Getty Actor Bill Hader and director Maggie Carey pose for a portrait before the 19th Annual Mark Twain Award for American Humor program honoring Bill Murray at The Kennedy Center October 23, 2016 in Washington, DC.
2019 has been a big year for actor Bill Hader. He starred in It: Chapter 2, which opened in theaters in September, and also received 3 Emmy Nominations for his recent work on television. He is nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy for his role as the title character in Barry, and nominated in both the comedy writing and directing categories for ronny/lily.
In addition to being an A-list Hollywood actor and writer, Hader is also a father of three children under the ages of 10. His daughters, whom he shares with his ex-wife Maggie Carey, all have names starting with the letter “H:” Hayley, Hannah and Harper.
Here’s what you need to know about Bill Hader’s family:
1. Hader Says His Kids Are Unimpressed by His Acting Fame
When Hader appeared as a guest on LIVE Kelly and Ryan in May 2019, he was asked if his daughters like his sense of humor and impressions. His response? No. Elaborating, he said “I remember one time I had a small part in Finding Dory and I took my daughters to go see Finding Dory and my voice came up as one of the fish and my little daughter like stood up and just walked out of the theater.
2. He & His Ex-Wife Maggie Carey Split Up in December 2017
After 11 years of marriage, Bill Hader and Maggie Carey filed for divorce in December 2017. According to E! News, the former couple filed for joint physical and legal custody of their three daughters. The divorce papers were settled in June 2018.
Neither Hader nor Carey commented on the reasons for their divorce at the time, but Hader later told Variety “I’m friends with my ex-wife.”
3. D’Arcy Carden Was a Nanny for Hader’s Kids
As a guest on Late Night With Seth Myers, Hader’s Barry co-star D’Arcy Carden revealed that she once worked as a nanny for his children. She said that 10 years ago “I was his nanny for their oldest two daughters, and that was like my full-time job. I was with them every day. I still am really close with them.” She said she had an especially close relationship with his oldest daughter, and they “would just talk like friends would talk.”
Hader referenced a past nanny in an interview with Variety, though he did not identify Carden in the comment: “I never saw any of the stuff I did. I think a nanny showed my kids Stefon, or the Californians or something. They came in and were like, ‘Dad, look at this.’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. There I am.’”
4. Hader Took Summer 2018 Off From Acting to Have Time With His Family
In an interview feature with Variety, Hader said “I think I saw my kids a total of five days all summer. It was terrible. So, I’m going, ‘Next summer I’m taking off. And I’m going to spend every day with them.’ It’s this weird thing where when you’re in this industry, you don’t have time to be with them, and it’s really, really difficult. I’m getting emotional right now talking about it.”
This summer, he stuck to writing jobs so that he could work from home and be with his kids as much as possible.
5. Hader Left ‘Saturday Night Live’ to Be a Father
Hader revealed to Variety that, after becoming a father, he struggled with the demands of being on Saturday Night Live. “When I was on ‘SNL,’ I was a bit of a basket case. It could not have been easy on my wife at the time. I was so consumed with work and anxiety.” He opened up about the health issues he faced on-set, adding “Sometimes I felt like people thought, ‘Oh, he’s just wanting attention or something.’ It was like, ‘No, man, I’m legit. I’m freaking out right now.’”
Ultimately, he decided that he couldn’t be both a cast member on SNL and a father. He said “Once our second child was born, I had to leave ‘SNL.’ It was hard with one kid, let alone two. Because I was just never around.”