Ross Kemp is a familiar face on British television, known for his acting career, hard-hitting documentaries and years of work in entertainment. Away from cameras, however, he is also a father of four children. His family life has largely remained private, with Kemp choosing to keep many personal details away from the public spotlight.
The actor has four children: Oliver, Leo, Ava and Kitty. His eldest son comes from a previous relationship, while his three younger children are from his marriage to Australian lawyer Renee O’Brien.
Oliver Kemp
Oliver Kemp is Ross Kemp’s eldest child and was born in October 2010.
Oliver is Kemp’s son from his previous relationship with makeup artist Nicola Coleman. Unlike his father, Oliver has largely grown up away from the entertainment spotlight.
Kemp has generally kept his children’s private lives protected, so there is limited publicly available information about Oliver’s day-to-day life, education or personal interests.
His birth marked an important new chapter for Kemp, who was already an established actor at the time. Kemp had become particularly well known for playing Grant Mitchell in EastEnders, a role that made him one of British television’s most recognizable actors.
Although his professional life has often involved intense filming schedules and international travel, fatherhood has remained an important part of Kemp’s life.
Leo Kemp
Leo Kemp was born in April 2015 and is Ross Kemp’s first child with his wife, Renee O’Brien.
Kemp and Renee have kept their relationship and family life relatively private compared with the actor’s public career. Renee is an Australian lawyer, and together they have built a family away from much of the attention that follows Kemp’s television work.
Leo’s arrival gave Kemp another reason to balance his increasingly busy career with responsibilities at home.
By this stage, Kemp had moved beyond his long-running acting career and was becoming particularly recognized for his documentary work. His programmes have taken him into some challenging and dangerous environments, making the contrast between his professional life and his role as a father especially notable.
Ava and Kitty
Ava Kemp and Kitty Kemp are twin daughters born in September 2017.
The twins are Kemp’s youngest children and were born two years after their brother Leo.
Their arrival meant that Kemp and Renee were suddenly raising three young children together, alongside Kemp’s eldest son Oliver.
The family has mostly stayed out of the public eye. Kemp occasionally discusses the realities of being a father, but he does not regularly share intimate details about his children’s lives.
That approach has allowed the children to grow up with considerably more privacy than many celebrity families experience.
His Wife Renee
Ross Kemp is married to Australian lawyer Renee O’Brien, with whom he has three children.
Renee has maintained a much lower public profile than her husband. While Kemp’s career has kept him regularly on television, she has largely avoided becoming a celebrity figure herself.
Their family life has therefore remained relatively private, despite Kemp being one of Britain’s best-known television personalities.
The couple’s three children, Leo, Ava and Kitty, were born between 2015 and 2017.
Family Life
Kemp’s career can be demanding. His documentary work has taken him around the world, often covering difficult subjects and placing him in situations far removed from an ordinary family routine.
He has spoken about the challenge of balancing his work with being a father.
For Kemp, family life can be just as unpredictable and hectic as the documentaries he makes. Raising four children while maintaining a career that involves extensive travel requires careful planning and time away from home.
That contrast has become one of the more interesting aspects of Kemp’s life. On television, audiences often see him investigating serious subjects, meeting people in difficult circumstances or traveling to unfamiliar places. At home, his role is much more familiar: being a father and spending time with his family.
Keeping Them Private
Despite his celebrity status, Kemp has made a clear effort to protect his children’s privacy.
There are relatively few public details about their lives, and the actor does not regularly use his children as part of his public image.
This is particularly noticeable because Kemp has spent decades in the public eye. His career began with acting before expanding into documentaries and presenting, meaning his personal life has often attracted media interest.
Even so, he has generally avoided turning his children into regular subjects of interviews.
For fans searching for information about Ross Kemp’s children, the publicly established details are therefore fairly straightforward: Oliver was born in 2010, Leo in 2015, and twins Ava and Kitty arrived in 2017.
A Busy Career
Kemp first became widely famous as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders. His portrayal of the complicated character helped establish him as a major television star in Britain.
After leaving the soap, he developed a successful career as a documentary presenter. His programmes have covered subjects ranging from crime and conflict to social issues and dangerous communities.
His documentary work has often required him to spend extended periods away from home.
That makes his comments about family particularly relatable. Television may be a major part of Kemp’s identity, but being a father of four is an equally important part of his life away from the cameras.
Ross Kemp Today
Ross Kemp’s family consists of four children, with his eldest son Oliver and his three younger children, Leo, Ava and Kitty, with Renee O’Brien.
While Kemp continues to be associated with television, documentaries and presenting, his family remains mostly outside the spotlight.
There is also a clear difference between what is publicly known about Kemp’s professional career and what is known about his children. His work is documented extensively, while details about his children’s everyday lives have intentionally remained limited.
For now, the family appears to value that privacy. Kemp’s four children have grown up alongside a father whose career regularly puts him in front of millions of viewers, but their own lives have largely remained separate from the celebrity world.
That balance between a very public career and a private family life has allowed Ross Kemp to maintain one of the most important roles away from television: being a father to Oliver, Leo, Ava and Kitty.