Photo: Instagram
He's the son of one of the greatest actors of our time.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Apr 20, 2019
He's the son of one of the greatest actors of our time — if not of all time — and now he's making waves of his own. PopSugar was one of the first outlets to drop the news about Kiernan Shipka — she of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina fame — being off the market. Rumors were flying about whom her potential suitor could be, until it was revealed that Charlie Oldman was her bae. Just one day after Kiernan walked the red carpet with Charlie in tow, Charlie posted an “us-ie” to his Instagram account, with merely the heart emoji as a caption. This, of course, left no doubt about their relationship status. Who is Charlie Oldman?
1. His father is a legend.
Charlie Oldman has some big shoes to fill in the entertainment industry — his father is none other than Gary Oldman, and frankly, the elder Oldman needs no further introduction. But according to The Daily Mail, Charlie’s mother is Donya Florentino, who is Gary Oldman’s third wife. He also has an older brother, Gulliver, who is not in the entertainment industry. However, his half-siblings — brother Alfie, from Gary’s first marriage to Leslie Manville; and sister Phelix, from Donya’s first marriage to producer David Fincher — are both in the entertainment business.
3. His father is supportive of his career.
Like any proud father, Gary Oldman has made clear that he loves and supports his son, no matter what he decides to do with his life. However, Gary told PopSugar that while he was confident in his son’s abilities, he was nervous about how he would be received. "I'm a little nervous for Charlie," he said. "The Yves Saint Laurent house is such a tradition . . . It's great that he, in a small way, can be part of it." And with his father’s encouragement, Charlie has subsequently walked in such fashion shows as the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2018-2019 show in Milan. He also appeared in the music video for C-Tru's song, “California Party," which also featured Snoop Dogg and Lysee J.
Gary Oldman and his new wife, Gisele Schmidt, are very much in love.
4. He was at the center of a very contentious custody battle.
While Charlie and Gary seem to be close, now, things weren’t always sunny at the Oldman house. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, when Gary filed for divorce from Donya Fiorentino, things got really nasty. Donya accused Gary of domestic violence, claiming that he used to beat her violently in front of both Charlie and Gulliver. She also said that Gary was an addict and a womanizer — a claim he repeatedly denied. Charges were never filed against Gary, because the prosecutor failed to find enough grounds for the charges. In addition, Gary was awarded sole custody of both Charlie and Gulliver after it was revealed that Donya severely abused both Gulliver and Charlie.
Recently, according to The Huffington Post, Donya tried to revive the abuse claims in the press yet again, after Gary took home his Academy Award for his role in Darkest Hour. She also tried to reference the #MeToo movement in her claims against her now-ex-husband. However, Gulliver immediately leaped to his father’s defense, claiming that his mother has lost physical custody of all her children (including her daughter from her previous marriage to David Fincher), while telling the press that his mother was only interested in pursuing a personal vendetta.
“I was there at the time of the 'incident', so I'd like to make this radiantly clear: it didn't happen. Anyone who says it did is lying,” he said.
It sounds like he’s recovered nicely from his traumatic past, however, and we wish him all the best with his relationship with Kiernan Shipka!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.