Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have publicly confirmed for the first time in an unusual way that they have become parents of a son.
Since the end of September there have been rumors that Joaquin Phoenix (46, "Joker") and Rooney Mara (35, "Maria Magdalena") became parents for the first time. At that time, the Russian filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky (59) chatted at the Zurich Film Festival that it was a boy named River, as a homage to Phoenix's brother who died young (1970-1993). The actor couple, who usually keep their private lives under wraps, have not (yet) confirmed their name publicly, but the birth of their son has.
"How will it feel to explain this to our son?"
The couple wrote an open letter published by People magazine. It is mainly about a political issue: the separation of migrant families on the US border with Mexico. The two learned that "the parents of 545 children who were separated by immigration officials at the border have not yet been found. The weight of that number is overwhelming."
Phoenix and Mara allow a rarely private insight into their emotional world: "As new parents, it is unbearable to imagine how it would feel if our child were taken away from us for a day, let alone years." The couple also wrote: "We have to ask ourselves: Is this the country we want? Are these our values? How will it feel to explain this to our son when he asks us about this time. How we frightened, Treated defenseless children, some of whom may never see their parents again? "
The actors hope that "America clearly rejected this cruelty" and that the government will do everything possible to find the missing parents.
Phoenix and Mara met while filming "Her" (2013) and remained friends. They are said to have become a couple only after the shooting of "Maria Magdalena" ended in autumn 2016. Since summer 2019 it has been said that the two are engaged.