Richard E. Grant broke down in tears as he revealed he has become a grandfather for the first time – five years after the devastating death of his beloved wife, Joan.
The Saltburn star, 69, shared an emotional video on Instagram on Friday, filmed in his car as he waited for his daughter Olivia, 37, to give birth nearby. By the time he had returned home, the baby – a little boy – had been born.
‘So extraordinary to become a grandfather. I’m so grateful for the safe arrival of our grandson. Life truly is miraculous,’ he said in the clip.
Richard did not disclose the name of the newborn, whose father is Olivia’s husband, financier Florian Wirst.
It comes five years after the Oscar-nominated actor lost his wife of 38 years, dialect coach Joan Washington, to lung cancer.
She died aged 74, just nine months after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer two days before Christmas.
Richard E. Grant broke down in tears as he revealed he has become a grandfather for the first time – five years after the devastating death of his beloved wife, Joan
The Saltburn star, 69, shared an emotional video on Instagram on Friday, as he waited for his daughter Olivia, 37, to give birth nearby (pictured Richard and his daughter)
Olivia pictured with her husband Florian Herbst in 2024
In his heart-rending video, Richard also shared sweet throwback photos of when his daughter Olivia was a baby.
‘Reflecting on the passage of time from our daughter’s birth to her becoming a mother herself!! Is there a feeling any more tender than this?’ he wrote.
The post was flooded with congratulations. Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, who starred with Richard in TV’s The Kumars at No. 42 and Mumbai Calling, commented: ‘Wowsers. Huge congrats granddad. And to Olivia and Florian. And a huge welcome to the new addition!’
One eagle-eyed fan added: ‘Love how you say “our” not “my”… she’s still his Grandma from up in the sky.’ Another wrote: ‘I’m so happy for you. But I know these happy days can be really bittersweet. You long to share it with them.’
Richard and Joan met in 1982 at the Actors Centre in Covent Garden, where she was teaching. She was 10 years his senior and at the top of her profession, while he was a struggling young actor newly arrived from Swaziland, now Eswatini.
The couple married in 1986 and went on to have their daughter, Olivia.
Their journey to parenthood was not an easy one. The couple endured the heartbreak of losing their first child together, who died shortly after birth, and Joan suffered multiple miscarriages.
But she was determined they would keep trying – and Olivia’s arrival was the gift that completed their family.
It comes five years after the Oscar-nominated actor lost his wife of 38 years, dialect coach Joan Washington, to lung cancer (both pictured 2012)
When Joan died in 2021, Richard announced her death with a moving video of the pair dancing together, writing at the time of his love for the ‘Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia’.
In the years since, the actor has been remarkably candid about his grief. He has spoken of crying every single day, of writing to Joan every night, and of carrying on what he calls an ‘ongoing silent conversation’ with the woman he describes as the love of his life.
Earlier this year, Richard revealed the bittersweet detail that, a month before she died, Joan had gone through every single woman they knew – ‘like a lioness’ – listing reasons he shouldn’t date any of them. ‘And I knew how much she loved me by doing that,’ he said.
He has remained open about the prospect of love again, telling Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast in March that while pals have set him up on dates, he has ‘no inclination whatsoever’ and is ‘not consciously looking’.
Asked if he would feel guilty, he said simply: ‘No.’
His focus is firmly on family. The actor revealed in 2024 that Olivia and her husband Florian, whom she married in a home ceremony in 2023, had moved in with him, joking that he had become the household ‘concierge’, doing most of the shopping and cooking.
