Married… with Children’s Katey Sagal isn’t only a mom on-screen — the actress has kids of her own: Sarah, Jackson and Esmé.
Sagal has called being a mother “the most self-sacrificing thing” that she has ever done. Speaking to CNN in 2009, the Smart House star said, “I’ve never loved anybody the way I love my children. It’s an experience I was surprised by.”
She continued, “You have your boyfriend, your husband, your friends, but it’s a different thing. It’s deeper, and it’s a fantastic — and risky — commitment to love that deeply.”
In October 1991, the 8 Simple Rules star experienced a stillbirth with her daughter Ruby at almost eight months. During an appearance on The View in 2017, Sagal opened up about the loss, calling it “difficult” and revealing that she began to heal when her friend comforted her with the message, “‘Sometimes we have these little souls that come in and out [of our lives,] and their mission is completed.’ ”
Sagal went on to welcome her eldest kids, Sarah Grace White and Jackson White, in 1994 and 1996, with her ex-husband, drummer Jack White, who died in July 2024.
“This guy taught me everything,” Jackson wrote on Instagram to announce his dad’s passing. “He was an open book, a fighter, genuinely the funniest person my sister and I knew. He’s not in pain anymore. I love you dad forever.”
In 2007, Sagal and her current husband, Kurt Sutter, welcomed their daughter, Esmé Louise Sutter.
Now adults, Sagal’s oldest kids have followed in her acting footsteps. Sarah landed roles on NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy, while Jackson starred alongside his mom in the 2022 series Tell Me Lies.
“It’s a huge relief when your kids say, ‘I want to do what you do,’ and there’s natural talent there,” Sagal told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014.
Here is everything to know about Katey Sagal’s children: Sarah, Jackson and Esmé.
Sarah Grace White, 30
Sagal and Jack welcomed Sarah on Aug. 7, 1994.
The Sons of Anarchy actress commemorated her eldest’s birthday in 2014 with a tribute to her “beautiful” child on Instagram. “20 today! Time flys when your heart is full. Love my sarah,” she captioned a picture of her daughter.
Sarah graduated from Ohio’s Kenyon College in 2016, where she was a drama major, according to The Kenyon Collegian.
The year prior, she showed off her acting skills on FX’s The Bastard Executioner, playing the role of Isabel Kiffin. The show was created by Sarah’s stepfather, Kurt, and starred her mother.
Sarah’s acting credits also include Rebel and an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, among others.
Apart from acting, the Kenyon College alum sings, too. Sarah released her first single titled “Touching” in the fall of 2022 and embarked on a tour around the United States the following summer.
During an interview for The Hollywood Reporter’s 2014 Women in Entertainment issue, Sarah revealed that she writes and sings “because I saw how my mom put so much of herself into her music and acting.”
Jackson James White, 28
Sagal and her ex-husband Jack welcomed Jackson on March 1, 1996.
Like his older sister, Jackson followed in his mother’s acting footsteps, despite Sagal advising him to “do something else.” He told PEOPLE in 2022, “I wasn’t allowed to act until I was 18. I had to grow up first.”
While she originally encouraged him to pursue another profession, Sagal celebrated when her son joined the cast of HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher, starring Kathryn Hahn in 2018. “Proud of him. The boy. Kick in’ a–,” Sagal wrote on Instagram at the time.
In 2022, Jackson admitted to Esquire that music is what he “was always going to do,” but then “somehow it just naturally” shifted to acting.
He recalled being unable to focus and getting distracted while in his music program at the University of Southern California. After auditioning for musicals, though, Jackson decided to “switch over” and dropped out of school but life didn’t slow down. He started two years of “really intense” acting training before launching his career.
In addition to Mrs. Fletcher, Jackson has appeared in The Space Between with Kelsey Grammer, as well as Michael Bay’s Ambulance and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.
Sagal starred opposite her son in Tell Me Lies, playing his on-screen mother. In 2022, Jackson described the experience to The Seattle Times as “insane,” but noted it was “perfect casting.”
He said, “I’m friends with my mother, and we had to be extremely passive aggressive and tense, but it was so fun and exciting to build that relationship and talk to each other how we’ve never really talked to each other.”
Sagal loved working with her son and complimented him when talking to The Seattle Times.
“It was a challenge to leave our very close relationship at the door, and take on the extremely toxic dynamic between Stephen and his mom,” she said of their characters in the series. “Jackson shows up fully on set, ready to play, present and collaborative. It was beautiful.”
In April 2024, Deadline reported that Jackson will star opposite Lily James in an upcoming movie about Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble. Jackson will be playing Herd’s love interest.
Esmé Louise Sutter, 17
Sagal became a mom again at age 52 when she welcomed Esmé with her husband, Kurt.
The actress’ youngest child was born via surrogate on Jan. 10, 2007. In her memoir Grace Notes, Sagal shared that she “could no longer carry a child, given previous complications.”
Sagal revealed to PEOPLE that she and Kurt “went through the whole in vitro fertilization process.” While their “embryos were not really strong,” they thought, “Let’s give it a shot and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
As she’s gotten older, Esmé’s father has called her a “sassy little firecracker” on Instagram and added that she is his “greatest teacher” and “greatest love” in another post.
In 2021, the proud dad also posted on the social media platform to praise his “amazing” daughter for volunteering with the nonprofit Hollywood Food Coalition.
Sagal opened up in her memoir about her daughter’s diagnoses of ADHD and “a bit of dyslexia.” The family has since worked to adjust their routines to best fit Esmé’s needs.
Source: People
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