Rob Kim / Stringer/ Getty Images Entertainment NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Will Ferrell (L) and family, wife Viveca Paulin and sons, Magnus Ferrell (L) and Mattias Ferrell attend the New York Premiere of "Daddy's Home" at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on December 13, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)
Actor and comedian Will Ferrell is married to the Swedish actress Viveca Paulin. The two have been married since 2000 and have three sons together: Magnus, Mattias, and Axel.
51 year old Ferrell plays Tom Willis in the live The Jeffersons revival. He’s known for his work on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s, and has starred in many successful comedy films since such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Stepbrothers. His other hits include the Christmas classic Elf and the frat-boy comedy Old School. He co-founded Funny or Die, and he has produced the TV series Drunk History and the Netflix series Dead to Me.
Ferrell and his family have homes in New York City and Los Angeles. Ferrell’s net worth is estimated at $100 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Ferrell’s Dad Toured With the Righteous Brothers
Ferrell’s father Lee is a pianist and saxophone player whose first job as a professional musician was backing up the Righteous Brothers. Lee Ferrell toured with the group consistently until the mid-1960s, and he would periodically hit the road with them again throughout Will Ferrell’s childhood. He played in backing bands for a number of other famous artists, including surf-guitar legend Dick Dale.
Ferrell told the Orange County Register that his father’s career in music initially made him shy away from the spotlight. “I enjoyed being funny but I never wanted that show business life because of what my father went through. The instability of that life was something I never wanted. I wanted to get a real job, although I didn’t know what that meant. And I wanted to live in a house because we were always in apartments.”
You can hear some of Lee Ferrell’s music in a couple of his son’s films. His song “Goodbye Cowboy” can be heard in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and his song “Brother” appears in Stepbrothers. Will Ferrell told the Press Telegram, “It was the director (Adam McKay) and the other creative decision-makers that wanted to include it, so that is so satisfying for both me and my dad.”
His mother Kay was a teacher. Ferrell’s parents divorced when he was eight years old.
2. Ferrell Married Swedish Actress Viveca Paulin in 2000
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 25: Actor Will Farrell (L) and wife Vivica Paulson arrive at the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Get Hard’ at the Chinese Theatre on March 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Ferrell met his wife Viveca Paulin in 1995 in an acting class in Los Angeles. Soon after, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and moved to New York. However, the two remained in touch and eventually rekindled their romance when Ferrell was visiting Los Angeles on a break from SNL.
Paulin is an art auctioneer, but she has also played small parts in a couple of movies. She appeared in A Night at the Roxbury and Money Talks, and she did voice work in Ralph Breaks the Internet as an auctioneer.
In an interview with Elle, Ferrell said, “What I love most about Viv is very simple. She totally got my sense of humor. I sent her flowers every day for a week with a card like, ‘You’re the fifth-prettiest woman in the office.’ She loved it. We had a shorthand with each other.”
3. The Couple Has Three Sons Together: Magnus, Mattias, and Axel
Ferrell and Paulin have three children together. Their oldest son Magnus was born in 2004. They had their second child Mattias in 2006, and Axel was born in 2010. Axel was actually born hours after the couple made an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s final episode of The Tonight Show, joining the host on stage for a rendition of Lynard Skynard’s “Free Bird.”
4. Ferrell’s Kids Don’t Think He’s Funny
Actor and comedian Will Ferrell(rear) tells his children Magnus (R), Mattias (L) and Axel to walk around his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at a ceremony to unveil the star, March 24, 2015, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
Despite Ferrell’s incredibly successful career, his kids are not impressed with his comedy style. He told CBS News, “A lot of times I’ll get, ‘Stop with the voices, let’s get back to the story. Like, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but you’re taking away from the story.”
The star also told Parade that his middle son has been watching old SNL skits on YouTube, and recently discovered Ferrell’s famous “More Cowbell” sketch. He said, “With Cowbell, he’s like, ‘How did you do that, Dad? Isn’t that embarrassing?’ How do you not get embarrassed?’”
Ferrell, on the other hand, thinks his kids are very funny. He told Parents, “Boy, they make me laugh probably every single day just with the way they look at the world. As everyone who has kids knows, [children have] a completely unique outlook about the world, and the stuff they come up with every day makes me laugh.”
5. All Three of Ferrell’s Sons Can Be Seen in ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’
Actor Will Ferrell and his family attend the Paramount Pictures premiere of ‘Daddy’s Home 2’, on November 5, 2017, in Westwood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)
Magnus, Mattias, and Axel all appear in the Sea World scene in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Ferrell’s sons are now 15, 13, and nine years old.
In 2017, Mark Wahlberg told Ellen Degeneres on The Ellen Show that Ferrell’s oldest son Magnus follows his teenage daughter on Instagram. “I thought [Magnus] was a lovely lad until I found out that he has formed some sort of communication with my oldest child,” Wahlberg said.