{"id":4402,"date":"2024-08-25T17:06:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T17:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/?p=4402"},"modified":"2024-08-25T17:06:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T17:06:48","slug":"michael-douglas-catherine-zeta-jones-this-is-their-life-and-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/michael-douglas-catherine-zeta-jones-this-is-their-life-and-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones: This is their life and children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have been through plenty. Together, they\u2019ve moved between the US and Bermuda with their children Dylan Douglas and Carys Zeta-Douglas, and experienced a lot of change. \n\n\n\n

These days, Dylan is an adult. At 20, he\u2019s now chosen his own path in life. Being the son of a major Hollywood star \u2013 and grandchild to another icon, Kirk Douglas \u2013 certainly comes with a deal of pressure.\n\n\n\n

But his parents made sure that their son had the best childhood possible, even moving away from Bermuda to help him.\n\n\n\n

\"MichaelShutterstock\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas was born on September 25, 1944 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to parents Diana and Kirk Douglas, both whom were actors. \n\n\n\n

At six years old, Douglas\u2019s parents divorced and he went on to live with his mother. He only saw his father during holidays.\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas \u2013 growing up\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas attended the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and later on the Choate School, an elite preparatory school. \n\n\n\n

Douglas got a feel for the acting business at an early age. He used to spend summers together with his father, Kirk, who was more often that not shooting films. Douglas hung out with his father on movie sets, and in his teens, he knew he wanted to be an actor, asking his father to find him some roles. \n\n\n\n

However, Kirk didn\u2019t think the acting industry would be a good fit for Michael, since it was one of huge pressure and a constant carousel of ups and downs. He didn\u2019t want either of his sons to enter show business, but in the end, he couldn\u2019t stop Michael. \n\n\n\n

\"Michael\n\n\n\n

Michael chose to turn down studying at Yale University, instead moving to California. \n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up on the East Coast and was going to go to an Ivy League School, but at the last minute I decided to be a hippy,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was the protest movements on the war, peace movements were going on at our university. It was a fantastic time.\u201d\n\n\n\n

While studying at University of California Santa Barbara, he continued to ask his father Kirk for a \u201cfoot in the door\u201d to the movie industry. In 1966, he landed his first role. \n\n\n\n

Start of acting career\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas made his debut in Cast a Giant Shadow\u00a0\u2013 in which his father also starred \u2013 where he played the role of an uncredited driver.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was fortunate to grow up and watch how my father behaved \u2013 how Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, and Frank Sinatra were at the house all the time,\u201d Michael Douglas said on The Talk. \u201cYou see stars with their insecurities and how they conduct themselves, so I think that\u2019s kept me level.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas graduated with a bachelors degree in 1968 and decided to move back to the east coast. This time he ended up in New York City, where he continued his pursuit of a career in the film industry. \n\n\n\n

\"MichaelShutterstock\n\n\n\n

Douglas studied at the American Place Theatre and later at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He got some leading roles and spent time in between performing in off-Broadway productions.\n\n\n\n

Academy Award winner\n\n\n\n

Before his first role in a film, Michael Douglas had a brief part in the television show The F.B.I. Producer Quinn Martin was impressed, and Douglas then got a part in the new police series The Streets of San Francisco. The show premiered in 1972, and would turn out to be Douglas\u2019s big breakthrough role.\n\n\n\n

The show became one of ABC\u2019s highest-rated programs in the mid 1970s, airing on prime-time, and Michael Douglas received three straight Emmy Award Nominations for his performance. He also directed two episodes of the series, giving him experience in a field he later would return to.\n\n\n\n

In 1975, Michael produced the classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest, a movie that put him among some of the greatest. The film earned several Academy Awards, and Douglas himself won an Academy Award for Best Picture.\n\n\n\n

By now Douglas was a great producer and director, and everyone wanted to work with him. He produced as well as starred in The China Syndrome (1979) alongside Jane Fonda. The movie earned more Academy Award nominations and was named one of the best films of the year by the National Board of Review.\n\n\n\n

View this post on Instagram \n\n\n\n

A post shared by Michael Douglas (@michaelkirkdouglas)\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas would go on to become a major Hollywood star following his performances as Gordon Gecko in Wall Street (1987), Falling Down (1993), and The Game (1997). \n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas \u2013 Catherine Zeta-Jones\n\n\n\n

This was also the time when he\u2019d meet his love, Catherine Zeta-Jones. But even before they met, he liked her.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m watching this movie, and I go, \u2018Wow, who is this girl? She\u2019s incredible,\u2019\u201d Douglas recalled. He was watching a screening of her upcoming movie The Mask of Zorro at the time. \n\n\n\n

The two Hollywood celebrities then met in 1996 at the Deauville Film Festival.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had been told Michael Douglas wanted to meet me,\u201d Zeta-Jones recalled in a 2001 television interview with Larry King. \u201cI was a little nervous because I didn\u2019t quite know what he wanted to meet me about.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Michael Douglas knew that he\u2019d just met the love of his life. \n\n\n\n

View this post on Instagram \n\n\n\n

A post shared by Michael Douglas (@michaelkirkdouglas)\n\n\n\n

However, he thought he had ruined any chance of them moving forward together during their first encounter.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said to her after about half an hour, \u2018You know, I\u2019m going to be the father of your children,\u2019\u201d Douglas recalled on The Jonathan Ross Show, as quoted by E! News. \u201cIt sounded good, and she said, \u2018You know, I\u2019ve heard a lot about you and I\u2019ve seen a lot about you, and I think it\u2019s time I say goodnight.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n

Married in 1999\n\n\n\n

Douglas and Zeta-Jones continued speaking on the phone for about nine months, and continued sharing dinners. Then the pair came to wonder why they weren\u2019t together, and so they sat down and talked about it. \n\n\n\n

\u201cHe certainly didn\u2019t want me as an ex- girlfriend on his list, and I certainly didn\u2019t want \u2018Michael Douglas\u2019 as an ex-boyfriend on my list,\u201d she said. \u201cWe looked at each other one day and said, \u2018We\u2019re having a lot of fun together.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n

At this point, their romance grew. Douglas and Zeta-Jones have a 25-year age difference, which meant that their relationship was all over the tabloids before long. But they didn\u2019t care; their romance was too great. On New Years Eve in 1999, Michael Douglas proposed to Catherine at his home in Aspen, Colorado. And it sure was special.\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth of us were sick as dogs because we had [the] flu,\u201d Douglas recalled in 2016. Later the same year, they got married.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take any of this for granted,\u201d Zeta-Jones told People during their wedding. \u201cWhen I look at Michael, I run around like a little girl. I can\u2019t believe I came into his life and he came into mine.\u201d\n\n\n\n

View this post on Instagram \n\n\n\n

A post shared by Dylan Douglas (@dylan__douglas)\n\n\n\n

Only months following their engagement, there were rumors that the pair were expecting a child.\n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas \n\n\n\n

In August of 2000, Dylan Douglas was born. He was the first child of Catherine Zeta-Jones, and the second child for Douglas. His firstborn son Cameron had been born in 1978 to his then-wife Diandra Luker.\n\n\n\n

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas welcomed their second child \u2013 daughter Carys Zeta-Douglas \u2013 in 2003. Like with any marriage, theirs has had its ups and downs, but in the end, their love conquers everything.\n\n\n\n

Now, their children are all grown up, and it turns out that Dylan Douglas chose a completely different career to that of his parents. \n\n\n\n

He seems to be a real daredevil.\n\n\n\n

View this post on Instagram \n\n\n\n

A post shared by Dylan Douglas (@dylan__douglas)\n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas is now 20 years of age, and he\u2019s had the opportunity to live in several places already.\n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas \u2013 childhood\n\n\n\n

As a small child, Dylan and his family lived in Bermuda. Michael Douglas has deep roots with the group of islands, since his mother hails from there. He also spent many of his teenage summers there.\n\n\n\n

In 2001, when Dylan was only a one-year-old, parents Michael and Catherine decided that the family should move to Bermuda. Being two major celebrities at the time, they decided that it would be better for the children to grow up far away from the spotlight, which many times has turned out to be poisonous.\n\n\n\n

Douglas and Zeta-Jones, who lived in New York City at the time, wanted their children to have a safe and calm upbringing without paparazzi. \n\n\n\n

In Bermuda, they felt that people respected their privacy.\n\n\n\n

\u201cBermuda creates an environment for us away from the entertainment business, and gives our kids independence and freedom where showbiz isn\u2019t on everybody\u2019s lips,\u201d Douglas said, as quoted by the Bermuda Sun. \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely, lovely place.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\"DouglasShutterstock\n\n\n\n

However, the family only stayed on the island for eight years, as Dylan was diagnosed with dyslexia. \n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas \u2013 dyslexia\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t start reading until the age of five, and parents Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones decided it was best for him to attend a special school in New York. As a result, the Douglas family left Bermuda and Dylan finally got the chance to prove to everyone how great of a kid he was. He enrolled at the Windward School, which specializes in dyslexia.\n\n\n\n

Those couple of years were very challenging for the Douglas family. Not only was Dylan\u2019s half brother Cameron sentenced to five years in prison, but Michael Douglas found out that he had stage 4 tongue cancer. He underwent chemo and radiation therapy, as Dylan was settling into his new school.\n\n\n\n

In the end, Michael Douglas successfully came out the other side after his cancer treatment, and Dylan went on to love school. During an emotional speech at a Windward School fundraiser, Dylan honored the school that had helped him overcome his dyslexia, and also opened up about how his father\u2019s cancer had impacted his life.\n\n\n\n

\"DylanInstagram\/dylandouglas\n\n\n\n

At school, he felt free, and was able to just be Dylan, not a person with special needs.\n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas \u2013 work\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt home, I was alone, but at school I was far from lonely,\u201d he said in his speech, which his mother Catherine Zeta-Jones shared on her Instagram page. \u201cAt Winward I was free. It was like the Mecca of dyslexics.\u201d \n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2010 everything was normal again at home, I could finally see my mum again and my dad was cancer free,\u201d he added. \u201cEverything was beautiful again.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Speaking to The Guardian in 2010, Michael Douglas opened up about raising his children regardless of they need special education or not.\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeither of us is overwhelmed with worry about which school or college they are going to be going to,\u201d said Douglas. \u201cWe just want them to be good citizens of the planet. They\u2019re not spoiled or obnoxious. They\u2019re well-mannered, confident, pretty worldly. My son deals with dyslexia to a degree \u2013 it runs in the family and my brother has it. He goes to a special school. We\u2019re old-fashioned parents, they\u2019ve got British nannies and we get nice compliments from people. Our children make us proud.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Now, Dylan Douglas is all grown up. According to his Instagram page, he works as a Political & Outreach Director, at \u201cMake Room Now\u201d, which he also is the co-founder of. He has a great interest in history, especially decolonization, freedom movements and first-time voting activism.\n\n\n\n

View this post on Instagram \n\n\n\n

A post shared by Dylan Douglas (@dylan__douglas)\n\n\n\n

At the same time, it seems like he is a real daredevil who loves a great adrenaline rush.\n\n\n\n

Tribute to father Michael Douglas\n\n\n\n

Dylan can be seen skydiving or engaging in other similar activities, something that doesn\u2019t really keep his father Michael at ease. \n\n\n\n

\u201cHe just did a skydiving thing,\u201d Douglas told Ellen DeGeneres. \u201cBut I remember that age. It\u2019s a hormonal thing, I think, for boys, testing yourself. I just think it \u2014 you know, what I did not like is he was the first one to jump.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Don\u2019t be the first one to jump!\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cLet a couple other people go off first to test it \u2026 So I said, \u2018Okay, just don\u2019t be first!\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n

On Father\u2019s Day, earlier this year, Dylan posted a beautiful tribute to his dad on Instagram, alongside a picture of him and Michael Douglas.\n\n\n\n

\u201cDad, Happy Father\u2019s Day! I find it hard to put into words how much you mean to me, how thankful I am for all you do for me and how much I love you!\u201d Dylan wrote.\n\n\n\n

Dylan Douglas seems to be a real down-to-earth person, just like his parents are. And doesn\u2019t he really look like his \u201cold man\u201d?!\n\n\n\n

Following several tough struggles within the family, we really hope that the Douglas clan will stay together, sharing the love between them.\n\n\n\n

Please, share this story with friends and family.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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