Richard Thomas’ 7 Children: All About The Waltons Star’s Sons and Daughters

Richard Thomas didn’t intend to replicate his iconic fictional family, but just like John and Olivia Walton, the actor has seven children of his own: Richard, Brooke, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar, Kendra and Montana.

“It wasn’t planned,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “I guess seven is my number.”

The Waltons actor married Alma Gonzales in 1975, and they welcomed their first child, Richard Francisco Thomas, the following year. In 1981, the couple had triplets: Barbara Ayalla Thomas, Gwyneth Gonzales Thomas and Pilar Alma Thomas.

Richard and Alma divorced in 1993. The following year, he married Georgiana Bischoff, who has two daughters from a previous marriage, Brooke Murphy Thomas and Kendra Kneisel Thomas. The couple share one son, Montana James Thomas.

Here’s everything to know about Richard Thomas’ children: Richard, Brooke, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar, Kendra and Montana.

The triplets were supposed to be twins

Richard told PEOPLE in 1982 that he and Alma believed she was carrying twins. It wasn’t until she went into labor three weeks before her due date that the doctors discovered a third heartbeat and scheduled a cesarean section for the next day.

“There are three of them,” she told Richard, who at the time was performing on Broadway. “They’re coming out tomorrow, so get here.”

Identical triplets Barbara, Gwyneth and Pilar were born only minutes apart on Aug. 26, 1981.

At first, the couple had to use earrings to distinguish who was who, but Alma said their distinct personalities soon made identifying them easy: “Barbara, the biggest, is quiet and obviously feels more secure. Gwyneth, the smallest, is perky and eats quickly, as if she knows she has to catch up. Pilar is the hysteric, the fussy one.”

The younger Richard felt “outnumbered” by the triplets

Bringing home three newborn girls was a big adjustment for the former family of three — especially for the younger Richard, who was only 5 years old at the time.

“When we brought the girls home, I asked, ‘What do you think?’ ” the actor recalled telling his son. “He said, ‘I think I’m outnumbered.’ I told him, ‘We’re both outnumbered. We’re in this together.’ “

To make sure his eldest didn’t feel forgotten amongst the chaos of three newborns, Richard took his son with him when he traveled for work.

In 1982, The New York Times reported that the actor only agreed to film a television special on rhinos if his son could accompany him and appear on camera.

”This is something Richard will be able to share with me,” the star said. ”He will be able to hold it over the girls’ heads if they ever get too stuck up.”

Kendra is a yoga instructor

Though Richard told Smashing Interviews Magazine in 2014 that his youngest daughter was an aspiring actress, Kendra has since found a different passion as a certified vinyasa yoga instructor in New York City.

According to her website, she first fell in love with the practice when her mother, Georgina, let her tag along to yoga classes as a kid.

“Yoga is where it all started,” Kendra wrote in a 2022 Instagram post. “I found yoga as a student when I didn’t even realize it was what I needed most. Later in life it found me. Teaching showed me what I was meant to do in life, and how I can help people in my own little way.”

Georgina’s older daughter, Brooke, followed Richard’s footsteps into show business as a post-production producer.

Brooke has one daughter

Brooke is also a mom. In a 2023 Instagram post, Kendra shared photos from a visit to see her older sister and niece in Los Angeles.

“First trip back to LA to see friends and family since 2019,” the yoga instructor wrote. “Some things remain the same, but others have changed dramatically.”

She added, “My niece is basically my size (no small feat 🤪🤣), she’s funny as hell, and one of the few ‘children’ my dog likes. My sister and brother in law were a sight for sore eyes (I miss our weekly family dinners soooo much). We are all a little older but only better for it.”

Montana is a poet

Richard’s youngest child, Montana, is a poet living in N.Y.C.

According to his bio on Byline, he released his first full-length book of poems called Concerning the Dinner in 2024, and he co-hosts a “smell and culture” podcast called Top Notes.

In a 2024 interview with Paper, he said he had been working on the poetry collection for five years.

“I think I’ve always — ever since I was a little L.A. kid — wanted to write poetry,” he told Office Magazine in 2023. “But I’m also very interested in performance. I studied fine arts, and so that came with various forms of expression.”

Added Montana, “Poetry has always been close to me but I’d say in the past three, four years I started diving into it deeply, developing a rigorous practice with it, even the visual art I make is very reliant on language and poetic images.”

Four of the kids were in commercials together

In the 1980s, Richard filmed a few commercials for Minute Maid, advertising the brand’s orange juice. He acted alongside Alma, Barbara, Gwyneth, Pilar and son Richard for the spot.

The actor told the Washington Post in 1985 that the partnership allowed his kids to earn money, which was set aside for their futures.

“It’s very simple: The kids are running around and my wife is pouring orange juice and I’m drinking it,” he said of the commercial. “We’re kind of a mess, just as we are as a family.”

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