John Leguizamo’s daughter is following in his footsteps.
During an interview with PEOPLE, The Menu actor, 64. opens up about his feelings about his daughter Allegra, 25, following him into show business. Leguizamo shares that he’s “so proud” of his daughter, whom he shares with his wife Justine Maurer. He even teases their first moment sharing the screen on an upcoming project, set to release in May 2025.
“We did this movie with [Robert] De Niro and Jamie Foxx called Tin Soldier, and she had to hold up a gun to me. She’s never held a gun in her life,” he tells PEOPLE. “She had it pointed at me, and it was a crazy moment. It was our first moment on-screen together, and here she is putting a gun to her dad’s face.
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Leguizamo, who wed Maurer in June 2003, first became a father with the birth of his daughter Allegra in 1999. A year later, the couple welcomed their son Lucas, 24, completing their family of four. Speaking about his new movie Bob Trevino Likes It, the actor says that his own experience as a parent in real life helped shape his character.
“Having kids changes you completely for the rest of your life and it’s a gift that keeps on giving, but you also worry for the rest of your life,” he shares. “So with Bob Trevino, it was easy to create this loneliness that this man had, because I could just picture myself if I’d never had kids now, I would miss them so much that I would be lonely.”
“So that’s how it kind of created the character having this hole in his life, and that’s why he wants to be sort of this surrogate father for Lily,” Leguizamo continues.
In February 2024, Leguizamo gave PEOPLE an update on how he and his wife spend their days now. Maurer lives in Manhattan, where he’s still performing regularly and she sits on boards focusing on city preservation. Together with their children, they still celebrate their blended worldview.
“I never went to a seder in my life until Justine and I had kids. It was so beautiful,” Leguizamo said.
“So we did seders and then Easter. We would do Christmas and Hanukkah. I think it gave them a strong sense of connection to where they come from,” he continued. “You start to see that when you have diversity and a mixed marriage, your wealth is doubled. Our kids felt that — and now live that.”
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