All About Glen Powell's Parents, Cyndy Powell and Glen Powell Sr. (2024)

Glen Powell isn't the only movie star in his family — the Anyone But You actor's parents, Glen Powell Sr. and Cyndy Powell, have made cameos in nearly all of his films.

Despite not having any acting experience — Glen Sr. worked as an executive coach while Cyndy was a stay-at-home parent — bringing his parents on set has become somewhat of a tradition for Glen. Even his Hidden Figures costar, Octavia Spencer, got to meet them.

“I’ll never forget when we were working one day, during the cut, he introduced his family,” Spencer told DuJour. “He said, ‘The Powells are a traveling band. They come to all of my sets.’ They all laughed and lit up the room with their signature megawatt smiles.”

Glen Sr. and Cyndy got married in 1984 and started their tight-knit family soon after with the birth of their first daughter, Lauren Powell Whatton, in 1986. They had their only son, Glen, in 1988 and their younger daughter, Leslie Powell, in 1992.

Glen isn't shy about his love for his family and the wild antics they get up to.

"I have a huge, rowdy Texas crew who gets me in all the right kinds of trouble," he told Nylon in 2014. "If you are lucky enough to meet them, you’ll figure out quickly why I’m constantly home and that all of my farfetched and seemingly impossible stories about my family are actually all true."

Here's everything to know about Glen Powell's parents, Glen Powell Sr. and Cyndy Powell.

They have been together for over 40 years

Glen Sr. and Cyndy wed on Nov. 24, 1984, according to a throwback wedding photo she shared on Instagram.

Glen gave more insight into his parents' history when heposted a selfie with them in Washington, D.C., and mentioned details about their engagement.

"Quick trip to the foot of the Jefferson Memorial…where 40 years ago my dad proposed to my mom," he wrote on November 2023. "Happy Anniversary, you two. Lucky to have your love in my life every day."

They have three children

Glen Sr. and Cyndy have three children: Lauren, Glen and Leslie. Lauren was born on June 12, 1986, and frequently documents her life as a mom of twins on Instagram.

Glen is the middle child, born on Oct. 21, 1988, and Leslie is the youngest, born on June 10, 1992. According to her Instagram, she's a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles — and her older brother is her biggest fan.

"No doubt, [Leslie is] my favorite artist of all," Glen told Nylon in 2014. "Nothing puts me in a better mood than her music. Remember the name. She’s a star."

They raised their kids in Austin, Texas

Glen told Austin Monthly in May 2023 that growing up in a city like Austin, Texas, taught him and his siblings to respect artistic pursuits, not judge them. When their son took an interest in movies, Glen Sr. and Cyndy enrolled him in acting classes.

Creativity may have been encouraged, but the Powell household was also rich in rough-and-tumble antics, according to Glen. The actor leveraged some of his wild childhood stories in a letter to Sylvester Stallone that helped him land a role in the action-packed 2014 film The Expendables 3.

"I told him that in Texas I grew up with a gun range in the basem*nt, learned to fight from my uncles who lived and breathed mixed martial arts, and spent much of my childhood finding new and creative ways to cheat death," he shared with Nylon in 2014. "I had been preparing for this role my entire life."

Glen Sr. shared Top Gun with his son

In a 2016 interview with The Detroit News, Glen revealed he loved theater-hopping and watching movies with his dad when he was a kid.

Even though the actor wasn't alive when Top Gun premiered in theaters in 1986, his dad made it a point to show him the film at home. Little did Glen Sr. know at the time that his son would one day star in the sequel.

"I was 10 years old, and I remember him handing me the VHS and saying, 'Hey man, we're gonna watch Top Gun,' " Glen told Access Hollywood in 2022. "I liken it to a dad playing catch with his son for the first time. It just meant something to him."

They have been extras in their son's movies

Glen tries to get his mom in all of his films as an extra, per a conversation with Interview Magazine in 2016. Cyndy played an adult spy in Spy Kids 3, a lunch lady in Everybody Wants Some!! and a professor at a party in Jack & Bobby.

"She loves being on set, she gets a kick out of it, and nepotism is kind of an expectation at this point," the Set It Up star said. "Now she’s like, 'Glen, what’s my role in this movie?' "

However, Cyndy isn't the only one who gets to have a little fun on set. Glen shared with SlashFilm that both of his parents played a couple walking on the beach in the 2022 Korean War film Devotion. He even described his mom's acting chops as "coachable.”

"I wouldn't say her ability is natural, but I would say that she does deliver a very powerful performance in this movie in the background as a beachgoer looking for her towel," he joked.

In the 2023 rom-com Anyone But You, Cyndy and Glen Sr. played airline passengers.

"The funniest part about that scene in general is that my dad's the real Method actor,” Glen toldEntertainment Weekly. “He's stone-cold asleep. He's the Daniel Day-Lewis of sleep acting. There was not a false beat in that performance.”

He continued, "My mom is across the aisle and gets the ‘I'll have what she's having’When Harry Met Sallymoment. She gets an iconic look in that scene. She came in and killed it. I was very proud of both of them."

They have two grandkids

Glen Sr. and Cyndy are proud grandparents to two grandchildren, Witt and Gwen, who are Lauren’s fraternal twins.

The kids have made red carpet appearances with their uncle, but when they aren't accompanying him to Hollywood, they also visit him on set.

In the spring of 2023, Glen's sister documented a family trip to Sydney, Australia, where he was filming Anyone But You with costar Sydney Sweeney. While there, the group visited a zoo filled with giraffes, kangaroos and koalas.

They have a pet monkey

The Powell family's most spoiled member is not a human but a capuchin monkey named Charlie. He was named after the viral 2010 YouTube video titled "Charlie Bit My Finger" because he's also a bit of a biter.

During a 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Glen described Charlie as a "silk robe, eye mask type of monkey" and revealed he has his own room in the family's Austin home.

“I’m more of an uncle to Charlie,” Glen told Interview Magazine in 2016. “Charlie gets treated better than any human. He’s the most spoiled pet you can imagine.”

They have a lot of Texas pride

Glen told Texas Highways in 2023 that he is a "sixth- or seventh-generation Texan" who grew up surrounded by a lot of love for his home state.

The actor has said he spends most of his downtime with his parents and siblings at the family ranch in East Texas or enjoying the nearby adventures Austin has to offer. In fact, the road trips he took as a kid rarely meant he had to leave state lines.

"We used to wake up really early, eat a big breakfast, and go on a road trip to some random town," he recalled. "We’d go to the cemetery first and look up a cool, interesting gravestone, something that felt old and memorable. We’d go look up their names in the town hall. It was an interesting tradition."

When Glen was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in May 2024, Glen Sr. and Cyndy were on hand to cheer him on and troll him at the same time. Standing behind their famous son as he posed for photos on the red carpet, they each held up a cardboard sign.

Cyndy's said, "Stop trying to make Glen Powell happen," while Glen Sr.'s read, "It's never gonna happen."