Sam Elliott Only Has One Daughter — Introducing Cleo Rose

Aug 10, 2021

Sam Elliott is an American actor that is best known for his roles in Western films and television series. With a voice like Elliott’s, it’s not hard to see why the actor has gone on to star in so many Western films and television shows. Some of his most prominent roles include “The Big Lebowski” and “Tombstone,” and some of his more recent and notable roles include “A Star is Born” and “The Ranch.”

During the first few years of his career, Elliott was known as being a character actor, as he had found himself a nice home in the Westerns genre in the acting industry. Since then, he has continued to impress fans and critics for his impeccable portrayal of various characters in any project he earns a spot in.

Elliott is married to actress Katharine Ross, and they have one beautiful daughter together by the name of Cleo Rose Elliott. The family has worked hard at keeping their personal lives as private as possible. Most people may not even know that the happy pair even has a daughter, although she has been recently seen with her parents on the red carpet. Cleo attended the Academy Awards ceremony the year her father was nominated for his supporting role in  “A Star is Born,” as well as the film’s premiere.

The event was incredibly important and memorable for Elliott and his family, as they celebrated his success and also gave the world a peek into their personal lives. Read on to learn more about the family and to see Cleo’s stunning photo.

Elliott was born on Aug. 9, 1944, in Sacramento, California. When he was 13 years old, Elliott and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, and spent his teenage years living in the southeastern area of the city. In 1962, he graduated from David Douglas High School and went on to attend college at the University of Oregon as an English and psychology major. However, after just two terms, he dropped out and returned to Portland. 

Elliott had not given up on his education, as he went to Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, just a short distance away from Portland, where he was able to complete a two-year program. While attending Clark College, Elliott also discovered that he really enjoyed acting as he had been cast as one of the leads in a stage production of “Guys and Dolls.” Despite this, he returned to the University of Oregon and re-enrolled in his original program before dropping out once again after his father died of a heart attack.

During the late 1960s, Elliott decided to fully pursue a career in acting and moved to Los Angeles. His father never thought he would be able to make it big and had urged him to get a college degree instead, but that wasn’t in the stars for Elliott. The hopeful actor took his new passion seriously. While studying acting, Elliott worked in construction to keep up with his bills and expenses and also served in the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing, known as the Hollywood Guard.

With a voice like Elliott’s, it’s not hard to see why the actor has gone on to star in so many Western films and television shows, as it has been incredibly well-suited to the genre. Even his appearance has helped him look like a real cowboy in the various projects he has worked on. In the early stages of his career, Elliott was best known for being a character actor, as he had fit seamlessly into the Westerns genre for his eccentric acting abilities. He earned his first television credit as Dan Kenyon in a 1969 episode of “Judd for the Defense.”

He also went on to appear in the show “Lancer” in a few episodes over the next couple of years. Following this, Elliott began to find some minor parts in films, with one of his earliest roles being a card player in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” In 1975, he landed the lead role as Charles Wood in the television film “I Will Fight No More Forever,” a dramatization of Chief Joseph’s resistance to the United States government’s forcible removal and the Nez Perce Indian tribe to a reservation in the state of Idaho.

Elliott also continued to find work in a number of TV series, including a recurring role in the hit series “Mission: Impossible.” Working his way up in the industry, Elliott played the lead character in the miniseries “Once an Eagle,” an adaption of the Anton Myrer novel by the same name. He starred in the series opposite accomplished actors and actresses such as Amy Irving, Kim Hunter, Clu Gulager, and Melanie Griffith.

On the trajectory of success, Elliott finally hit his film breakthrough when he landed the starring role as Rick Carlson in the summer blockbuster “Lifeguard” in 1976. However, the film did not perform well, as many critics were unsatisfied with the final product and didn’t believe Elliott added anything special to the overall piece of work.

Elliott teamed up with fellow mustached-actor Tom Selleck for a few projects. The first was in the popular miniseries, “The Sacketts,” an adaptation of Louis L’Amour’s Western novels. The pair teamed up again in 1982 in “The Shadow Riders,” which was also a L’Amour adaptation. Surprisingly, Elliott even had a supporting role in “Mask,” a movie starring megastar Cher.

Moving forward with his career, Elliott never strayed too far from his love for Western films and TV series, as he had been able to find ample work in the genre. He portrayed Sam Houston in the TV movie “Gone to Texas” in 1986 and played Wade Garrett in “Road House” in 1989. In 1993, he landed one of his most notable roles in the Western film “Tombstone.” Depicting a number of Western outlaws and lawmen, the film was loosely based on events in Tombstone, Arizona, during the 1880s. It was a financial success and has continued to be one of the highest-grossing films in the genre since 1979.

In 1998, Elliott played the narrating character in “The Big Lebowski.” Later in his career, the actor took on various smaller roles in several projects, including “Up in the Air” and “Parks and Recreation.” He also won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for his guest performance in the FX Network drama show “Justified.”

 In 2015, Elliott began appearing as a series regular in the Netflix series “The Ranch,” which also starred Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson. The comedy-drama series followed the lives of two brothers, played by Kutcher and Masterson, who helped run the Colorado cattle ranch owned by their father, played by Elliott. After a four-season run, the show came to an end in January 2020. Each season consisted of 20 episodes broken up into two parts, with each episode named after an American country music song.

Even as Elliott has aged, he has continued to prove that he is one of the best actors in the industry. In 2018, he portrayed Bobby Maine, the elder half-brother of Bradley Cooper’s character in “A Star is Born.” He received critical acclaim for his performance, which ultimately earned him the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor. The role also led to a plethora of nominations, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was the first time that Elliott had ever been nominated for an Oscar.

According to IMDB, Elliott has a few projects set to be completed and released in the upcoming future. The documentary “The Gettysburg Address” has reached its post-production stage, while “Y: 1883” is still in the pre-production stage. Elliott is set to appear in at least one episode of the latter. “MacGruber,” a television series, has also been announced, with Elliott signed on to play Perry.

During the course of his career, Elliott has had the privilege of working on numerous projects, some of which were even alongside his wife. Although Elliott and Ross had worked together on the same film, they didn’t actually have the opportunity to meet. Elliott first worked with his now-wife while he was an extra in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” 

The pair, unfortunately, did not get to meet during filming because Ross was the leading lady of the film and was far too busy with her own work to meet and hang out with an extra. However, Elliott still enjoyed getting to see Ross work on the set and was able to learn a lot about the process of filmmaking from the entire experience.

Ross received critical acclaim for her role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” as it earned her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She made her film debut in the Civil War-themed drama “Shenandoah” in 1965 and received her first round of real critical success from the comedy-drama “The Graduate” in 1967.

The couple officially met in 1978 while filming the gothic-horror film “The Legacy.” They began dating shortly after and were later married in 1984. Prior to tying the knot, they had worked together again in the miniseries “Murder in Texas” in 1981, alongside Farrah Fawcett. Ross had also been married four times before she settled down with Elliott, although each marriage lasted for five years or less. The married couple worked together again in 1991 on “Conagher,” and again in 2017 on the film “The Hero.” They currently live together on their own seaside ranch in Malibu, California.

Together, Elliott and Ross have one beautiful daughter by the name of Cleo Rose Elliott, who was born in September 1984. Although Cleo has lived a relatively private life, she has begun emerging as a star in recent years. In fact, she was even helpful to her father during his time in the film “A Star Is Born.” 

While on the red carpet for the film’s premiere, Elliott explained in an interview that his daughter was the one who introduced him to Lady Gaga and her music before he even signed on for the film. Lady Gaga is one of the main stars of the movie, alongside Cooper. “We’re all Lady Gaga fans, but because of Cleo — that’s the reason I knew Lady Gaga’s music before we started working together,” Elliott explained.

Cleo has also had a strong love and passion for music and has even worked on pursuing a career as a singer. Luckily, her parents have both been completely supportive of her career ambitions and have always encouraged her to work toward accomplishing her goals. “I got all their old vinyl,” she said during an interview with the Malibu Times. “So some of my favorite albums are Led Zeppelin, The Cars’ ‘Heartbeat City,’ the Allman Brothers’ ‘Eat a Peach’ and maybe some old Madonna.” 

Cleo also said that she was joining the American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers and was looking to distribute her album “No More Lies.” “The only way I know how to write is straight from my heart,” Cleo said. “The songs on ‘No More Lies’ are about love, of course. Finding love and losing it. But it’s not about one specific person.” 

Continuing her conversation with the Malibu Times in 2008, Cleo also made it clear that her parents are happy she is not following in their footsteps of becoming an actor. “I’m working on selling this one and working on some more songs,” Cleo explained. “My parents are totally supportive of this. They’re just happy I don’t want to be an actor.”

The singer is also engaged to musician Randy Christopher Bates, who has shared many photos and videos of his fiancee to his Instagram account. Based on his photos, it looks like Cleo does some modeling on the side as well.

Many Hollywood celebrities were at risk of losing their homes to the California wildfire of 2018, including the Elliott family. Cleo went to Instagram in order to honor not only her father but the firemen who put their lives on the line to save what homes they could. Cleo posted a picture of her father with a fireman, standing in front of a firetruck. 

With thousands of followers on the social media platform, Cleo received plenty of messages filled with love and support after the terrifying event. Some even said that they felt as though her father was exactly the type of man he often portrayed in movies. One user said, “You dad is a hero on and off the screen,” a statement that many others have certainly agreed with.

While Elliott has been a pivotal figure in the acting industry, as well as his gorgeous wife, his daughter has continued to live a private and quiet life. Only a few glimpses into Cleo’s life have been revealed, as the singer has stayed relatively under the radar while working on her music career.

What do you think about Sam Elliott’s career? Did you know about his daughter? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends, too!