Pics: the Clooney clan on holiday
George and Amal have kept their twins out of the public eye, but the world is finally getting a glimpse of Ella and Alexander
THEY’RE the offspring of two of the most genetically blessed people on the planet so the world has been gagging for a glimpse of them – and finally, a year after they made their appearance in the world, here they are. We’ve seen sneak peeks of Alexander and Ella Clooney before but this is the first time we’ve had a really good look at them.
Unsurprisingly, they’re adorable: olive skin, golden brown crowns, cute faces – everything you’d expect from the pigeon pair.
Fans are thrilled to finally see the two little people who’ve transformed George Clooney from Hollywood heart-throb to doting dad.
George (57) and wife Amal (40) are fiercely protective of the twins and have been at great pains to make sure they weren’t snapped in private settings by the ever-present paparazzi.
But you can’t hide forever – not when you’re this famous.
The actor and his international human rights lawyer wife were recently photographed arriving in Sardinia, Italy, ready for a stint on the sun-soaked island.
Carrying their barefoot babies, they seemed like any other couple – apart from the private jet and the fact they always look as if they’ve just stepped off a movie set.
Even Ella and Alexander appeared ready for their closeups in matching white vests and little turned-up jeans.
George, in a comfy white polo shirt and beige chinos, got off the plane alone first and was all smiles as he shook hands with the starstruck ground staff. After a quick chat, he headed back on board and emerged clutching a tot and a children’s storybook.
Amal, in a white vest and a pair of flared floral pants that could look good only on her, followed carrying the other twin on her hip.
It’s not confirmed which of the two peas in a pod was which – but Amal’s charge had slightly longer hair and thick dark lashes, indicating that it was probably Ella with mom and Alexander, older than his sister by two minutes, with dad.
The twins turned one last month and the milestone event was marked in private – but George, ever the joker, was happy to fill fans in on how they celebrated. “Well, the kids got drunk,” the former owner of Casamigos tequila told Us Weekly.
“I don’t know what you guys were doing but I came home, they had a bottle of booze.
“It was really embarrassing but they’re feeling better today.”
Silly fella – but friends will tell you George is as proud as the next papa and loves whipping out his phone to show off snaps of his kids.
Which is exactly what he did at a recent Casamigos House of Friends Dinner in Los Angeles, which he attended with pal and Casamigos co-founder Rande Gerber and his wife, supermodel Cindy Crawford.
“George told a funny story about how he and Amal have to keep the toilet seat down for the twins’ sake and then he started showing his friends photos of them,” a guest said.
And, adorably, he has a snap of the kids as his phone’s background.
“George teased that the babies are like models and he never has to show them how to pose because they do it so naturally. He seemed like the proudest parent and just couldn’t stop showing photos and talking about how much he loves the kids.”
‘[George] just couldn’t stop talking about how much he loves the kids’
THE twins may not have been shared much with the world but their parents haven’t held back when it comes to talking about each other in public. Soon after Ella and Alexander’s birthday party, George and Amal were back on the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the American Film Institute (AFI) awards, where Amal took centre stage.
George was practically bursting with pride as his beautiful wife paid tribute to him before he was presented with the
46th AFI Life Achievement Award – America’s highest honour for a career in film.
Amal, who’s stared down some of the world’s toughest criminals in the highest courts on the planet, seemed rather anxious as she walked up to the podium.
“When the AFI asked me to speak tonight I thought, ‘Of course’,” she began in her lilting British accent. “But George knows I’ve actually been quite nervous it. It’s somehow easier for me to address a court on behalf of a detainee than, as I’m doing for the first time tonight, about my husband.”
But then after resting her gaze on George, Amal relaxed and opened up, giving rare insight into her love for the two-time Oscar winner whom she married in 2014.
“I met George when I was 35 and starting to become quite resigned to the idea I was going to be a spinster,” she joked.
“Then we met and started hiding out in my London flat and soon it felt like no matter what happened I’d never want to be with anyone else.
“I couldn’t sleep when we were apart and I’m told I’d display a particular grin and head tilt when reading his text messages or the letters he’d hide in my bag.”
It’s been five years since the couple met at a party at the Money Monster star’s home in Lake Como, Italy, and Amal is as head over heels as ever.
“He’s the person who has my complete admiration and also the person whose smile makes me melt every time.
“My love, what I’ve found with you is the great love I always hoped existed. And seeing you with our children, Ella and Alexander, is the greatest joy in my life.
“You fill our home with laughter and happiness. And that’s even before the children have worked out Dada is actuabout
‘My love, what I’ve found with you is the great love I always hoped existed’
ally Batman, a talking fox and friends with Mary Poppins.
“I’m proud of you but I also know that when our children find out not only what you’ve done but who you are, they’ll be so proud of you too.”
GEORGE has made it clear his family come first and all jobs a distant second. Luckily, they have the luxury of moving around with him when he’s working so he doesn’t have to make a choice between the two.
Sardinia seems to be home for the Clooney family for the next few months.
The Suburbicon director is shooting his new mini-series, Catch-22 – based on the novel by Joseph Heller about a World War 2 bombardier – on the silversanded lick of land in the Mediterranean.
Amal was spotted flying to and from the island, no doubt doing her high-brow lawyer thing. When she returned after a brief stint away she had her in-laws, Nick (84) and Nina Clooney (79), in tow.
Completing the family circle, Amal’s mom, Baria Alamuddin (70), joined them later that day, flying in to Sardinia on a commercial flight.
The Clooney-Alamuddin clan are quite close and they later stepped out without the tots for dinner at popular local restaurant Il Marino di Puntaldia.
The fashion-forward Alamuddins didn’t disappoint, with Baria, a Lebanese political journalist, standing out in an eye-catching green shift dress and Amal showing off her slender frame in wide-legged striped trousers and a tiny black crop top. No doubt the grandparents are doing some babysitting so George and Amal can have a romantic rendezvous or two when George is off the clock. The couple were spotted out on a date, with Amal looking gorgeous as ever in a black and white minidress.
THE Clooneys’ children have influenced every aspect of their lives, from when and where they work to how often they travel in public. So it’s little wonder the tots would affect their parents’ political stance and their commitment to helping the world’s most vulnerable people. George and Amal have, of course, always been passionate about supporting human rights issues and highlighting cruelties around the globe, but since having Alexander and Ella they’ve taken it up a notch. In the wake of US president Donald Trump’s much-criticised forced separation of more than 2 000 migrant children from their parents, the activist couple donated $100 000 (R1,35 million) to the Young Centre for Immigrant Children’s Rights, which fights for the fair treatment and safety of immigrant children in the US deportation process. “At some point in the future our children will ask us: is it true? Did our country really take babies from their parents and put them in detention centres?” George said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter when discussing their incredible donation. “And when we answer yes, they’ll ask us what we did about it. What we said. Where we stood. “We can’t change this administration’s policy but we can help defend the victims of it.” The twins may have been born with silver spoons in their mouths but it seems they’re going to do some sharing and caring too.