GEORGE & AMAL’S FAMILY LIFE
The twins turn 1! How the Clooneys have adapted since the arrival of Ella and Alexander
Inside the Clooneys’ life with twins.
At first glance it might appear little has changed for George and Amal Clooney in the year since their twins Ella and Alexander were born at St Mary’s Hospital in London last June 6. They’re still Hollywood’s most glamorous and seemingly relaxed couple, crisscrossing the globe for work and play ( yes, George, 57, did, in fact, hop behind the bar to sling drinks for guests at the royal wedding reception). But in truth, almost everything has changed and, save for the inevitable nappychanging fatigue, they’ve never been happier. “George and Amal are very hands-on parents,” says a source close to the Clooneys, who are raising the kids at their country estate outside London, in Los Angeles and in their Lake Como villa in Italy, which will serve as home base for the Northern summer. “George is a great dad—so fun and silly,” says an insider. “He always plays with the babies and seems to love it. He entertains them for hours. Amal is amazing [with them] as well. They make an incredible team.” Like many new mums, Amal, 40, has juggled breastfeeding and sleepchallenged nights (while keeping up her work as an international human- rights lawyer), while delighting in the twins’ milestones. “We’ve had some ‘Mamas’ and ‘Dadas’,” she told US Vogue in April. “George was very careful to ensure that ‘Mama’ was the first word.”
While the twins have been largely out of the public eye, those who have met them swear they’re a perfect combination of their famous parents. “They’re too beautiful, simply adorable,” says the source close to the family. “One looks just like her mother, and the other is the image of his father ... It looks like they took the best parts of both Amal and George and mixed them together.” Ella “looks more like Amal—thank God,” George joked to Entertainment Tonight.
With help from a nanny and from Amal’s mother, Baria Alamuddin, the Clooneys have kept up their professional and philanthropic passions, including marching in Washington, DC, for gun violence prevention and donating $US500,000 to the cause. While George is currently shooting his new series Catch-22, on location in Sardinia and Rome, and will be in LA to receive an AFI Life Achievement Award on June 7, his role as a family man has taken centre stage. “Being a dad has given George a glow. He and Amal schedule their lives around the babies,” says an La-based source. “George seems the happiest he has ever been.