfer, as there are several images of him playing golf on his Instagram account. He posted a picture of himself playing on ice in March 2021 and captioned his post, “Snowman.”

Reed and Ashley have now been married for eight years. While marking their wedding anniversary in August, he posted a video on Instagram revealing she ditched him on their special day to go to a Taylor Swift concert.

“What else was I supposed to do?” he asked before sharing another shot of the clip, which showed him and the couple’s child, Aspen, hilariously dancing to Swift’s hit song, “Shake It Off,” in the family living room.

Looking at the video, it seems Reed and Ashley’s daughter has blonde hair, which is a very different hair color from her dad and paternal grandparents, including aunts.

Reed shared another clip of the father and daughter duo sitting on the couch on Instagram in January 2021, wherein he asked the youngster what she wanted to watch on TV, and it is apparent that Aspen’s hair color is blonde compared to his striking red hair color.

Reed and his entire immediate family have red hair. In November 2019, his famous father shared a family picture on what would have been his grandfather’s 91st birthday. The picture featured Reed, his parents, and his sisters, with their red locks on full display while Ron’s parents posed alongside them.

In April 2017, Reed attended the premiere of National Geographic’s “Genius” after-party in Los Angeles, where he posed with his father. Four years later, his older sister Bryce posted a throwback family portrait on National Siblings Day from one of their trips to Niagra Falls when all the siblings were still younger. They all beamed with their parents for the snap while posing near the water.