Kelly Ripa’s youngest son Joaquin recalls overwhelming moment that led to him calling his famous parents

Kelly Ripa’s youngest son Joaquin, 21, is following in his family’s footsteps as he completes his final semester in theatre studies at the University of Michigan. 

And while he’s excited about the times ahead, the aspiring actor wasn’t quite sure for a long time whether he would end up pursuing acting as his career path after graduating. 

The 21-year-old has opened up about his time at college in an interview with the University of Michigan Athletics, admitting that when he first started rehearsals at college, he was overwhelmed by just how good his classmates were. 

He recalled starring in his first technical performance – a movement piece called “Movement Under the Microscope,” which was performed on the college’s campus. 

Joaquin said: “I remember seeing an Instagram video of it and it felt like I didn’t know what I was doing the whole time. I remember I called my parents after our first class, and I told them, ‘OK, I would literally pay to watch some of these other performances.'” Rather than being put off, Joaquin felt inspired and it pushed him to perfect his acting skills. 

“I think what made the difference from the first performance I did to now, is just being in the same room as other great actors for three years straight. The process just rubs off,” he said. 

Joaquin also has a lot of people in his family to turn to for advice, including his parents. The couple both have impressive acting resumes, having met on All My Children in the nineties, while Kelly went on to star in shows such as Hope & Faith, while Mark was a fan favorite in Riverdale. 

The couple’s oldest son Michael is also a talented actor, and even got Joaquin some audition experience. 

“With my brother, we would make short movies and stuff on our phones. That’s when I started any remote type of acting,” Joaquin explained. 

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He went on to reveal that Michael asked him to attend an audition for him when he wasn’t able to make it, which provided him with a great opportunity. “I didn’t get the part, but I thought that I could really do acting. I should actually look into doing this. That was the light bulb moment,” he said. 

Joaquin was the first of Kelly and Mark’s children to attend college outside of New York City, and was the child to make them empty nesters, making it all the more bittersweet for them. 

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When Joaquin first went off to college in 2021, the Hope and Faith alum said on Live: “We became empty nesters. We took our youngest son to college, we dropped him off. It was hard. It was really hard. We dropped him off at school and we gave him a hug — it was actually brutally painful. And I said, ‘I did not realize that 18 years would go so fast.'” 

Nonetheless, his parents are incredibly proud of him and all his achievements, and are often visiting Ann Arbor, where his college is based, to see him. 

They have become part of the community there, and Kelly has even taken part in fundraisers, including the Michigan Medicine Women’s Health Luncheon in 2023.