Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix and his actress fiancée Rooney Mara are celebrating after bringing a baby boy into the world. This is the Hollywood power couple’s first child together, and they decided to name their son the River, after Phoenix’s late brother.
As reported by E Online , the news was confirmed by movie director Victor Kossakovsky, who worked with Phoenix on Gunda , a documentary without dialogue. On stage at the 2020 Zurich Festival, Kossakovsky dropped the news.
“Now he is dad… good baby by the way,” the director said. “A beautiful son called River.”
River Phoenix was an up and coming actor and one of Hollywood’s hottest properties when he died in Los Angeles in 1993. Joaquin Phoenix has often talked about the impact his brother had on his life and how his death has driven him through his movie career.
Speaking to 60 Minutes Overtime earlier this month, Phoenix said it was River who sparked his passion for movies when he showed him Raging Bull in the 1980s.
The couple is known for keeping their private lives and their relationship out of the spotlight, and little information has been given about 35-year-old Mara’s pregnancy. In May, The Inquisitr reported the power duo was expecting their first child.
For fans, the news of the birth came as a happy surprise, and many took to social media to express their emotions over the baby’s name.
“I was not prepared for my emotional reaction to the news that Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara named their new baby boy River,” one fan wrote on Twitter .
“Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara are officially parents, so much happiness and love for their new little family. baby phoenix is forever blessed,” tweeted another fan.
45-year-old Phoenix and Mara are two of the most respected and successful actors in Hollywood. 2019 was a huge year for Phoenix as he starred in the billion-dollar grossing Joker, and picked up an Oscar for Best Actor for the role. As for Mara, the Oscar-nominated actress consistently wins rave reviews for eclectic role choices and performances.
The pair initially met on the 2013 film Her but did not make their relationship official until the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. In 2019 the actress stepped out with a flashy diamond ring adorning her left hand, sparking rumors that the two were engaged.
River was born on Sunday and is the first child for Mara and also Phoenix.