River Phoenix Parents

 

River Phoenix Parents:- Rain Phoenix, like her brothers River and Joaquin, is a hippie-raised actress/musician/director. She recalls their odd childhood. Few individuals can claim they were three and busking on the street. Or that they received their first agent at five, and by six they were playing the Hollywood Bowl with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. But hardly any individuals can claim they are from Rain Phoenix’s family.

Rain, 38, is the oldest daughter of the Phoenix dynasty, wedged between two of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars. River Phoenix, a teen idol and Hollywood darling who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 was two years her senior, whereas Joaquin is two years her junior. Summer and Liberty are both sisters.

When Joaquin, an executive producer on Kossakovsky’s farm animal documentary “Gunda,” couldn’t attend. But again, the younger Phoenix has always valued seclusion.

One veteran scriptwriter called him “one of the most passionate and finest performers of his generation.” In fact, Joan despises interviews, distrusts the media, has a tiny, tight-knit circle of pals, and dislikes practicing with other performers. Many of his co-stars will never meet him! I believe he likes the mystery. A mystery to himself.”

With names like these, it’s no wonder the Phoenix parents were both flower-in-hair hippies. Rain is Joan of Arc. “I feel honoured,” she adds. “Knowing that’s my name has been comforting at times.” Their mother, Arlyn, was born in the Bronx to Russian Jewish parents. She discovered the counter-culture movement in the late 1960s and embarked on a journey of discovery. John Bottom, a young composer from northern California, picked her up. Within a year, they married.

They were classic flower children. River and Rain joined the Children of God religious group in 1973, shortly after River’s birth, and worked as missionaries, gathering fruit and other odd tasks. It was a laid-back, hippie lifestyle. Their children were born in separate states (Rain in Texas) and spent most of their early lives on the road. “Travelling was a very important part of my upbringing,” Rain recalls. “As an adult, I’m a bit of a nomad. I become restless after three months in one location.”

Then in 1979, with the birth of their fifth child, things changed. Arlyn and John chose Phoenix instead of Bottom, a mythical bird emerging from the ashes. They relocated to LA, where Arlyn took a position as a secretary for a casting agent at NBC, smack in the middle of the Hollywood talent pool, and set out to make their kids famous.