Ethan Hawke’s father and mother are James Steven and Leslie Carole (née Green) respectively. His father is an insurance actuary while his mother is a charity worker.
Ethan Hawke is an iconic American actor and director who has made it to many prestigious award lists, including two Golden Globe Awards, four Academy Awards, and one Tony Award. He was raised by his mother after his parents went their separate ways following their divorce in 1974 when Ethan was just four. The great height he has attained in the competitive Hollywood industry has drawn media attention to his parents. In that regard, we have put together some interesting facts you need to know about Ethan Hawke’s parents, James Steven and Leslie Carole.
Ethan Hawke’s Parents Were High School Sweethearts
Ethan Hawke’s parents started dating when they were in high school in Forth Worth, Texas. They became really close very early and sealed their love in holy matrimony at a young age as well. The exact date of their wedding has not been made public but Leslie was reportedly 17 when she tied the knot with James.
The couple were already married at the time they got into the University of Texas, Austin, where they both studied at the same time. It was during their time as college undergraduates that they Ethan was born on November 6, 1970, in Austin, Texas, in the United States.
Meet Ethan Hawke’s Parents
Ethan Hawke is a talented entertainer who has built a reputable career as an American actor but his parents have no history in the showbiz industry. Meet the couple.
Ethan Hawke’s Father, James Steven Hawke, is an Insurance Actuary
An actuary is a person who uses mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to analyze the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. The main job of an actuary is to help clients or businesses cut down on risks and losses.
Ethan’s father graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he bagged his first degree in Mathematics. He later got his Master’s degree from the University of Connecticut. He first worked as the Vice President & Actuary at Bankers Security Life Insurance Company in Washington D.C., Mmetro Area, in 1990. He left the company in 1996 and joined Conseco Insurance to assume the position of Senior Vice President, Actuarial from 1996 to 2008.
From 2008 to 2014, James was the Vice President & Appointed Actuary at Liberty National Life Insurance Company in McKinney, Texas. He joined Torchmark Corporation in McKinney, Texas, in 2014 and retired a few years later.
Aside from his career life, James Hawke has little information available on his early life. We can only confirm that he was born to Frank Taylor Hawke (father) and Betty Virginia Hartsock (mother). Ethan is his only child but they reportedly have a strained relationship. This is probably due to the divorce that separated them from an early stage of Ethan’s life.
James Hawke has no presence on social media, making it difficult to figure out what he has been up to in recent times. However, it is on record that he never remarried after his divorce from Ethan’s mother.
Ethan Hawke’s Mother is a Social Worker
Ethan Hawke’s mother, Leslie Carole Green, was an editor and publishing executive before she found her calling in helping the less privileged. Leslie came to Romania in 2000 as a volunteer for the Peace Corps and after her first assignment with a Bacau, Eastern Romania NGO, she discovered her soft spot for helping children who were born into poor families.
Leslie’s duties in the Peace Corps lasted till 2004 but instead of heading back to the States, she fell in love with Romania and the people in it, thus, she decided to stay back and contribute to their wellbeing. Subsequently, Leslie joined forces with Maria Gheorghiu to found a nonprofit known as OvidiuRo. The organization is dedicated to helping children from poor homes go to school. While Leslie focused on fundraising, her partner, Maria Gheorghiu, took charge of running the daily operations.
The Halloween Charity Ball is one of the best charity events ever launched in Romania and Leslie and her partner are the brains behind it. The charity event is one of the many ways they raise money to help children stay in school. They also launched the Fiecare Copil in Scoala (Each Child in School) campaign in 2006 with a vision to bring all Romanian children to school by 2020.
OvidiuRo collaborated with the Education Ministry to launch Fiecare Copil in Gradinita (Every Child in Kindergarten) in 2010 to further help children in many disadvantaged Romanian communities. The nonprofit organization extends its activities to teachers by training them and also distributes about 100,000 children’s books a year to kids for use in school and at home.
Leslie Hawke’s relentless work to help disadvantaged children in Romania through the OvidiuRo foundation came to a wrap in 2020 after 20 years. She left Maria Gheorghiu at the helm of affairs but remains part of the OvR board of trustees. She has also continued to fundraise for the organization through The Alex Fund. Patricia Puschila Lupec took over Leslie’s role of running the communication and fundraising arm of OvidiuRo as the foundation’s new COO.
Leslie may have rounded off her mission in Romania and gone back home to the States but she promised to visit the country at least once a year. In the meantime, thousands of children in Romania have benefitted from her philanthropic gestures.
Ethan Hawke’s Parents Divorced in 1974
Ethan Hawke’s parents, James Steven and Leslie Carole, got married at a young age but the marriage died young too. The former couple divorced in 1974 when their son, Ethan, was only 4 years old. The divorce proceedings went smoothly and Ethan’s mother got custody of him afterward.
Following the end of his parents’ marriage, Ethan was raised by his mother and they moved around a lot at first. They later settled down in New York City where Ethan was enrolled in the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights. He later changed to West Windsor Plainsboro High School when his mother remarried and moved to West Windsor Township, New Jersey. He would later graduate from the Hun School of Princeton.
