Max Greenfield with his wife, Tess Sanchez, and their kids, Lilly and Ozzie.Photo:Tess Sanchez/Instagram
Tess Sanchez/Instagram
Max Greenfield is an actor, producer and author, but his favorite role is being a dad to his kids: Lilly and Ozzie.
TheNew Girlstar and his wife, former casting director Tess Sanchez, married in 2008. A year and a half later, the pair welcomed their first child, daughter Lilly. The family expanded again with the birth of their son, Ozzie, in 2015.
“I definitely didn’t think I was ready,” he toldParentsabout becoming a first-time dad. “You’re a psychopath if you’re about to have your first child and you’re like, ‘I’m ready for this!’ ”
The actor admitted that adjusting to two kids didn’t happen overnight, though. Shortly after Ozzie was born, he told PEOPLE that there were “moments of exhaustion and despair.” But, he said, being a new dad again also came with “all the moments of joy.”
The Neighborhoodstar, best known for his comedic roles, takes a similarly playful approach to parenting. “Point me in the direction of having fun, and I’m there. But I’m terrible at all the other stuff,” he toldParentsabout his style of fatherhood.
Max Greenfield with his kids, daughter Lilly and son Ozzie.Tess Sanchez Instagram
Tess Sanchez Instagram
As for whether or not he’s interested in continuing to grow his family, Greenfield says he’s already got his hands full. “Having two kids is like having 1,000,” he toldGQ. “It makes everything so much harder.”
He added, “I couldn’t be any more [into being a dad]. … Couldn’t be more done. But so happy with these two idiots.”
Here’s everything to know about Max Greenfield’s kids: Lilly and Ozzie.
Lilly Greenfield, 15
Max Greenfield takes a selfie with his daughter Lilly Greenfield.Tess Sanchez/Instagram
Greenfield and Sanchez welcomed their daughter, Lilly Greenfield, on Jan. 27, 2010.
It wasn’t an easy adjustment for theUnfrostedcast member, who admitted to asking Sanchez for help on multiple occasions. “I remember sleepless nights, crying in the laundry room, thinking, ‘This is how they torture war criminals,’ ” he joked.
Speaking about their parenting style, Sanchez explained that their only rule for their kids is to “be kind and have compassion.” She elaborated, “We are pretty relaxed about everything, except how they treat and talk to other people. The only time we ever get mad is if we see the kids being thoughtless.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, that laid-back attitude was on full display, too. Like many other parents, Greenfield had to navigate homeschooling due to the quarantine period. “I was really overwhelmed,” he said in an interview withFatherly.
Still, he used the opportunity to bond with his daughter and showcase their shared sense of humor with a series of hilarious videoson social media.
“[I] was like, well, maybe we should really have some fun. So we would film videos when we have a break in our day, in between studying,” he shared. “We’d make a video if we had a really funny idea. … Lilly was really excited about it, anditmade that time kind of fun and exciting.”
While he was happy to let Lilly return to in-person learning, he enjoyed the brief stretch of homeschooling. “It was a really rewarding experience,” he toldAOL. “We made the best of a really overwhelming and unfortunate situation for her in that she had me as a teacher.”
Max Greenfield and his daughter, Lilly Greenfield, on the beach.Tess Sanchez/Instagram
The father-daughter duo have also bonded through TikTok. During an appearance onThe Jennifer Hudson Show,Greenfield shared that he only joined the social media platform for Lilly, who isn’t allowed to have an account herself. Now, she’s responsible for choreographing all of his videos.
“She somehow knows how to do all these dances,” he told hostJennifer Hudson. “If she’s not in it, she’s behind the camera going, ‘And now dad, you do this.’ ”
The actor showed off plenty of those dance moves in 2023 when he took Lilly toTaylor Swift’sEra’s Tourshow in Los Angeles. Greenfield, who attended the concert with his whole family, told PEOPLE, “It was the best vibe ever.”
Lilly seems to share her dad’s sense of humor, but she might also be taking after him regarding a future career. In 2016, Greenfield told PEOPLE that his then 6 year old was interested in acting.
“She’s a bit of a performer,” he said. “She was inMary Poppinsrecently and she played Mary Poppins, and she was Ms. Hannigan inAnnie.”
Nearly eight years later, that prediction proved true when Lilly appeared on a season 4 episode ofThe Neighborhoodalongside her dad.
“We had her audition, she was excellent if I do say so,” Greenfield said while speaking about the experience on theRachael Ray Show.“She loves it here, and she was nice to everyone except me.”
The proud father also posted onInstagramto promote his daughter’s television premiere. “All New @theneighborhood this Monday night with a very special guest star,” he wrote alongside a photo of the two on set. “Difficult to work with but an absolute joy to watch ❤️.”
Ozzie James Greenfield, 9
Max Greenfield with son Ozzie James Greenfield.Tess Sanchez/Instagram
Greenfield and Sanchez welcomed their second child, son Ozzie James Greenfield, on Aug. 24, 2015.
Still, Greenfield hasn’t been shy about the difficulty of raising two kids.
“The second kid was a wake-up call, in terms of time management and keeping on top of everything,” he toldMen’s Journal.“I realized what may have worked in the past is not working in the present. Our son has led me to having a lot less time and being deeply exhausted for most of the time.”
Unlike the first time around, when his son arrived, Greenfield was starring on a hit television show that earned him an Emmy nomination.
“By the time Ozzie was born, Max was pulling crazy hours onNew Girl,so I was the one who was up all night,” Sanchez toldParents.“Even now, Ozzie still climbs into our bed at 2 a.m. Along with the dog.”
According to Greenfield, though, he doesn’t mind co-sleeping. “When I go on location to shoot a movie and lie in bed alone, it is scary,” he quipped. “So if the kids want to climb into our bed, c’mon! Get on in!”
Max Greenfield with his son Ozzie James Greenfield.Tess Sanchez/Instagram
He continued, explaining that Ozzie will try to make people laugh no matter where he is. “[It’s] really good for me because it keeps me entertained. And he is genuinely funny,” the actor added.
During the same interview, Greenfield opened up about how being a father helped him add another role to his résumé: author.
“My kids don’t like to read, and I argue with them every night about reading,” Greenfield said. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, an agent approached him about writing a children’s book.
Greenfield has since published two more books for kids who don’t necessarily love to read:This Book Is Not a PresentandI Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud.His fourth book,Good Night Thoughts,will be published in September 2024.
“I had so much fun writing, and it couldn’t have turned out any better,” he said about his first title.
source: people.com
