Greer Grammer said she spent much of her childhood estranged from her father, actor Kelsey Grammer, before reconnecting with him as a teenager.
Greer Grammer, a 33-year-old actor, opened up about the relationship during an appearance on the Pretty Basic Podcast, where she reflected on growing up largely without him after he and her mother, stylist Barrie Buckner, split when she was 4.
Greer Grammer said she did not reconnect with Kelsey Grammer until she was 16, after more than a decade of limited contact.
During the conversation, Greer Grammer recalled what she described as the "meanest thing" her father ever said to her, which he shared years after they had reestablished contact.
She said he told her that, at the time of her birth, he believed it might have been easier for her not to carry his famous last name because he did not expect to be present in her life.
"[Grammer] was always my last name. I guess my dad did ask my mom — he told me this later — but he was like, 'I told your mom... I said it might be better for you to not have my last name. It would be easier for you growing up,'" Greer Grammer said.
She said her father told her this when she was about 19, and the comment left her devastated.
"I think I was like 19 when he told me that and I started sobbing, because to me that was like the meanest thing you could ever say to somebody, like... 'I knew I wasn't gonna be in your life, so I told my mom it would probably be easier for you to not have my last name,'" she said.
Greer Grammer added that while the statement was painful, she later came to understand the reasoning behind it and acknowledged that it was "fair," noting that her father was "not wrong."
Elsewhere in the interview, Greer Grammer addressed a common misconception that she had no contact with her father until her teenage years. She said she has "very specific" memories of spending time with him when she was young, before he left, though the relationship did not continue consistently.
They reconnected unexpectedly while she was volunteering as Miss Teen Malibu at a Christmas tree lot.
She recalled the moment Kelsey Grammer approached her.
"He came up to me and said, 'Are you Greer?' And I said, 'Yes, I am,'" she said. "Then he went, 'I'm —.' And I was like, 'I know who you are. Duh.'"
At the time, Kelsey Grammer was living in Malibu with his then-wife Camille Grammer and their two children.
Greer Grammer said the encounter led to lunch about a week later, which became the starting point for rebuilding their relationship.
She said she was eager to reconnect immediately, but her mother encouraged her to wait.
"I was ready to call him that day, like, 'Let's do this thing. I got a dad now, woohoo!'" she said.
Greer Grammer said she and her father now have a good relationship. She noted that while he paid for her college education, she does not have a trust fund.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.