Bill Murray's 8 Siblings: All About His Brothers and Sisters

Bill Murray and his eight siblings, Ed, Brian, Nancy, Peggy, Laura, Andy, John and Joel, grew up in Illinois

Bill Murray and his siblings are a tight-knit bunch.

The Oscar nominee has five brothers, Ed, Brian, Andy, John and Joel, and three sisters, Nancy, Peggy and Laura. Born to Edward J. Murray II and Lucille Murray, the Murray siblings were raised in Wilmette, Illinois.

Over the years, several of the Murray siblings have shared stories about their childhood in Illinois, from perfecting their comedic talents at the dinner table to working at a local country club. Their experiences caddying at the golf course even inspired Bill's iconic film Caddyshack.

In 1967, their father Edward II died of diabetes, and Lucille died of cancer two decades later. While the siblings have remained close, Bill told NBC 5 Chicago in 2022 that family gatherings haven't been the same since their deaths. "It's still hard to believe that your parents are gone," he said, noting that reunions felt like "someone was missing."

In 2020, the Murrays suffered another loss when Bill’s oldest brother, Ed, died.

Still, the Murray children have each other to lean on. “It’s been [an] amazing relationship, how a family grows and changes through life events,” Bill’s oldest sister Nancy told Adrian Dominican Sisters in 2019.

From growing up in Illinois to their careers as actors, business owners and more, here's everything to know about Bill Murray's siblings.

They worked on their comedic timing at the family dinner table

Nancy said in a 2018 interview that she and her siblings got a crash course in acting when the Murrays ate dinner as a family. "The dinner table was the first stage in our family," she told StarNews. "The rule was, no bad news at the table. That waited till after dinner. And Billy definitely had a sense of humor, like his dad and grandpa."

The following year, Joel elaborated on these scenes from the dinner table, telling The Standard-Times, “My father was a diabetic, and a really slow eater. The rest of us would eat in a minute-and-a-half, and we’d spend the next 45 minutes trying to make him laugh. You learned a lot about timing at a table with 11 people every night."

When a sibling could make their dad, Edward II, laugh with his mouth full, they'd "really done something," Joel told Chicago magazine in 2007.

Four of Bill's siblings became actors

Of the nine Murray children, five — Brian, Nancy, Bill, Joel and John — became actors, with Brian, Bill and Joel all studying at Second City in Chicago.

Brian, the second-born Murray son who goes by the stage name Brian Doyle-Murray, was the first to immerse himself in the craft. He wrote for and starred in Saturday Night Live early in his career before co-writing the über-successful sports comedy Caddyshack, which was based partly on the Murray brothers’ experiences on the golf course. Brian went on to snag parts in hits like National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, Wayne’s World, Groundhog Day, Seinfeld, The Middle and more, many of which he costarred in with Bill.

Nancy, who studied theatre at Barry University, also became an actress, though not in the traditional sense. Per The IndyStar, she began performing the role of St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century teen who was known for her works of charity, in a one-woman play — St. Catherine of Siena: A Woman for Our Times — on Nov. 1, 2000. As of August 2022, she was still traveling the country for the show.

Nancy was also Bill’s first “director.” "It was the Nativity play in the basement,” she told Chicago magazine, adding, “I was Mary, of course. Billy was St. Joseph.”

John is also a writer and an actor. His first major acting role was in 1985’s Moving Violations, though he also starred as a caddy in Brian and Bill’s smash hit Caddyshack. He later shared the screen with his two older brothers in Scrooged and had a cameo in Elf.

The youngest Murray, Joel, followed in his older siblings’ footsteps, attending improv school before starring opposite John Cusack and Demi Moore in 1986’s One Crazy Summer. He has since had starring roles in Dharma & Greg, Mad Men, Shameless and Heels.

The movie Caddyshack was based on Edward

Edward III, born on Sept. 7, 1944, and named after his father, was the oldest Murray child. Though he eventually became a senior vice president and financial adviser with Morgan Stanley in California, per Chicago magazine, one of his earliest jobs was at the age of 10 as a caddy at the Indian Hill Country Club. "Everyone in the family says that Caddyshack was about me — that I was Danny Noonan — because I won the caddy tournament; I won the caddy scholarship to Northwestern," Ed confirmed to the outlet. (Ed was awarded with the Evans scholarship for golf caddies by Northwestern University in 1963.)

The 1980 film, which was written by Brian and starred Bill and John, was a box office smash, grossing roughly $40 million.

Ed spoke to the Santa Maria Sun in 2015 about his experiences on the golf course, which included caddying for Bob Hope and Billy Graham and working at PGA tournaments alongside Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. “You’re a kid dealing with adults,” he said. “You have to be polite and feel like you’re a partner with the guy you’re caddying for. You’re with him to help him, not to tell him how to play golf.”

In November 2020, Bill's golf apparel company, William Murray Golf, announced Ed's death at age 76. "Named after the family patriarch, it was Ed who introduced the Murray family to this wonderful game of golf — by way of caddying at Indian Hills Country Club — at the age of 10, no less. (They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.)," read a statement posted on Instagram.

Brian changed his last name for his career

Brian has been working under the stage name Brian Doyle-Murray for decades. According to Chicago magazine, he added his grandmother's maiden name, Doyle, to his surname to avoid being confused with another Brian Murray in the Actors’ Equity Association (a labor union that represents actors and stage managers).

Nancy is a nun

Though Nancy was educated in theatre, she became a nun shortly after graduating from high school. "My mother did not like it one bit," she told Chicago magazine. "She told me, ‘Nancy, they get up at five in the morning-you're not on time for the 12 o'clock Mass. You like shopping too much; you like dating too much; you like everything too much. This life is not for you.' "

In her early years as a nun, Nancy was known as Sister Marie Erin and served as a third-grade teacher at St. Norbert Catholic School. “I have been able to do so many things, even missionary work,” she told the Detroit Free Press in 2007.

Nancy switched her ministry focus to the stage in 2000 when she took on her role as St. Catherine of Siena.

Andy is a chef and restaurateur

Unlike the majority of his brothers, Andy, who was born after Laura and before John and Joel, became a restaurateur.

Andy told the Chicago Tribune that his love affair with the kitchen began at a young age. “My love of food — and family — came from my mother,” he said. “Everybody felt at home when they sat at her table.”

He also cultivated an appreciation of restaurants early on, working as a busser for the Indian Hills Club, where he and his brothers caddied. “I fell in love with restaurants that first day,” he told the publication. “They gave me food. And that beat the hot dogs and drinks we had to pay for ourselves at the golf course.”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Andy earned a management degree from the New York Restaurant School in the late ‘80s. He then worked as a sous-chef at the city’s well-known Mortimer’s, where he cooked for the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Frank Sinatra.

In June 2001, he opened the first Murray Bros. Caddyshack restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida. He later opened a second location in Rosemont, Illinois.

In 2022, Andy released Eat, Drink, and Be Murray — a cookbook intertwined with his family’s stories and recipes. Bill wrote a forward for the book, which read, “Andy’s my little brother. Not the littlest, but littler. So many lovely, lovable brothers and sisters, and if you’re littler — some special you, must raise its voice to be heard above the din. And by the stove, in the shadow of our mother, is where little Andy learned to love.”

The other Murray siblings also contributed to the project, sharing their collective favorite meals, tales and photos with readers.

John played Bill’s little brother in Scrooged and Brian played his dad

Bill’s second-youngest brother John didn’t have to stretch the truth too far for his role in the 1988 Christmas classic Scrooged. John played James Cross, the younger brother of Bill’s character, Frank Cross.

Brian and Joel also had roles in the film. Brian, who is four years older than Bill, played Frank and James’ fictional father, Earl Cross, while Joel had a cameo as a guest.

Joel once voiced Chester Cheetah

Though he’s better known for his roles in Mad Men, Dharma & Greg and Shameless, Joel revealed to The Boston Globe in 2019 that he once voiced the iconic Cheetos mascot.

“I’ve had some goofy gigs,” the actor, who also voiced Don in Monsters University, said. “I was the voice of Chester Cheetah for Cheetos. I was the righteous kitty in the heart of hip city. Cheetos. It was a good gig. Bought my first house.”

The Murray brothers were all inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame

In 2015, all six Murray brothers were inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame, a group which honors those who “promote the role of caddies in the game of golf.”

Edward spoke to the Santa Maria Sun about the bond the caddying experience helped him forge with his younger siblings. “It was not about me, it wasn’t about Billy either. Usually he’s the headline ... It was the fact that all six of us caddied."

Following Ed’s death in 2020, William Murray Golf, a golf apparel line inspired by the brothers, released a statement noting that the Hall of Fame honor was special to the family. “[It’s] something all the boys take pride in, as this game helped shape their lives," the statement read.

Brian dropped out of college to help his mother at home

When their father died in 1967, Brian left school at St. Mary’s College in California to help out their mother. "He dropped out to come home and try to help mom out," Ed told Chicago magazine.

Brian’s collegiate absence eventually led to his career in film, as he joined the Second City improv troupe in 1973. "If Dad hadn't died we might all be working at the lumberyard," Joel told Chicago. "But because he had, Brian was freed up to chase this dream he had of joining The Second City."

Laura lives in the Murray childhood home

As of 2005, Bill’s younger sister Laura and her husband Robert were living in the Murrays’ childhood home in Wilmette, which Chicago magazine reported that Laura purchased from her older siblings.

The bank employee remodeled the property in the early 2000s, turning her parents’ bedroom into a den and refurbishing the family room, which was built by her dad. "I didn't want [my husband] feeling like the ghosts of Murrays past would be always haunting the place," she explained to the outlet.

Brian voices The Flying Dutchman on SpongeBob SquarePants

Joel isn’t the only Murray to have voiced an interesting children’s character. From 1999 to 2012, Brian was a recurring guest voice in the first eight seasons of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants as The Flying Dutchman.

He reprised his role in season 11 of the show in 2017 and also lent his vocal talents to the Dutchman for several SpongeBob video games, including 2023’s SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated, as well as the upcoming SpongeBob film The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.

The Murray brothers have a clothing company

In 2019, the Murray brothers explored yet another venture together with the introduction of a golf clothing company called William Murray Golf. While it bears Bill’s name and is run by Kerry Michaels, Joel told The Boston Globe that “all of the brothers are involved.”

“We decided to do this a few years ago,” he said in 2019. “Billy and I and the brothers are in on the design.”

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