Who is Joaquin Phoenix?
Joaquin Phoenix is an award-winning American actor, film producer and animal rights activist. He is widely recognized for his role as Arthur Fleck in the 2019 film “Joker”, for which he won “Best Actor” at the 92nd Oscars in 2020. According to reports, the actor lost 52 pounds to get into the character of Arthur Fleck.
Joaquin Phoenix’s other movies include “You Were Never Really Here (2017)”, “Mary Magdalene (2018)”, “I’m Still Here (2010”, and several others.
Joaquin Phoenix’s full name is Joaquin Rafael Phoenix but he was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom on October 28, 1974, in the Rio Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is also referred to by the nickname “Leaf Bottom”. Joaquin Phoenix is 48 years old as of October 2022.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s parents
Joaquin Phoenix was born to his parents John Lee Phoenix (father) and Arlyn Phoenix (mother) as the third of five children.
In the early 70s, Joaquin’s parents joined a religious cult called “The Children of God”, now called “Family International”. The cult was founded by David Berg and it became infamous for child abuse allegations. According to reports, the cult encouraged children as young as three years old to get intimate with their parents and other adults. Joaquin Phoenix’s parents got married in 1969 and after their marriage, they went as missionaries to Mexico, South America, and the United States, preaching the message of their cult.
They changed their birth names to Bible characters such as Jochebed and Amram for a while. A few years later, they quit the religious cult and moved back to the United States. They settled in Winterpark, Florida and later changed their surname from “Bottom” to “Phoenix” to symbolize the beginning of their new lives.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s father – John Lee Phoenix
John Lee Phoenix was a former missionary and founder of a landscape gardening company. He was born on April 5, 1947, in Fontana, California, United States. Sadly, he passed away in 2015 at the age of 68. He was married to Arlyn Phoenix (Joaquin Phoenix’s mother) since 1969, but they divorced in 1997 when Joaquin was 23 years old. They had five children together. After his divorce from Arlyn, John had an affair with a lady identified as Trinity. Through this lady, he had a daughter called Jodean Bottom.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s mother – Arlyn Phoenix
Arlyn Phoenix (née Dunetz) is an American social activist and former executive secretary for NBC (National Broadcasting Company). She was born on December 31, 1944, in New York, United States. She is 77 years old as of October 2022. Arlyn was the Executive director of the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery for five years. In 2012, she co-founded the non-profit organization called “The River Phoenix Center For Peace Building”. She was married to John Lee Phoenix since 1969 but got divorced in 1997. As of October 2022, she is married to her second husband Jeffrey Weisberg. Jeffrey Weisberg is the founder and director of programs and outreach for the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding (RPCP).
About Joaquin Phoenix’s siblings
Joaquin Phoenix is the third of five children. According to reports, Joaquin Phoenix also has a half-sister named Jodean Bottom from his father’s affair with a woman identified as Trinity. Altogether, his siblings include River Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Summer Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Jodean Bottom.
Joaquin Phoenix’s siblings:
| Name | Gender | Age | Mother |
| River Phoenix (Deceased) | Male | 23 (Age as of death) | Arlyn Phoenix |
| Rain Phoenix | Female | 49 | Arlyn Phoenix |
| Summer Phoenix | Female | 48 | Arlyn Phoenix |
| Liberty Phoenix | Female | 43 | Arlyn Phoenix |
| Jodean Bottom | Female | 48 | Trinity (According to reports) |
a. River Phoenix
River Phoenix was Joaquin’s eldest sibling. He was born on August 23, 1970, in Madras, Oregon, United States. River was an actor who started working in TV commercials at the age of 10 before his breakout role in the 1986 movie “Stand By Me”.
He also earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Danny Pope in the drama “Running On Empty”. Despite a blossoming career, River Phoenix faced personal struggles which led him to start using drugs. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 23 on October 31, 1993, in West Hollywood, California, from an overdose of cocaine and heroin.
b. Rain Phoenix
Rain Phoenix is Joaquin Phoenix’s oldest sister. She is an American actress, musician and singer. She was born on November 21, 1972, in Crockett, Texas, United States. She is 50 years old as of 2022. Rain Phoenix got into music at a young age and when she was 15, she formed a band called “Aleka’s Attic” with her older brother River Phoenix. After the death of River, Rain was completely devastated but she stayed connected to her late brother through her music.
c. Liberty Phoenix
Liberty Phoenix is the fourth born of the Phoenix family and the second youngest sibling of Joaquin Phoenix. She is a former American actress. She was born on July 5, 1976, in Caracas, Venezuela. She is 46 years old as of October 2022. Liberty started acting in the 1980s and has appeared in several movies.
She put an end to her acting career in the 90s and went on to form a band called “Causey Way” with her two sisters but it disbanded in 2001. Later on, she worked as the office manager for the River Phoenix Center for Peace Building (RPCP), a charity organization founded by her mother. She was formerly married to Ernesto Asch. They got divorced in 2003 but they share three children.
d. Summer Phoenix
Summer Phoenix is Joaquin Phoenix’s youngest sibling. She is an American actress. She was born on December 10, 1978, in Winter Park, Florida, United States. She is 43 years old as of October 2022. Summer has appeared in several movies and TV shows including Airwolf (1984), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Growing Pains (1985), etc. She was formerly married to American actor Casey Affleck. They got divorced in 2017 but they share two children.
e. Jodean Bottom
Jodean Bottom is Joaquin Phoenix’s half-sister. She was born on February 29, 1964, in the United States. She is 48 years old as of September 2022. She was born to John Lee Phoenix (Joaquin Phoenix’s father) and a woman identified as Trinity. Unlike her famous siblings, Jodean keeps a low profile and has no involvement in the media.
Joaquin Phoenix’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article (October 2022), Joaquin Phoenix is believed to be married to American actress Rooney Mara. The couple got engaged in July 2019, and even though they never announced their wedding, they are speculated to have secretly tied the knot. According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, while speaking at an event for his film “C’mon C’mon” in 2021, Joaquin referred to Mara as his wife but did not share any more details about when or where their nuptials took place. The actor has also been linked to several women including Liv Tyler, Jessica Joffe, Allie Teilz, and many others.
List of Joaquin Phoenix’s girlfriends
Before his engagement to Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix has been romantically linked to several famous women. Below is a list of the women Joaquin Phoenix has dated. The list includes his current partner Rooney Mara.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Liv Tyler in 1995.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Jessica Joffe in 1998.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a brief relationship with Amelia Warner in 2000.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Topaz Page Green in 2001.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Inger Ebeltoft in 2001.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Anna Paquin in 2001.
- Joaquin Phoenix was rumoured to be in a relationship with Lindsay Lohan in 2006.
- Joaquin Phoenix was rumoured to be in a relationship with Shannyn Sossamon in 2005.
- Joaquin Phoenix was rumoured to be in a relationship with Ginnifer Goodwin in 2005.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Aria Crescendo in 2010.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a brief relationship with Lena Denasha in 2010.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Heather Christie in 2012.
- Joaquin Phoenix was rumoured to have hooked up with model Nika in 2012.
- Joaquin Phoenix was in a relationship with Allie Teilz in 2013.
- Joaquin Phoenix got engaged to Rooney Mara in 2019.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s relationship with Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler is an American actress, producer, singer, and former model. She was born on July 1, 1977, at the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, United States. She is 45 years old as of October 2022.
One of Joaquin’s first public relationships was with Liv Tyler after they met on the set of the film “Inventing The Abbots” in 1995. The movie would later be released in 1997. According to reports, Phoenix and Liv Tyler started dating while filming was still going on but tried to keep their romance very private. They came up with sneaky ways to avoid being caught.
Often cited as one of the most iconic couples of 90s Hollywood, Joaquin Phoenix and Liv Tyler were together for three years. In 1998, a year after the film “Inventing The Abbots” premiered, they split amicably after realizing their romance wasn’t leading anywhere. However, they have continued to remain friends. As of October 2022, Liv is married to David Gardner, a British sports and entertainment manager. They have two children together.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s relationship with Topaz Page-Green
Topaz Page-Green is a South-African fashion model and humanitarian. She is also the president and founder of the non-profit corporation “The Lunchbox Fund”. She was born in 1979 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is 42 years old as of October 2022.
Joaquin Phoenix and Topaz Page-Green started dating in 2001 after Topaz moved from Johannesburg to Manhattan, the United States to pursue her modelling career. Not much is known about their relationship except the fact that it came to an end in 2005.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s relationship with Allie Teilz
Allie Teilz is an American DJ, musician, model, and designer. She was born on February 23, 1994, in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. She is 28 years old as of October 2022.
Joaquin Phoenix and Allie Teilz started dating in 2013 and their relationship was termed “controversial” mainly because Joaquin was 20 years older than Allie. At the time of their romance, Joaquin Phoenix was 39 while Allie Teilz was 19.
Their relationship stirred a lot of drama and talk in the media because of their wide age gap. Interestingly, as most of their fans predicted, the affair did not last long. It is unclear how long the two dated and what led to their split. To date, none of them has spoken about it.
About Joaquin Phoenix’s relationship with Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara is believed to be Joaquin Phoenix’s current wife. She is an American actress. She was born on April 17, 1985, in Bedford, New York, United States. Rooney Mara is 37 years old as of October 2022.
Joaquin Phoenix and Mara first met in 2012 on the set of “Her” in which Mara played Joaquin’s ex-wife, but they didn’t start dating immediately. In fact, Joaquin Phoenix revealed in an interview that he thought Mara didn’t like him at all. It later turned out that she was just shy. They later reunited in 2016 when they co-starred in the film “Mary Magdalene”. Mara portrayed the titular role while Joaquin portrayed Jesus. It was this same year that they started dating.
In 2017, Joaquin Phoenix and Mara made their first public appearance as a couple at the Cannes Film Festival. The couple privately got engaged in 2019. Initially, rumours of their engagement leaked when Mara was photographed wearing a large diamond ring on her left hand. In 2020, the couple welcomed their first child together, a son named River. The child was named after Phoenix’s late older brother River Phoenix who died in 1993.
While neither Joaquin Phoenix nor Rooney Mara has shared details or photos of their wedding, there are strong speculations that the two have since privately tied the knot. Phoenix and Mara are big animal rights activists and have joined several animal rights campaigns in America and beyond.
Joaquin Phoenix’s children
As of October 2022, Joaquin Phoenix is the father of one child named River. River was born on September 27, 2020, in the United States. He is two years old as of October 2022.
About Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon’s relationship
Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. She was born on March 22, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She is 46 years old as of October 2022.
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon starred in the 2005 movie “Walk The Line” and they didn’t quite get along with each other. According to Reese, it took them about three months to trust each other because they didn’t know each other at all from the beginning. She also revealed that it took them about three months to respond to each other’s work and commend their improvements. As tense as things were while filming, they eventually got comfortable with each other and became close friends. Fortunately, all the hard work paid off as the film turned out successful upon its release.
I love watching movies. It doesn’t matter if it is drama, action, or horror; the most important thinking is the story. Joker is one of my all-time favorites. I watched this over and over again, most especially during the lockdown. Joaquin Phoenix is, without a doubt, a good and talented actor and one of my favorites. Thank you so much, Precious, for sharing his story. This helps me get to know him better. Does he have the plan to do a sequel to the movie Joker?
Hi Fiore, thank you for reading. It means a lot! Yeah, he has a plan for the sequel and it’s going to be released in October 2024.
One of the aspects that stood out to me was the emphasis on Joaquin’s close-knit relationship with his family. It’s heartwarming to hear about his supportive siblings, especially River Phoenix, who left an indelible mark on Hollywood. Joaquin’s dedication to carrying on his brother’s legacy while staying true to his own unique path in the film industry is truly admirable.