Meet Heather Locklear’s mini-me daughter — with a very different career than her parents

Heather Locklear has a mini-me, built-in best friend in her daughter Ava.

The T.J. Hooker alum, 64, first became a mom in 1997, when she welcomed her first and only child, Ava Sambora, with then-husband Richie Sambora.

She and the Bon Jovi drummer were married from 1994 to 2007, and though their marriage ended in divorce, they swiftly found themselves on amicable terms and have been successfully co-parenting ever since. Here’s everything you need to know about their daughter.

Meet Ava

Ava, 28, was born in Los Angeles on October 4, 1997. She was eight years old when her parents announced their separation, however they have always appeared to remain friendly in the years since. 

“We’re better friends now than ever,” Richie told People in 2014, adding: “If you don’t get along you are messing the kid up. That’s what happens … So you have to put that before whatever [expletive] is going on. Communication has got to come first. There’s a cooling off period obviously, as you know — it takes time. It was almost 10 years ago though. So we’re fine.”

Ava went to Viewpoint High School in Calabasas, where she was a cheerleader, and then to college at Loyola Marymount University, also in Los Angeles. While there, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in women’s and gender studies, and graduated in 2020.

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She dabbled in acting

Ava got her first taste of show business, actually, thanks to her dad, when she was 12 years old and walked the runway for his and designer Niki Lund’s clothing line, White Trash Beautiful.

Two years after her modeling debut, she made her screen debut, appearing on Judd Apatow’s This is 40, which starred Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, as Wendy. Her other credits include an episode of Good Luck Charlie, the TV movie Mommy Be Mine (2018), and A Dark Foe (2020).

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But she’s also carving her own path

In the years since her college graduation however, Ava has traded acting for more schooling, seemingly in hopes of becoming a family therapist. In May 2023, she graduated from the USC Rossier School of Education with a Master’s in marriage and family therapy. At the time, Heather wrote on Instagram: “Such a proud mama. Congratulations my baby, with your masters in MFT. With your hard work and perseverance and kind heart.”

As of fall 2025, she was pursuing her doctorate degree at Pepperdine University.

Ava is walking down the aisle soon

Ava has been engaged to longtime boyfriend Tyler Farrar, who she met in college, since February 2024, and they have both of her parents’ stamp of approval. After the couple, who had been dating for five years at the time of their engagement, shared photos of the proposal on Instagram, Heather wrote: “My two favorite people,” alongside a pink heart emoji.

Then Richie, during an appearance on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff Podcast in November 2024, noted: “They’ve been together for five [years]. They’re married already,” adding: “It’s like, you know, my speech [at the engagement party] was, ‘They’re really in love.’ I love the kid.”

“I mean, he’s just a gentleman and they just really love the hell out of each other,” he further shared.