One of the emblems of 1980s cinema, Belgian-born martial arts expert Jean-Claude Van Damme, is not as popular today, and success has taken its toll after so many years as a Hollywood action movie icon
Jean-Claude does not have an exemplary family life, as despite having several children, none of them have a relationship with him thanks to the fact that he was never with them while he was enjoying the success of his films, which took him all over the world, but at the cost of not knowing his home or seeing his children grow up. He had two children with fitness expert Gladys Portugues, and one with Darcy LaPier, with whom he had several court battles.
“I don’t think my children love me”
The problem with all this is that the whole Van Damme family lives or lived until recently under the same roof, and the actor believed he had “a movie family”, a dynasty with his blood, because the fact of getting along with them gave him that hope. However, in a recent interview with Paris Match he surprised the world by stating that he no longer has any relationship with any of the three, neither with Kristopher Van Varenberg, the eldest, nor with Bianca Bree, the middle one, nor with Nicholas, the youngest, who has given him gray hair.
“I have a great life, but I regret some things. I lost the relationship with my children. I left home very young and lived in hotels for fifty years, so they don’t know me. At this moment I don’t think my children love me (…) When I started to succeed, I gave everything, but they will never understand it. Even when I’m dead, they won’t understand it. My children admire me a lot, but they are jealous of me,” said Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Who are Van Damme’s children?
The eldest, 37-year-old Kristopher Van Varenberg, has been an actor since 1992 when he made his debut in his father’s film ‘Universal Soldier’. He has continued to be linked to his father’s name, as he has only acted in his films, although that is about to change in 2025 with participation in other projects, the miniseries ‘Franklin’ and the film ‘Crime Time’. He also enjoys martial arts.
The middle child, 34-year-old Bianca Bree, is also an actress and has made seven films, and like her older brother, her beginnings are linked to Jean-Claude’s filmography, although she left the protection of her famous father earlier and since 2016 has maintained a certain consistency in productions such as ‘Fury of the Fist and the Golden Fleece’ with Danny Trejo and ‘The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson’ with Mena Suvari. Like her brother, Bianca loves martial arts and also fitness.
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On the other hand, the youngest, Nicholas, 29, is the ‘black sheep’ of the Van Damme clan, as he has had episodes of violence that have cost him to be prosecuted and sentenced to probation. Unlike his siblings, he has shown talent for the arts, such as painting and music, and although he has also received the actor’s support in some productions, everything indicates that his path is not cinema.