You guys know that I think Liam Hemsworth is the more attractive Hemsworth brother, right? I’ve said that before. But in this family portrait, you can see that the Hemsworth boys came from good stock – Liam and Chris both posted some photos of themselves with their mom and dad recently. What strikes me is that the Hemsworth parents look pretty young to have three adult sons and several grandchildren. It also strikes me that this family is really close. So close, in fact, that Chris went and paid off all of his parents’ debts. Liam told the story to The Independent:
There are countless examples of actors breaking into Hollywood thanks to from wealthy backgrounds and/or valuable connections. Sadly there are fewer stories about those who came from more financially challenged families.
Liam Hemsworth and his brother Chris are two actors who succeeded in Hollywood without a financial cushion to fall back on should their attempts at building an acting career have fallen flat. The Hemsworth brothers have both built successful careers in films such as The Hunger Games and Thor franchises, amassing a combined fortune worth millions. The money these roles have brought them will have changed many aspects of their life and the life lived by their mother, a teacher, and their father, a social services counsellor.
Liam told The Independent he still feels moved to tears when he recalls Chris, who earned a reported $32 million in 2014, calling their father in Melbourne, Australia, and asking him to check his bank account.
“He [his father] called my brother Chris back and said: ‘I don’t know how to feel. Since I left home I have had debts and I thought I’d be paying them off until I died and have this weight hanging over me, and now to have them completely cleared.’
“They are so happy now and able to spend more time with us, I would love to be able to do something for my parents like that.”
That made me tear up too! Of course, how much debt did Ma & Pa Hemsworth have, realistically? I would guess that it probably wasn’t all that much, especially in relation to Chris’s paychecks these days. It’s cool that Chris did it with little drama too, I guess he just quietly paid off everything or he just dropped several million dollars into his parents’ account and let them write their own checks. As for Liam wanting to do something for his parents too… maybe he could buy his parents a nice beach house!
Here are some photos of Chris, “the favorite son,” at the Mexican premiere of In the Heart of the Sea last week.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet and Instagram.
That’s beautiful. Warmed the cockles of my cold, dead heart. 🙂
I pictured Morticia Addams reading this comment, and I love it.
And I feel the very same. I don’t have feelings, but if I did, they would be all warm and fuzzy right now. 😉
LOL
he he he. You will never know …
It’s nice and all but…Chris is the superior brother by far. I don’t do blondes but Liam has a wider nose and more vacant look methinks.
I can’t help but thinking… who wouldn’t do the same in his place?
And I don’t mean to diminish in any way the importance and kindness of his gesture..
kudos to him for doing so, yay!!
But.. seriously? Is this so extraordinary?
I guess his parents, as Kaiser pointed out, couldn’t possibly be in debt for more than what? 500,000/700,000 AUD?
Of course he paid off their debts!
We’re talking about Thor here. He’s the superstar of a multi-billion dollar franchise. It’s breadcrumb compared to his fortune. I’d hope any compassionate human being would reward their parents for all their sacrifices if they had the chance!
(still, bravo).
That’s my thought. I would hope that most people would do the same.
Yes, that’s my thought too. But when you look at how many people despise their families for whatever issues they have… Well, would they step in? I don’t think so.
I think the family foundation must be strong and united. That’s what It shows in the Hems family and Liam is praising his brother good deeds.
I don’t like most of my family all that much, but if I won the Powerball I’d get them all clear of whatever current debt they had. If they collected more then they’d be on their own.
Agree, not to diminish the gesture, but who wouldn’t do that for their parents? I also think it was sort of gross for this to be made public. Maybe his parents don’t really want everyone to know the details of their financial situation. Again, it was nice, but it would have been nicer had it stayed private or the parents had decided to make it public.
Completely agree, GNAT.
It would be a dream for me to be able to pay off my parents’ and my brother’s debt.
Agreed. I think most people would and actually do the same. It’s just a feel good story, not meant to be earth shattering, I think.
The parents seem lovely. She is a knockout.
Ditto. Not to diminish this gesture but… First of all, why did he need to go and speak publicly about it? Second, how is this extraordinary? My brother did all this and much more for our parents. No publicity required. He did the same and more for me. Again, no need for press.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. If I had that kind of money I’d do the same. I’d probably do it for my whole family, not just parents. And I’d buy them a house and a car and whatever they wanted.
I don’t think it was meant as a PR piece – the brother just mentioned it as an aside in an interview.
In any event, it’s news of a sort considering how few Hollywood types seem to be close to their families at all – you hear far more stories of law suits between family members than stories like these.
^^^This
Jennifer Anniston wouldn’t/didn’t. LOL
Seriously, I think most people would but not everyone is close with their parents. I was never close with my one Grandmother or my father but honestly I would to my immediate family ( siblings/parents/grandparents). Even those I wasn’t real close with. Not having to worry about a mortgage, or medical bills / credit cards and just live must be refreshing. I remember it vividly when I was 21 and was able to keep all my income before I bought a house.
Sigh. Those were the days! ha.
I imagine he probably put extra in there so they live comfortably.. at 32 mil a year why not? He seems close with his parents/brother and I bet they would support him if he lost it all an was homeless.
My feelings exactly. I can’t imagine making that kind of money and not using some of it to take care of my parents and sisters and others who needed help. Apparently, it’s not so common, so kudos to Chris for doing it.
PS. CH looks so much better without all the Thor muscle mass, IMO.
What a great son, I hope his parents don’t go into debt again due to overspending thinking they can get bailed out. I’m not suggesting that they overspent in the first place. But this happened with a friend of mine, she fell seriously ill, had a lot of debt her family pooled together to pay of her debt as it was a source of constant stress to her. I would meet up with her every now and then, she was always on her phone and looking at stuff to buy. I felt bad for her family that they were trying to pay get debt off whilst she was buying random expensive things like an LV bag or other luxury items.
And sadly no there are not a lot of people who would do this, their are a lot of parents who are closing on retirement and still paying their kids bills.
I hope my kids are as conscientious as Chris, touch wood we are not in debt but you never know.
Susannette,
I’m with you. My parents worked HARD their whole lives. My dad was laid off after 33 years at his job. 2 years shy of retirement. The union fought valiantly to get the benefits he deserved but the company denied them. It’s been 10 long years and the cushion that they had to fall back on is long gone, because he couldn’t find a job paying even a fraction of what he had earned. I truly feel like he was discriminated against because of his age. They never recovered financially. Out of 4 daughters, not one, other than me, cared or worried. As a matter of fact the other 3 still hold out their hand for help, knowing good and well they aren’t in the position any longer. It makes me so angry. I have been worried for so long. Then……I met my wonderful husband.. he has deeded them property so that they can sell their home, move 2 hours to live in our town, and downsize into a mobile home, and he is co signing the loan. He/we have helped pay down their debt and give them a sense of security in their old age. They are so fragile. I just want to protect them anyway I can. Yet, there are the 3 other sisters who are angry that they are selling their home. One even said “what about our inheritance?”
Well guess what? It’s a sacrifice. I have sacrificed MY children’s inheritance to make sure they have food on their table, electricity to keep them warm. We are not rich, but I can’t see not helping. I love my parents and I would give anything not to see them worry. Obviously, I’m venting. This a real world situation, since we aren’t celebrities, but I would hope that most would do the same thing as those boys did if they were able to. So kudos to them. And yall pray for us that my mama and daddy’s house sells. It’s a cloud looming over our heads.
Girlinbayou I hope everything works out for your family, you have done the right thing. It’s so sad that similar stories of job loss, discrimination, and greedy and selfish kids and siblings are so common. But stories like yours show there is always good people who step up. Sending good vibes your way <3
Girlinbayou, that is awesome. It has to be a relief for them. I hope good karma is returned to you and your husband!
Plenty of people wouldn’t. I had a customer tell me they help take care of an elderly couple because their kids, who lives a block away, never sees the parents or does anything for them. You guys might be that generous, but trust me, plenty of people aren’t. And it should be applauded what he did for his parents, not diminished because he has plenty of money.
I work in sales and have people fighting over $500. Then after we knock the price down, I do the credit app and they make ten thousand a month, no b.s, fighting over $500. Meanwhile, the average earning customer is much more reasonable. Just because people have $$, doesn’t mean they’re generous with it.
A lot of people I’m sure. I hate my parents – one abandoned me and the other abused me. I don’t even bother talking to them, so why would I bother paying any of their debts?
Someone not wanting to pay off their parent’s debts may have nothing to do with not being generous and everything to do with not wanting to give money to people they hate.
Not to lecture Trixie, cos it sounds as if you had a really hard time, but hatred is corrosive. It’s a cliche but it will hurt you more than them. The best “eff you” to them is to be happy.
True. Or maybe they have parents who are atrocious with money decisions and would forever be holding out their hands for more no matter how much is given to them.
🙁 I’m sorry, Trixie.
Well, as long as the parents were good-average-normal parents, what assh*le would’nt ?
That is sweet and decent, and says a lot about the values their parents instilled in them – that Chris did it and that Liam was the one to spill the beans and not to crow.
That was a lovely thing to do. I’m surprised though, the Hemsworth brothers all started acting when they were minors. I assumed their family was fairly wealthy since that can be a very expensive pursuit to support, especially in Australia.
Very sweet and generous.
And, yes, those are young looking parents, particularly the mom.
Holy hammer of Thor, Chris married his mother.
lol!
Hahahahaahah
Liam looks more like his mom and Chems like his dad. Remora does resemble his mom.
Ha! I just choked on my coffee, so thanks for that. Definitely an abundance of blondes in that family, although I think Luke’s wife looks more like their mom.
Pardon me, Fanty, but would this be an appropriate place for a comment about pockets needing to be filled by CHemboy?
The brothers always strike me as genuinely nice people. I’m so happy for the Hemsworth seniors!
Also, although this of course still needs to be verified, this might say something about Elsa Pataky’s niceness too (Chris must get her consent before doing that).
This said, as an Asian, supporting your parents financially is most of the time expected from you. Personally, I’m still pretty sad that I haven’t been able to do that. My parents (now parent) lived off their own savings and my dad’s pension. They live comfortably and never asked anything from me, but yeah, I still feel the guilt inside 🙂
The Hemsworth family does look like that nice family in your neighborhood who carpools & bakes cookies for everyone.
I agree with you, I’m Mexican & it’s expected in time to help out your parents. I have a good job that helps me out to do that but instead of helping out my mom, it’s my grandparents. My mom has a good job & she’s young (44!) so she told me to support my grandparents instead of her. Let me tell you those two are a real hoot, don’t ever remind my grandma about my grandpa’s ex gf who lives in Mexico haha
I feel you on the being expected to support your parents part….. I know that my parents have saved money to live on, but I still feel guilty about not being able to supplement that. (hope I’ll be able to do it later in life)
And yeah, the Hemsworths do seem like nice people, it’s sweet their family is so close.
What is a couple’s dept to a millionaire ? I feel this kind gesture is normal in Chris’ position. I would have done the same even before having a 32$ M fortune. And I think a lot of Hollywood stars take care of their families once reaching that level of wealth. Or so do I hope !
That’s a nice gesture, unless you have big family issues you want to know your parents are fine.
I remember reading Keith Richards bought a beautiful home for his mum, and made his father travel all over the world. If I had money I’ll do the same.
Liam’s pretty good looking but did you see Chris in the Vacation movie? Wow!
But seriously that was a sweet thing to do.
I’ve said before that I believe the Hemsworth family had a “WTF??” Miley intervention with Liam, all for the better in the long run, too. 🙂 I believe their family is that close.
In regard to how young the parents look … I’m always surprised by posts here from people who think men and women 25 and 26-years-old are still “kids learning from their mistakes.” When I graduated high school in 1973 (and for at least the next decade) it was normal for people to get married at 18 and 19-years-old. Chris Hemsworth was born in 1983, so his parents may have well been high school sweethearts. Back in the day teen-related pregnancies ended more in marriage than Baby Daddy and Baby Mama situations as well.
If you get married at 19 and have a child at 20, your child is 20 when you turn 40. If that child has a child at 25, you are a 45-year-old grandparent. I’m not saying this is the case with the elder Hemsworths … just another way of looking at things. 🙂
Maybe. Who knows though. He was young, in love and maybe they just let it run its course knowing it would end naturally.
He never says anything bad about Miley though has he? And I am sure there are stories to tell about that relationship we never dreamed of!
A very nice thing to do, and I do agree that a lot of people in similar positions would do it to. It still doesn’t diminish the gift though. What I find interesting is that Liam lets this out to show how wonderful his brother is. They are a very close, loving, good-looking and tall family.
Sorry I prefer Chris! Their mum looks a bit like Kim Catrall in the first pic.
Ditto. Thor can swing that hammer this way and Katniss’ boyfriend (or whatever he is) can have a seat.
Yeah, Thor all the way! Liam is the budget Hemsworth.
And Gale is NOT Katniss’ boyfriend, thank god for that *shamelessKatnissandPeetashipper*
@GlimmerBunny:
When I read the books I wanted Gale & Katniss together. I think, mainly, because I could relate to him….I’d been in love with my childhood best friend throughout my teens & he never loved me back.
But when I watched the movies & loved Josh H’s portrayal of Peeta I totally got it & changed my mind 😉
Gah, this family is so stunning!!! I agree, Kaiser, that Liam is the hotter son. However, all of them are pretty people LOL I love this story & their family seems to love each other and be close. Good for all of them!! Nice to have a heartwarming story to begin the day 🙂
What a gorgeous & loving family.
While I think all the brothers are hotties (including the lesser-known oldest brother) I agree with Kaiser that Liam is turning into the hottest.
It must suck a bit to be the oldest brother. Can you imagine being the oldest, yet least successful in the same profession?
I get why people think this isn’t a big deal but I also think we are totally blind sometimes to how many celebs came from a significant amount of privilege which paved the way for them to get where they are. It’s a real problem in the industry bc as with all jobs it’s just much easier when you come from a lot of wealth. Many celebs had famous parents that simply made their road easier (Kate Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Dakota Johnson etc) or they came from super wealthy and/or influential families with powerful parents and lots of resources (Olivia Wilde, Emily Blunt, Christian Bale and yes…Lupita N’yongo.). There really aren’t that many famous stars who didn’t come from financial privilege and even fewer that legitimately grew up poor. People like Viola Davis legitimately grew up poor. Amy Adams, I’m almost positive, legitimately grew up poor.
So I appreciate this story more bc I do think it’s important to try and remember that sometimes these celebs we elevate as being so “cool” or “making it look easy” grew up with little to no financial stress. It doesn’t mean they are less talented but it does make you recognize that not every road to get here was the same.
Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sarah Jessica Parker are three that came from very humble beginnings. I think that Jim Carrey grew up poor as well.
I wonder if the newer crop of actors are more likely to have come from money?
Hilary Swank lived in a car with her mum after leaving a trailer park. Demi Moore also grew up in a trailer park. Leighton Meester was born in a prison and lived with her gran while her mum was in and out of prison. Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter for a while when starting out.
Both the brothers are gorgeous. So sweet what Chris did, plenty of rich people are cheap and wouldn’t do what he did. His act of kindness shouldn’t be diminished just cause he has $$
They seem like decent people who take care of their own. Bless them.
Chris is imo the much sexier brother. But why is this note worthy? Isn’t that the point of becoming rich and famous? So you can take care of the parents that took care of you all your life. I’m just saying
I never realized Chris was that tall. Or Ron was that short?
Considering that Chris makes more working a few weeks in one film that his parents probably have in their entire lifetimes…I would certainly hope he would help his parents out.
I think it’s wonderful when children do something for their parents to alleviate stress when they become financially successful. As children we tend to think of our parents as superhero’s without flaws or problems, and then when finally reach an age when we realize our parents are human beings who may have sacrificed a lot to bring us into this world and give us a shot, is a beautiful thing. And to say thanks, whether it be financial or in some other way, is beautiful and great! Good for you, Chris. Now, I think I may kinda be developing a lil somethin’ for ya!
Wow they really look young!
Both brothers seem like good and interesting men.
Elsa (Chris’ wife) is so lucky.
Probably the mortgage on the family house and probably under $1 million AUD. He bought a big house in NSW so it’s expected. They seem like a close family. The mum looks YOUNG.
I have a feeling from the wording that this happened sometime ago, probably when Chris got his first big paycheck, Liam said he would have loved to do something like that for them and he could certainly afford to now. I think this happened some years ago when Chris may not have known if he would be a one hit wonder or really make a big bucks career for himself. Paying off your parents debts (probably a mortgage) when you make over 30million a year is hardly tear jerking stuff.
Liam did buy his parents a beach house though?! It has a private beach with it as well. That’s where his parents live when they aren’t traveling. It’s on Phillip Island. When Liam was dating miley and left to Oz to get some space and family time all the paps were saying that Liam’s parents rallied 1.6 million to buy him a beach side bachelor pad but they had it backwards. Liam bought his parents that beach house its their permanent residence