Cary Grant’s Daughter Finally Reveals if He Was Gay or Not
Cary Grant’s only daughter, Jennifer Grant, finally wants to put the rumors to rest. For decades, fans have speculated about Grant’s sexuality, with some believing that he was gay after being married five times and only having one child at the age of 62. Grant, whose real name was Archibald ‘Archie’ Leach, lived with his co-star Randolph Scott in Malibu for 12 years after working together on the 1932 film Hot Saturday, which only fueled the rumors.
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She said, “I suppose the [misconception about my father] that comes to mind is the question of, ‘Was he straight? Was he gay?’ When I wrote my book [in 2011], I got hate mail saying, ‘Why aren’t you standing up for the fact that your father was homosexual?’ But the truth of the matter is, I never saw anything to indicate that. And had he been homosexual, I absolutely would’ve stood up for it. He had gay friends and there’s just absolutely nothing to be ashamed of there. But I had to speak the truth, which was I saw a very straight male who watched women, was married to women, had me. Did he have affairs earlier in life? Perhaps. I don’t know. I wasn’t there to see it. So, I think it might not be a common misconception, but it’s certainly a rumor out there.”
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Now, Jennifer hopes to explore more about her father’s life in the scripted series Archie. She is the executive producer on the project which focuses on his hard childhood and the start of his career as an actor. She believes that he almost did not have a family because of his rough childhood. His father was an abusive alcoholic and his mother was taken away from him and put in an asylum. He was told for many years that she died but luckily reunited with her later in life.
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Grant found some escape and peace in the theater. He was discovered in Hollywood when he was just 28 years old and became one of the most famous actors of all time, starring in films such as An Affair to Remember, To Catch a Thief, Charade, and North by Northwest.
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Grant died in 1986 at the age of 82, when Jennifer was just 20 years old. Despite only spending two decades together, she looks back fondly on her childhood and time with her father. She shared, “I think the fact that he created himself is miraculous. He was such a thoughtful, kind man. If he did something unkind, he couldn’t sleep. He was a gentleman through and through. … I suppose what I want people to take away is that we can create ourselves. We can create miracles. … We don’t have to walk on water to be wonderful human beings.”
