Jean Smart had a difficult year in 2021 after the terrible passing of her longtime partner Richard Gilliland in March of that year.
The Hacks actress was on the Hacks set at the time of her husband’s passing, portraying Deborah Vance, a part for which she later won a Primetime Emmy Award and a SAG Award.
She had to adapt to living as an actor and a widowed mother of the two children she shared with her late spouse after her partner’s passing.
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Who Are the Children of Jean Smart?
During their 33-year marriage, Smart and her late spouse had two children together. Connor Douglas Gilliland, their oldest child, was conceived in 1989, two years after Smart and Gilliland’s wedding.
Currently, not much is known about him because Smart and her late spouse shielded their oldest child from public view. Additionally, Connor does not have any social media accounts, keeping his private life hidden from the public.
Forrest Kathleen Gilliland, formerly known as Bonnie Kathleen Gilliland, is the second son of Smart. In 2009, when he was just 10 months old, the actress and her husband adopted him from China as a girl.
The Sun claims that Smart and Gilliland began making arrangements in 2004 to adopt a child from China, but the adoption process took longer than anticipated. The process actually took a lot longer than we anticipated once we finally got going. We anticipated that my son [Connor] would be around 15 when we had the child, but he recently turned 20,” The Sun said.
Even though there had been a five-year delay, the actress was unconcerned
If we had a baby straight away, we “wouldn’t have received the same baby,” Smart said in an interview with Today.
Although Forrest was adopted, the three members of the current family treated him as their own. She said on The Bonnie Hunt Show that her now-deceased husband and their oldest child had gone to China to pick him up.
Forrest Kathleen Gilliland’s daughter Bonnie Kathleen Gilliland was adopted by Jean Smart as her child. Forrest is “the brightest, funniest, most darling present,” according to the Mare of Easttown actress, and he sleeps all night. Smith continued, “My son is captivated with her, and my husband is completely enamored with her.”
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Jean Smart thinks her kids are brave
In her acceptance speech for the Emmys, Smart continued by remarking on how courageous her children are. They were initially referred to as her two amazing and selfless children, “who are both quite courageous in their own right,” by her.
She continued by thanking her late husband as well. Before she continued, she acknowledged her late husband, who had died just six months earlier. Without him, she would not have been able to speak. Without him putting his career on hold so that I could benefit from all the fantastic experiences I’ve had, she continued.
Prior to winning the Emmy, Smart had been joined by her youngest son at the red carpet event for the program, where reporter Karamo Brown spoke with the actress. Brown spoke briefly with Forrest and inquired about his feelings over his mother’s nomination for an Emmy. I’m quite proud of her,” he responded. She deserved it so much. She put a lot of effort into everything.
According to the actress, Forrest was overjoyed to witness his mother’s Emmy victory. “I was happy to share it with my son, and he’s ecstatic!” Smart said to Entertainment Tonight. Therefore, that was definitely unique.
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