All about Richard Dreyfuss’ kids, their ongoing estrangement and his controversies

Richard Dreyfuss is in hot water with his children, and has been for some time.

The Jaws actor, who in recent years has stirred up a slew of controversies, has been the subject of headlines this week after his son Ben Dreyfuss claimed they have been estranged for several years, and shared insight into the troubling instances that led to their estrangement.

Catch up below on what the latest is, as well as on the Oscar winner’s past marriages, who his children are, and more of his controversies.

What’s going on

On Thursday, November 13, in a since-deleted tweet, Ben, a journalist, wrote: “Everyone assumes my siblings and I are wealthy from our dad and we’re all a bit too uncomfortable to make it clear, but we have no money from my dad,” per USA Today.

“My dad has no money. If he did, we wouldn’t get it since we’ve been estranged ever since some complicated family drama to do with MeToo,” Ben, 39, added, referring to the stratospheric movement that exploded in 2017, during which countless women shared their experiences with sexual assault, and a mount of Hollywood figures were included in the accusations, most notably convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.

Ben further explained that their estrangement largely stemmed from when he was managing his father’s Twitter account, and tweeted a statement in support of his younger brother, Harry Dreyfuss, who had accused Kevin Spacey — the subject of many allegations, and who directed Richard in a 2009 production of the play Complicit — of groping him when he was 18 years old. “That tweet prompted someone to MeToo my dad. He blames us for that,” Ben explained, adding that it “led to years of acrimony.”

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Ben expanded on his claims a few days later in a Substack blog post titled: “My Dad And I Are Estranged. Here Is Our Last Email Exchange From Two Years Ago,” and subtitled with: “I’m dropping an A-bomb here but, like Truman, I hope one will be enough to end the war. If it isn’t, it isn’t, and the bombings will continue.”

“I’ve sent plenty since, but he hasn’t replied. It’s long and pathetic, and he comes off worse than I do, but I’m not exactly covered in glory either. You can read it yourself,” he said of their last email exchange, from January 2024.

Ben went on to recall an apparently explosive 2022 family dinner, in which as he tried to explain his feelings over nepotism accusations against him, it turned into a screaming match. “I didn’t explain any of this well, and I didn’t even finish the thought before you and [my sister] Emily started to speak, and we all started to scream at each other about a completely separate tangent over who is to blame for what,” he wrote, admitting that he has since “been trying to make amends” for calling his dad a homophobic slur during the argument.

© Ron Galella Collection via Getty, Getty Images

Who are Richard’s kids

In addition to Ben, who worked for Mother Jones for eight years and now writes a Substack, Calm Down, Richard is also a father to Emily Dreyfuss, also a journalist primarily in the tech beat, and Harry, who has worked briefly as an actor.

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Richard’s 3 marriages

Richard has been married three times, first to the mother of his three children, screenwriter, philanthropist and former actress Jeramie Rain, from 1983 to 1995. He was next married to Janelle Lacey from 1999 to 2005, and since 2006, he has been married to Svetlana Erokhin.

Richard’s health and past controversies

In 2006, Richard revealed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He has also had a slate of controversies in the past decade or so, including sexual harassment allegations, public feuds with co-stars, speaking out against diversity guidelines in Hollywood, mocking the MeToo movement and LGBTQIA causes, and in 2024, he made headlines for going on what was described as a transphobic, misogynistic, homophobic, and sexist rant at a Jaws screening.