Everything to Know About Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen’s Daughter
Actors Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen’s daughter Briar Rose Christensen has been kept out of the public eye. However, over the years, the actors opened up about being co-parents. Here’s everything to know about Bilson and Christensen’s daughter, from her age and the story behind her name to how Briar’s already set on following in her mom and dad’s footsteps.
How old is Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen’s daughter, Briar Rose Christensen?
First up, Briar Rose’s age. Bilson and Christensen became parents on Oct. 29, 2014, when they welcomed their daughter. As of October 2023, Briar Rose is 9 years old.
The Star Wars actor and O.C. alum met on the set of the action movie Jumper in 2007. At the time, both were 26. Christensen and Bilson went on to get engaged in December 2008. Apart from a three-month split in 2010 due to distance, they remained together until 2017, when they ended their relationship for good.
Why did Rachel and Hayden name their daughter Briar Rose?
Bilson explained how she and Christensen landed on their daughter’s name during the Aug. 22 episode of her “Broad Ideas” podcast.
Initially, they were “really stuck” on the name Millie. “Then the more we thought about it — ‘cause Hayden and I met in a movie called Jumper, and my character’s name was Millie — and then we couldn’t decide if that’s, like, super lame or super cute.”
The couple soon found themselves brainstorming other names after Christensen’s mother, Alie Nelson, told them Millie is short for Millicent. The name, Bilson recalled, was “too close to Maleficent,” and she “can’t go there.”
They ultimately selected Briar in an unplanned Sleeping Beauty reference. “So, in that Disney theme,” Bilson continued, “which it wasn’t intentional ‘cause his grandma’s name was Rose, her middle name’s Rose and her first name is Briar, so it’s after Sleeping Beauty.”
Who has custody of Briar Rose Christensen?
Today, Christensen and Bilson co-parent Briar Rose. “Communication is key and just being on the same page, so everything’s about the kid,” Bilson said (via People). “As long as you put the kid first, everything will be OK.”
They navigated co-parenting during coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine, telling the “Betches Moms” podcast in 2021 that she and her ex, a Canada native, had to “trust each other.”
“Luckily [my daughter’s] dad is pretty hardcore,” Bilson said in reference to coronavirus restrictions, as reported by People. “But you have to trust each other, and you are bubbled up. It’s also nice because she’s had the opportunity to have another house to go and not be stuck in our house the entire time, so I’m grateful for that, and we’ve just handled it. Survival mode.”
Briar wants to be an actor like her parents
It looks like Christensen and Bilson are parents to a budding actor. “She’s already said she wants to act, and I’m like, ‘How do we handle this?’” Bilson told “Betches Moms” of Briar.
Although they’re not embracing the career choice immediately. “I think to keep that away from her as long as possible is our top choice,” the 42-year-old explained before adding, “It’s not what I would want for her at this age.”
For now, Briar has an idea that she comes from a showbusiness family. “I think she knows that her mom — and her dad’s an actor too — so she kind of knows that we are in that world,” Bilson explained. “But she’s not aware of that level.”
“I think she knows he was in Star Wars,” the actor added, referring to Christensen’s turn as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the movie franchise. “But she has no idea what that even means because she hasn’t seen anything. She has an idea but not really. I’d like to keep it that way.”
