Clint Eastwood’s New Girlfriend Christina Sandera Has A Familiar Face

May 25, 2021

Clint Easwood Jr. is an American actor, producer, director and composer. He is known for a large number of films, but amongst the more popular is the “Dirty Harry” series from the 1970s and 1980s. Eastwood played the titular role of antihero cop, Harry Callahan. 

Eastwood made a name for himself through starring in Western films such as the classic "Dollars Trilogy,” and “Rawhide.” He is also an award-winning director in his own right, having won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his films “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby.” 

Eastwood loves music and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music. He wrote the film scores for his films “Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Grace Is Gone,” “Changeling,” “Hereafter” and “J. Edgar.” He has also been honored with two of France's highest civil orders—the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Legion of Honour medal.

In 1986, Eastwood was voted mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He served for two terms and has always shown an interest in California politics. Eastwood has been married twice in his life and has had a number of public relationships. He has eight children and stays involved in their lives despite his busy schedule. 

Despite being in the public eye for his acting career and a famous brood of children—most of them followed in his footsteps and are also part of the film industry—Eastwood has always tried to keep his private life very private. But now he has found love again with his current girlfriend, the public can’t help but take an interest.

Read on to learn more about Eastwood’s current girlfriend, Christina Sandera.

Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, California. His father, also named Clint Eastwood, was a manufacturing executive at Georgia-Pacific, while his mother worked in a clerical role at IBM. The family lived in a wealthy area of town in a house that had a swimming pool, each parent had their own car, and they belonged to a country club. 

Despite this privileged upbringing, Eastwood got into trouble as a youth and it's uncertain whether he actually graduated from high school. Eastwood spoke with Esquire Magazine about his experience as a child, “When I harken back to my dad, I remember we left Redding and drove down here so he could get a job as a gas jockey at a Standard Station.”

Eastwood continued, “So I think, What would happen if he'd have said, ‘Oh, I can't do that?’ Well, we'd have been begging for sandwiches at somebody's backdoor. Which is, I remember, one of the most affecting things that ever happened in my life. I was a little kid, five years old, and a guy comes to the back of our house and says to my mother, ‘There's a bunch of wood in the back. Could I chop that up for you, ma'am?’ And my mother says, ‘We don't have money.’ And he says, ‘I don't want any money. Just a sandwich.’” That memory stayed with Eastwood and inspired him to work hard.

As a young man, he worked in a range of odd jobs including as a lifeguard, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, golf caddy, and paper carrier. While he attempted to enroll at Seattle University in 1951, he was instead drafted into the United States Army during the middle of the Korean War.

He never served overseas, however, his former partner Sondra Locke once stated: "He always dropped the Korean War reference, hoping everyone would conclude that he was in combat and might be some sort of hero. Actually, he'd been a lifeguard at Fort Ord in northern California for his entire stint in the military." 

Career Highlights

Eastwood first pursued acting while he was a young man stationed in Fort Ord. Although the exact story of how he caught the attention of notable people in the film industry is disputed, Eastwood eventually made it to the audition process, and while prominent producer Arthur Lubin was impressed with his looks, he disapproved of Eastwood's acting. Nonetheless, Eastwood signed an acting contract in 1954 that included attending drama classes.

Eastwood spoke about that time with Esquire Magazine, “When I used to be a contract player in 1954 at Universal, I wasn't getting good roles. I was getting one-liners, and then I'd be gone. But I'd hang around; I'd watch guys. And when I had days off I'd go down and watch other sets while they were shooting. Just watch how they worked and how the director handled them. I didn't know anything about making movies, and there's a lot to learn.”

While he was stationed in Fort Ord, California, Eastwood became acquainted with the director of the Western television series “Rawhide.” The series aired for five years before being canceled, but his work on “Rawhide'' led to the movie that would put him on the map. When his co-star Eric Fleming rejected an offer to star in a foreign-made western movie, Eastwood was suggested instead. Well, the movie was none other than “A Fistful of Dollars,” made by a relatively unknown director at the time, Sergio Leone. 

The film greatly influenced the Spaghetti Western genre and led to Eastwood working with Leone on two other films in the trilogy—”For A Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” The rest as they say is history. Eastwood's work in the genre propelled him to stardom and led to his later work in the “Dirty Harry” films of the '70s and '80s. 

Eastwood took inspiration from his father when he began his directing career. “I was forty the first time I directed. I formed a company in 1967, looking to the future. My dad taught me that whatever you do, do it well. Be the best at what you can do for that particular job in life. That always resonated with me,” he said to Esquire.

Having conquered acting, he moved on to directing by the 1990s and has had great critical and commercial success with movies such as “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River” and “Letter From Iwo Jima.” He's been honored with many accolades during his lengthy career including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement, among numerous other film awards. 

In the same interview with Esquire, Eastwood opened up about his insecurities as a filmmaker. “I never figured anything I made was ever gonna be a hit. And that goes for even the ones that were pivotal in my life, like ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby.’ They seemed good, but by the time you're finished with them, you go, ‘Oh, nobody's ever gonna wanna see this.’ Because you've lived with it too long,” said Eastwood.

The 91-year-old actor has been married twice and has eight children. Being such a big star, however, has often meant that his entire love life is played out for all to witness, just like his films. Any illicit love affairs, secret romances, or casual encounters are picked up by the media and end up becoming hot gossip, but maybe that’s also because Eastwood has had a very interesting and colorful history of romances.

Starting from the beginning, Eastwood had a relationship with a woman in 1953 whilst he was engaged to Maggie Johnson, as reported by the Daily Mail. Unknown to him, this resulted in a daughter, Laurie, who was born in 1954. Laurie was adopted by a couple living in Seattle and it was only many decades later that Eastwood found out he was her father.

Eastwood met Maggie Johnson in 1953, and they married. But it has been public knowledge that Eastwood always maintained an interest in other women throughout his marriage to Johnson, including an affair with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis. She gave birth to their daughter, Kimber, in 1964.

Eastwood and Johnson continued to work on their marriage and had children of their own. Their son, Kyle, was born in 1968, and their daughter, Alison, was born in 1972. The marriage ended in 1984 when Johnson filed for divorce after Eastwood had a notable affair with Sondra Locke. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for Johnson, as reported by the Independent.

Eastwood had another two children with Jacelyn Reeves: Scott, born in 1986, and Kathryn, born in 1988. The actor became a father once more thanks to his relationship with Frances Fisher. Their daughter, Francesca, was born in 1993.

Eastwood married for a second time in 1996 to news presenter Dina Ruiz. The couple met when Ruiz interviewed him in 1992. Together the pair had one daughter together, Morgan Eastwood, the youngest member of the Eastwood clan. In true Eastwood fashion, his marriage to Ruiz wasn’t destined to last. They divorced in 2013.

Eastwood and his son, Scott, have a very close relationship. Scott is also an actor so it seems he has followed in his father’s footsteps. "My father's definitely old-school. And he raised me with integrity—to be places on time, show up, and work hard." Scott told Esquire.

When asked in the same interview about how Scott behaved as a teen, Eastwood replied, “He was a pretty good kid. Not much of a problem. His mother gave him a lot of values, because she's a good person.”

Scott has been inspired by his father’s work ethic. “I remember something he told me early on. I don't remember how old I was when you told me this, Dad. But you said, ‘As an actor, I never went back to my trailer. I always hung out on set and learned.’ That stuck with me. I'm in this “Fast and the Furious” movie right now, and everyone goes back to their trailer. I stick around and say, ‘Why are you setting up the shot like this?’ I want to learn,” Scott told Esquire Magazine.

New Love

Eastwood went on to have casual relationships with several women, but he didn’t commit to anything serious until 2015 when he began to be spotted with a beautiful blonde woman. This woman also accompanied him to the Academy Awards in 2015, reports sheknows.com. That’s when people knew it was serious.

The lady Eastwood is serious about is 57-year-old restaurant hostess Christina Sandera from California. As soon as it became official, the world couldn’t wait to find out more about her. Eastwood first met Sandera when she was working as a restaurant hostess at Eastwood’s Mission Ranch Hotel in 2014. According to sheknows.com, after meeting through a mutual friend, it was love at first sight.

The 33-year age gap doesn’t seem to make any difference to the couple, especially given they have now been together six years, proving that age really is just a number. After Eastwood’s marriage to Dina ended, he didn’t move house. Instead, he chose to remain living in the family’s home in Carmel Valley. Sandera moved into the mansion with Eastwood shortly after they began dating.

Sandera is recognizable because she closely resembles Eastwood’s ex-girlfriend, Sondra Locke. It is said the entire family approves of Sandera, and it looks like he’s finally found someone who enhances his life and he enjoys being with. A source told Closer Weekly, “He’s truly happy with her. She’s fun, easygoing, and his kids like her too. She’s on an even keel like he is.”

The whole family was seen together for the first time at the 2018 premiere of the film “The Mule.” Christina joined Eastwood’s eight children and his first wife, Maggie Johnson. It may seem strange to think of them altogether, but if Eastwood’s mantra for life is anything to go by, he’s going to give every opportunity 100 percent. “You’re given one shot, and you should do the best you can with it. In the end, you’ve just got to be happy with what you’ve done. There you are,” the actor once said.

Clint Eastwood has lived a long and storied life full of career highs and lows, as well as a rich personal life. Even at the age of 90, we're sure he's still got a lot in store. Are you a fan of Clint Eastwood's movies? Have you found love later in life as well? Let us know and share this story as a reminder that it’s never too late to fall in love.