Jean Smart's 2 Children: All About Sons Connor and Forrest

Jean Smart's kids, Connor and Forrest, inspire her everyday

Jean Smart is the proud mother of two children: Connor and Forrest Gilliland.

Smart and her late husband, Richard Gilliland, met on the set of the CBS sitcom Designing Women and within a year, they married in June 1987. Two years later, Smart and Gilliland welcomed their son Connor in October 1989, followed by their second child, Forrest, in May 2009 via adoption.

Smart and Gilliland were married for nearly 34 years before the actor died at the age of 71, following a “brief illness," in March 2021. Afterward, Smart continued raising their kids on her own, something she called “unimaginable,” especially considering Forrest was 12 at the time.

Although she told PEOPLE in 2022 that "being a single mother is the hardest thing [she's] ever done," she later shared that it made her “get smarter” about taking care of herself and her overall health.

Over the past few years, the Hacks star has given nods to her sons during award show acceptance speeches. At the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards, she won for outstanding female actor in a comedy series, and gave them a special shout-out, saying, “To my two children, Forrest and Connor, you are my life.”

Later that fall, at the 73rd Emmy Awards, where she won the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, Smart described them as “my two wonderful and unselfish children ... who are both very courageous in their own right.”

Here’s everything to know about Jean Smart’s children, Connor and Forrest.

Connor Gilliland

Smart and Gilliland welcomed their first child, son Connor Gilliland, in October 1989.

Now in his early 30s, Connor has always led a private life: He has no public social media profiles and hasn't made major appearances with his mom or dad.

Since Connor had two actors as parents, it’s no surprise that he grew up on Hollywood sets — in particular, on Designing Women, in which both of his parents starred.

In a 2022 interview with Elle, Smart talked about her memory of Connor at work with them when he was 2 years old, sitting on a director’s chair with headphones on.

“He picked up right away that when he hears that buzz, that’s when everybody has to be quiet and they’re going to say ‘action,’ ” she recalled. “So, sitting there, the buzzer goes, he goes like, ‘Shh, shh.’ ”

The actress continued, “He was a very serious child, very serious. ... I always say that he was formed hearing lots of laughter but came out very serious.”

When he was 20, Smart and Gilliland welcomed his brother Forrest through adoption.

During a 2010 appearance on The Bonnie Hunt Show, Smart joked that even though Connor had been “more excited about the trip [to China] than the baby,” that quickly turned around when he met his new sibling.

She recounted that he thought it was “incredible” and said, "'I didn’t know I was going to feel this way.' "

Connor has also stepped up to be there for Smart since his dad died. “They take very good care of me,” she told PEOPLE in 2023, referring to both her kids.

She went on to share that Connor moved back in with her and Forrest while they adjusted to their new norm. “He’s been helping me a lot since we lost his dad, and so it’s been very nice to have him around," Smart added.

In the same interview, the Watchmen star explained that her children motivated her to see a doctor about heart issues she had been having, and she ended up getting a minor procedure done.

“I’m the one running the show now, completely on my own, and if something happens to me, what happens to my kids?” she said.

Forrest Gilliland

Smart and Gilliland announced the addition of their second child, son Forrest Gilliland, in January 2010. He was born 18 months prior in China, around the summer of 2008.

Connor and Forrest have a nearly 20-year age gap, and Smart said on The Bonnie Hunt Show that she “thought they were going to be closer in age” when she and Gilliland started growing their family.

In a 2024 interview with Glamour, Smart revealed she had conversations with Gilliland over the years about the possibility. Eventually, the couple began the paperwork and welcomed Forrest with open arms.

"The second this baby was handed to us, we were just so besotted. It was the best," she told the outlet. “My youngest is just an amazing person."

While Connor stays out of the spotlight, Forrest has made several public appearances with his mom. He accompanied her to the 2021 Emmys, an experience Smart told Entertainment Tonight he was “ecstatic” about.

Speaking to E! News at the event, Forrest shared that he was “very proud” of his mom.

Forrest was also by her side at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards, where he again raved about his mother, saying she's dedicated to her craft.

"She deserves it because she's working like 13, 16 hours a day, every Monday through Friday," he explained. "The one time she got a day off since December, she decided to spend it with me."

That said, he’s not allowed to watch everything his mom has been in. “There’s definitely some stuff that’s off limits,” Smart told USA Today in a 2022 interview, when asked if Forrest watched her movies and shows.

She said that once some of Forrest's friends started watching Hacks, she finally “started showing him certain scenes” before letting him watch all of season 1.

He also may be the next actor in the family: In a 2024 interview with The New York Times, Smart revealed that Forrest was in rehearsals for his high school’s production of The Pirates of Penzance.

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