The Truth About Jeff Bridges' Daughters

The surname Bridges has carried weight in Hollywood for decades. Actors Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges had four children together, including screen stars Beau and Jeff. Beau has found success in TV and film, such as his Emmy-nominated performance in "Masters of Sex," and Jeff... well, he's done rather nicely for himself, too. Starting in the '50s, he excelled in a variety of roles before becoming The Dude in the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski." The iconic, laid-back character portrayed by Jeff was so influential that decades after the premiere, people literally worshiped him, like the "Lebowski-based religion the Church of the Latter-Day Dude," per The Atlantic.

Years before fans started abiding by The Dude, Jeff Bridges became The Dad. He married his wife Susan Geston in 1977 and the couple had three daughters: Isabelle, Jessica, and Hayley Bridges. As he shared The Christian Science Monitor back in 2000, he assumed all three would follow in his (and his parents') footsteps and become actors. Instead, his kids followed paths different from the one their famous dad took. And through it all, they've proven to be a supportive and loving family.

This is the truth about Jeff Bridges' daughters.

Hayley Bridges, the youngest of Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston's three daughters, was born in 1985. In 2021, she married longtime beau Justin Shane. 

Ahead of the big day, a series of health struggles hit the family. In October 2020, Jeff was diagnosed with cancer and had a nine-by-twelve inch tumor. Chemotherapy shrunk this down to "a 2x2 thing," but in January of 2021, he and his wife both contracted COVID-19, according to a post on his website. She was in the hospital for five days but Jeff stayed in the hospital for five weeks due to his depleted immune system. "My dance with COVID makes my cancer look like a piece of cake," Jeff wrote. Despite "moments of tremendous pain," Jeff fortunately recovered, noting, "life is brief and beautiful." The effects lingered and the actor required oxygen to even walk.

In September of that year, Jeff was able to accompany his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He even danced with the bride to the Ray Charles song "Ain't That Love," per People. "I had a goal–walking my daughter Hayley down the aisle," Jeff wrote. "I was able to, not only walk Hay down the aisle, but do the father/bride dance with her without oxygen." The actor also shared he was in remission.

Through Instagram, Hayley Bridges occasionally reveals pieces from her personal life. She'll post pictures of her dog Remy and share snaps of a puppy named Monte. But for the most part? She uses the social media site to promote her interior design company, Hayley Bridges Design. And as her Instagram bio makes rather clear, she has an affinity for her line of work and hometown: "I love design and living in one of the most beautiful cities."

And that city happens to be about 100 miles away from Hollywood. "Hayley's passion for design started at a young age after her family decided to move to Santa Barbara in 1994," reads her website. And thanks to her dad's career, Bridges had the opportunity to travel a lot, which "brought Hayley an additional love of design and adventure." Though she first earned a degree in English at Loyola Marymount University, Bridges then focused on a career in interior design. She received "a Masters of Interior Architecture from UCLA/Cal Poly Pomona joint program in 2011."

More than just beautifying other people's homes, Bridges started working on her own in 2019. The Oscar winner's daughter posted a photo on Instagram and revealed that she just purchased a one-story home. "It needs some loving," she wrote, "but I can't wait to put my touch on it."

In 2010, Jeff Bridges won his first Academy Award for his work in the film "Crazy Heart." Playing, as Reuters put it, "a drunken country singer who finds redemption," he both played guitar and sang, essentially bringing "his lesser known musical abilities front and center." "The first time I really got turned on to country was when I was making 'Last Picture Show' and listening to so much Hank Williams, who was all over that score," he told Nashville Scene, referencing his 1971 film. Jeff released his debut album, "Be Here Soon," in 2000, followed by his second solo album in 2011.

And as middle daughter Jessica "Jessie" Bridges proves, this talent runs in the family. Born in 1983, Jessie has gone to pursue a music career. As she put it in her Instagram account bio, "music is the thing that makes me feel the most alive–listening to it, creating it, witnessing it!" And as she's shared all over her account, she's played various Bay Area venues like the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and has even taken the stage with her "pops."

In 2014, Jeff went on tour with his own band called The Abiders, a reference to his character from "The Big Lebowski." While on the road, Jessie was the opening act for several of his shows, per Nashville Scene. 

After a string of bad first dates from the dating app Tinder, Jessie Bridges matched with Kevin Rodriguez, "a trust and estate litigation attorney," per Martha Stewart Weddings. As Rodriguez told the outlet, "we are a Tinder miracle." In 2017, the couple "headed to her family's ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana" for their wedding. Her parents both attended the ceremony, with Jeff wearing a bolo tie on top of a necktie. Naturally, Jessie picked up a guitar and played at her own wedding alongside the groom, and the couple performed John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves." According to the publication, "The band spontaneously picked up the chords and played along, adding to the moment."

Also in attendance was legendary singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. "He graced us several times with his singing and playing," Jessie told Martha Stewart Weddings. "I think I can speak for everyone when I say his contributions were definitely a highlight." As cool as his involvement in the wedding was, it wasn't the first time she'd shared a stage with Browne. As she shared on Instagram in 2014, she once played a show at the Arlington Theatre with her dad, Browne, and David Crosby. This collab was, as she put it, "a whole lotta YES."

Being part of a Hollywood dynasty may sound like an intense experience, but as far as Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston's middle child is concerned, it hasn't been too weird. "My childhood was actually fairly normal," Jessie Bridges told PopBuff. "I don't think that I realized that my family was any different than anyone else's. I didn't know anything other than what I was born into," she explained. In fact, she remembered that her upbringing only seemed out of the ordinary at "family get-togethers and holidays" because things could be "a little bit more dramatic." She continued, "We would always put on shows and plays and there'd be lots of singing and dancing and stuff like that." 

Jessie attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the same as sister Hayley Bridges. She graduated in 2006 with a degree in communications studies and then moved to San Francisco, per Long-Islander News. After school, she briefly dipped her toes in the movie industry, working as assistant to dad Jeff on the 2010 Coen Brothers film "True Grit" and 2013's "R.I.P.D." As for acting, she played a flight attendant in the 2012 TV flick "Hemingway & Gellhorn."

Ultimately, Jessie ditched Hollywood to become a musician. Her love of song started as a teenager, when Jeff taught her how to play guitar, according to Long-Islander News.

Beyond jamming on guitar, Jessie Bridges had several passions beyond music. For starters, she's really into Zumba — so much that she once went on a Zumba retreat in Mexico for her birthday, per Long-Islander News. Bridges is also a big fan of nature, telling the outlet, "I'm always outdoors, hiking or camping or kind of doing anything I can outside."

Another one of Bridges' favorite activities is cooking. In fact, she loves it so much that she enrolled in classes to perfect the art of the sandwich. "They are the reason I went to culinary school, experimenting with different flavors," she told the Santa Fe Film Festival. "I graduated with high honors, but I just like to cook. I just love to cook and I do it well." Though modest about her abilities, Bridges was skilled enough to earn the degree and cook in kitchens, according to Long-Islander News. As for a dream job, Bridges said that she'd like to combine all of her passions and open "a café in which she would cook all of her favorite small-plate dishes and feature live musical performances seven days a week," the Long-Islander News wrote in 2014.

Later, it appeared Bridges may have been conducting research for such a plan. At the time of her 2017 wedding, Bridges was working in a café in Berkeley, California, in addition to her music career, per Martha Stewart.

It seems Jeff Bridges' firstborn daughter Isabelle Bridges has little interest in getting into her dad's line of work, only appearing in the 1989 film "Termini Station" as the character Carmel. Instead, she's focused on helping others, founding a mom support group called Mom-ME Circle. "When we have our children, we want to nourish them, and then we go unnourished ourselves," Isabelle shared on the "Add Passion and Stir" podcast. "My mission is to help the moms feel nourished on the inside so they have a wellspring to give them."

Isabelle became a coach to connect with mothers at similar points in their lives. "I started Mom-ME Circle out of my own need for community," she shared on her website. "I wasn't even quite sure what I wanted it to be, but I knew I needed some sort of support system." After reading books, attending workshops, and joining groups like Mothering Arts and Mentor Masterclass, Isabelle felt like she had the skills to mentor others. Plus, she studied psychology at Pepperdine University "to understand more about my own inner workings" and then transpersonal psychology at JFK University. She also teaches yoga to both parents and their kids. As Isabelle shared on her site, working as a coach is her "dream."

Isabelle Bridges revealed what her life was like as the eldest daughter of legendary actor Jeff Bridges. "He's the only dad I ever had, so it's normal for me to have a famous father. And I know that it's not normal, so both of those things are true," she told the Independent. As busy as he was, when he was home, she said he was always present with his family. "He would play with us. He would enter the creative world that we had and go there with us," Isabelle said of her dad. In her opinion, Jeff excelled where "A lot of fathers are just unable to." He was happy to go along with their games, making him great to laugh and play with. "My sisters and I loved to dress him up, put flowers in his hair ... and decorate his face with makeup," she recalled to C Magazine. Though she spent a lot of time with her mother and sisters while Jeff was away shooting films, Isabelle remembered playtime with Jeff would last for hours.

Though Isabelle has positive memories of her childhood, Jeff has some regrets as a result of his job. As he shared on "Off Camera, "I missed out on so much." In an effort to make up for lost time with his daughters, he comes up with "little projects" they can do together now. 

Jessie Bridges and Hayley Bridges' eldest sister, Isabelle Bridges, was born in 1980. In 2007, Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston's firstborn married Brandon Boesch at a very special location in Santa Barbara, California. "I always dreamed of getting married at our house," Isabelle told Inside Weddings. The event, which was held at the Geston-Bridges home, featured a lot of personal touches, such as Jessie playing a song "she had written expressly for the couple." Unsurprisingly, having her family at the event was important to Isabelle, and she shared with Inside Weddings that she was proud to have her parents at the ceremony as "examples of what a happy marriage is." 

Isabelle and Boesch first met as Pepperdine University students, telling Inside Weddings, "It was love at first sight." 

On her Mom-ME Circle page, Isabelle said that family life makes her especially happy. She said, "I have a healthy attachment with my children, my husband, my community and most of all, myself. Life is so good!" In 2021, Isabelle posted a photo with her husband and two children celebrating their move into a new house, kicking off their next chapter.

In the midst of uncertainty in the world in 2020, Jeff Bridges announced a joyful project. "Remembering time we spent together when she was little, my daughter Isabelle and I decided to create a picture book called 'Daddy Daughter Day,'" the actor explained on an Instagram post. Speaking for him and his daughter, Jeff added, "We hope it inspires you to enjoy time with your loved ones, too!" 

Isabelle Bridges came up with the idea for the children's book and based it on her own experiences growing up with her famous dad, she said on "Today." After approaching Jeff with her book premise, he gladly signed on to be the artist. In addition to illustrating, he also wrote the text in cursive, a la his personal website. The "Crazy Heart" star explained that he especially wanted to practice calligraphy after learning that many schools stopped teaching cursive writing to students. "I love handwriting. We tried it printing but it didn't go with the drawings as well as the cursive. So, I hope it encourages cursive could still be used," he said.

In a video on the official book website, the two revealed that the project took them four years to create, but as Jeff told Isabelle, "It was so fun doing it." In addition to spending more time with his daughter, Jeff said one of the most fun parts of working on the book was meeting with the publishers to go over the creative process.

Jeff Bridges' daughter Isabelle Bridges had her first child in 2011, making the actor a grandfather, per The Sun. After having her little girl named Grace, Isabelle had her second kid, a boy named Ben, as posted on Instagram. On an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (via The Wrap), Jeff told the host that he wanted his grandchildren to refer to him as "Dude-pa," a reference to his iconic movie character from "The Big Lebowski." But he confessed at the time, his preferred nickname was too difficult for his 2-year-old granddaughter to pronounce. Instead, she called the actor "Doody." 

No matter the name, Jeff loves having a new generation in his family. Isabelle explained in C Magazine he has been "extremely present" in her life, adding, "Even more so now that he's older and a grandfather."

"I have two kids of my own, and he is very focused on being in their lives," Isabelle shared with the publication. Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston regularly visit the family in Oakland, and "when he's not able to be with his grandkids, he calls to plan dream meetings with them, too." She posted a video on Instagram featuring her two children "Swimming in the Yellowstone" with Jeff and Susan. In another photo, a smiling Jeff stands by his grandson in a field.

Jeff Bridges met Susan Geston when he was filming the 1975 film "Rancho Deluxe" in Montana. "We were shooting a scene in the hot tub at a place called Chico Hot Springs when I saw this girl. I couldn't take my eyes off her," Bridges recalled to Good Housekeeping. She'd been in a car accident and "had two black eyes and a recently broken nose," and he was "riveted." After rejecting Bridges' propositions for a date twice, the two ran into each other one night, "danced, and I fell in love."

As Bridges shared with The Hollywood Reporter, the two began dating, moved in together, and after cohabitating for a few years, he asked her to marry him. Those close to the couple credit Geston for her positive impact on the actor, telling the outlet that she is a "brilliant" and "steadying influence who allows Bridges to roam, mentally and physically, always returning to this stable place." 

Their relationship has spanned multiple decades, which is no small feat — especially in Hollywood. When he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2010, Bridges ended his speech by thanking his "gorgeous wife, Sue" and mentioning that they'd "been married for 33 years" at that point. Giving credit to his "beautiful family," he also thanked his three daughters. "I wouldn't be up here without you," he said.

As if Jeff Bridges wasn't already infinitely cool for playing The Dude, his altruism makes him even cooler. The actor has long been involved with philanthropic efforts that aim to aid children and eradicate hunger. In 1983, he co-founded the End Hunger Network, an effort that aimed to get "U.S. citizens to participate in the growing movement to end hunger." In 1996, he and brother Beau Bridges appeared in the organization's made-for-TV movie "Hidden In America," a film about a family experiencing food insecurity. (The nonprofit shut down in 2019.) In 2010, he became a spokesperson for No Kid Hungry.

Beyond helping others, Jeff also keeps the future of his own family in mind. He was the narrator for the documentary "'Living in the Future's Past,' which reflects on the environmental challenges the world is facing," per Independent. Anyone who is remotely concerned about the planet's well-being can relate to the actor's reasoning for getting involved with the project: "I love the Earth and I want to make it a beautiful place, not only for myself but for my kids, my grandkids, you know, the future." In addition to lending his voice to the flick, he signed on as a co-producer. "I saw it as an opportunity to make a difference, to head towards the image of the world that I wanna create," he shared.

Outside of filming, Jeff Bridges appreciates family time. Back when his three daughters were still teenagers, he told Sue Russell that it'd been "wonderful watching them grow up." He continued, "Each one is so different. ... I just love them so much, it's really wonderful." As different as they may be from one another, he did share that his kids all enjoy "surfing and skiing" and making music. "The girls are already writing tunes," he said at the time. "They mainly play guitar but a little bit of piano too." The actor also appreciated that his daughters became involved in his philanthropic work. And it's clear he's never taken any of it for granted. "I find as they become teenagers — you start pushing your parents away and spending less time with them," he noted. "But that's just the natural way things are."

As far as the Oscar winner is concerned, the women in the Geston-Bridges family are not to be messed with. As he recalled to the A.V. Club in 2014, "Years ago [Susan Geston] enrolled herself and our three daughters in a self-defense class where this guy dressed up like the Michelin man and had all these tires all over him and my wife and my girls would do battle with the Michelin man and Sue would just kick their a**es and scare them all to death."

It's hard to believe that Jeff Bridges almost didn't become The Dude. He nearly passed on his role in "The Big Lebowski" because, at the time, he thought the character might be a "bad example" for his three young daughters, per Esquire. As he told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was concerned about taking that part because it was sort of romancing a stoner, a pothead." But rather than let that worry dictate his decision, he went straight to the source and asked his kids for advice. Wise beyond their years, they reminded him that he's just "pretending." With that, Bridges signed on to the film. And then, he unintentionally asked his family to visit the production while they were shooting a scene that's not exactly G-rated.

As Bridges shared at a 2014 Academy event, Susan Geston and their daughters just so happened to be on the set the day they were filming a dream scene where The Dude floats between a line of dancers' legs. He remembered wondering, "I said, 'Why did you invite your wife and children to stay?'" Turns out, his family was not only not too scandalized, but figured out a way to up the ante. With the cameras rolling, Bridges noticed the first dancer had "huge tufts of hair coming out of her leotard." It turned out she went to the make-up department to stuff the hair, a move that was all part of a prank orchestrated by his stand-in, wife, and kids. The spoof abides.