All About Wayne Gretzky’s 5 Kids, Including Famous Daughter Paulina Gretzky

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky is a proud father to his kids.

The former hockey player shares five children with his wife, actress and model Janet Gretzky. They welcomed their first child, daughter Paulina, in 1988, followed by sons Ty in 1990, Trevor in 1992 and Tristan in 2000 before welcoming their second daughter Emma in 2003.

While speaking with the Toronto Star in 2011, the four-time Stanley Cup Champion shared one of the most important lessons that he shares with his children.

“I always tell my kids, ‘You know what? The biggest thing you can have in life is passion,’ ” Wayne said. “What happens with passion is that you take that extra step, you put in that extra work, you put in that extra time because you have a dedication and a love for it.”

Despite Wayne’s many achievements on the ice, which include all-time NHL records in goals, assists, points and Hart Trophies, the dad of five always encouraged his kids to put their education before their athletic pursuits.

“It’s the greatest life in the world to be a professional athlete, but I always tell parents, the goal should be to get to college,” Wayne told the Ventura County Star in 2019. “Pursue that, because there’s only a small percentage of athletes who are fortunate enough to be professionals. But everybody can get a great education, and to me, that’s most important.”

Here’s everything to know about Wayne Gretzky’s five kids, Paulina, Ty, Trevor, Tristan and Emma.

Paulina Gretzky, 35

Wayne and his wife Janet welcomed their first child Paulina Mary Jean Gretzky on Dec. 19, 1988, five months after the couple got married on July 16, 1988.

Paulina has carved out a successful modeling career with over 1 million Instagram followers and has also acted in movies including Grown Ups 2 starring Adam Sandler and David Spade.

The model is married to six-time World Golf Champion Dustin Johnson — the pair began dating in 2013 and she revealed in an Instagram Q&A that Wayne told her she should marry the professional golfer after meeting him for the first time.

Wayne also gave Paulina advice on her dating life that helped her decide that the 2020 Masters Tournament Champion was the one.

“The best dating advice I ever received was from my dad. He told me to weigh the pros and cons of dating someone,” Paulina wrote on her Instagram Stories in 2022. “If there are few cons and many pros, then don’t rule them out right away. If the cons outweigh the pros, then don’t try to be the person who thinks they can change them.”

Johnson and Paulina got married on April 23, 2022, in Tennessee after a nearly 10-year engagement. The couple have two sons together: Tatum, born on Jan. 19, 2015, and River Jones, born on June 12, 2017.

While none of Wayne’s kids followed their father into a professional hockey career, there may be hope for his grandchildren. In 2019, Paulina posted a video on her Instagram Stories of Wayne playing hockey against her son River with the caption, “Papa Wayne & Rivs.”

In 2023, Paulina did an interview with Kind Magazine in which she spoke about how her parents influenced her and Johnson’s relationship.

“The way he [Wayne] loves my mom and respects her is a huge part of everything and not just for me, but for all of us kids,” Paulina said. “It’s the same way my dad is with Dustin and how he is with all his grandkids. Both of my parents set an amazing example and it comes down to paying attention and treating each other kindly.”

Ty Gretzky, 34

Wayne and Janet’s first son Ty was born on July 9, 1990, shortly after Wayne was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Decade. When the hockey legend was interviewed for a 2021 episode of The Steam Room podcast, he spoke about Ty.

“I wanted to name my first daughter Gordie [after former NHL player Gordie Howe]. My wife nixed that,” Wayne explained. “I said, ‘Okay, I get to name my second one.’ So, I named Ty after Ty Cobb because I love baseball.”

Wayne also shared about how he and his eldest son connected over a mutual love for hockey.

“He was my hockey guy. He loves hockey,” the athlete said. “We do hockey camps all over North America. He is one of my best friends and I love it.”

These hockey camps are part of The Gretzky Hockey School, which Ty founded with his dad in 2014. The exercises replicate the same habits that Wayne’s father and Ty’s grandfather, Walter Gretzky, taught Wayne.

On Feb. 29, 2020, Ty married Sara Marie Cusick in a modern Gatsby-style wedding in Brooklyn, New York. The couple have two kids together: daughters Sicily, born in 2021, and Vienna, born in 2023.

To honor Wayne’s contributions to hockey, Ty held a pop-up called Gretzky’s Basement in Toronto, which replicated his dad’s basement memorabilia room.

Trevor Gretzky, 32

Wayne and Janet’s second son, Trevor, was born on Sept. 14, 1992.

Trevor became an athlete just like his dad — he signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2011 and played for their minor league team as well as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In a profile by Sportsnet, Trevor reminisced on Wayne teaching him how to play baseball at Yankee Stadium while Wayne played for the New York Rangers. He also commented on the pressure of having a sports legend as a father.

“I can’t complain about anything. My dad has given my family a pretty incredible life. For me to say that it sucks now being in his shadow is ridiculous,” Trevor said. “I respect the shadow that he has made for my family. I’ve been able to do some fortunate things because of it. I know that.”

Trevor also credited his dad for teaching him about the sport in a 2015 interview with The Washington Post. “You’d be surprised. He knows a lot about baseball. Pretty much everything I know about the game is because of him,” he said.

After leaving his baseball career in 2016, Trevor has shifted his attention to acting. He’s appeared in films including 2018’s Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg, 2021’s Spiral with Chris Rock and 2022’s American Siege with Bruce Willis.

Trevor and his fiancée Ashley Malinchak welcomed their daughter Phoenix in 2023. In April of that year, Trevor posted a video on Instagram of him proposing to Ashley with both their families present, including Wayne smiling in the background.

“Mrs. Gretzky I’m sorry but you are stuck with me for [a] long time God bless my mother @janetgretzky and both of our families for always supporting us,” Trevor wrote in the caption.

Tristan Gretzky, 24

Wayne and Janet welcomed their third son, Tristan, on Aug. 2, 2000, less than a year after Wayne retired and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Tristan is an avid golfer, who played on the Pepperdine men’s team while studying there.

He later transferred to New York University. In his official bio for the school’s golf team, Tristan said he made the move to NYU for the “unlimited opportunities in the city while being able to compete in the sport I love with an amazing golf coach leading the team.” Tristan also mentioned that he is open to a career in real estate.

During the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend, he and his brothers set up Gretzky’s Basement in Canada — a re-creation of Wayne’s basement with their hockey memorabilia laid out. Their dad shared a video on Instagram of the pop-up museum, which featured everything from Walter’s original leather skates to the jerseys Wayne wore throughout his career.

“So proud of what my boys did here in Toronto,” the dad of five wrote on Instagram.

Despite Wayne’s impressive legacy, Tristan still sees him more as a father. “I mean, I never saw him play so seeing that and then growing up, more [of] him just being the best dad and that’s always what I’ve seen him as,” Tristan said on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast in 2024.

Emma Gretzky, 21

Wayne and Janet welcomed their second daughter Emma on March 28, 2003, once Wayne was a few years into retirement. Emma regularly posts on Instagram and TikTok, including moments from her relationship with college football player Stone Eby.

Emma also plays tennis at Southern Methodist University, which Wayne has said he’s very proud of.

“If you enjoy it, and work hard and continue to progress, good things can happen,” he told the Ventura County Star. “For us, as parents our goal for Emma is to love [tennis], work hard and keep working hard at it, because it’s a huge commitment.”

Much like the rest of the family, Emma has dabbled in acting too, having appeared in 2013’s Palo Alto alongside Emma Roberts and James Franco.