Kelsey Grammer’s Oldest Kids ‘Feel a Little Distanced’ From Family (Excl)

Kelsey Grammer tries his best to navigate relationships with each of his eight children.

“I just do what I can, you know? I show up when I can show up,” Grammer, 70, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Giving a Smile Foundation gala on Thursday, December 11. “I mean, I am fairly busy. There’s a lot of things going on, but I try to get home on time to sit down with the kids and say goodnight, and get up in the morning and give them cereal.”

He continued, “I try to just be in that loop. My older kids … feel a little distanced by it all, but that’s life. They’re grown up.”

The Frasier alum first became a parent in 1983, welcoming daughter Spencer with ex-wife Doreen Alderman. Kelsey later welcomed daughter Greer with ex-girlfriend Barrie Buckner, kids Mason and Jude with ex-wife Camille Grammer, and four children with wife Kayte Walsh.

While Kelsey is mostly hands-on with his minor kids who still live at home, the actor has also worked to forge bonds with his now-adult children.

“[I spend time with them] if I can,” he told Us. “It’s really important. I mean, it’s our most important thing that we have — our family. And, whatever they may feel or not feel, it’s important for us to be together when we can be.”

Kelsey hasn’t always been especially close to his eldest children. Greer, 33, who starred on MTV’s Awkward, claimed last month that she had previously been estranged from her father for 12 years.

“It’s a very famous name, but if you live [in our neighborhood in Malibu], it’s, like, a very small town, close-knit community. So everybody knows everybody,” Greer said on the “Pretty Basic” podcast. “And so, everyone knows all the drama.”

Greer ultimately reconciled with Kelsey, even booking a role on his Frasier reboot.

Kelsey now prioritizes his family life, recently bringing 13-year-old daughter Faith, his eldest with Walsh, to the 48th Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month.

“That was her first red carpet last week,” he added on Thursday. “It was really nice.”

Faith will follow up her red carpet debut with a festive winter season.

“[We will be] trimming the tree Christmas Day,” Kelsey teased to Us of his holiday plans. “I mean, we’re keeping it pretty simple this year. We usually have a big New Year’s Eve party. We’re probably not doing it this year. It’s just gonna, kind of, ease on into the new year and take it easy.”

The actor is also hopeful that 2026 will bring more date nights with Walsh, 46, who gave birth to the couple’s fourth baby, son Christopher, earlier this year.

“We have an 8-week-old child, and that’s challenging, but we’re planning,” Kelsey quipped of the pair’s date night hopes. “We’re sparring with each other as to when we might actually have an opportunity to get out and enjoy each other.”

Kelsey stepped out solo on Thursday, where he hosted the Giving a Smile Foundation benefit.

“Rodney Raanan is my dentist, and he gave me the smile I have,” Kelsey told Us of the event, held at the Beverly Hilton in California. “I’m here to celebrate smiling.”

Rodney and his brother, fellow dentist, Justin Raanan, cofounded Giving A Smile Foundation and also spoke to Us at the Thursday’s event.

“The Giving A Smile Foundation was born from a deeply personal belief that every child deserves the dignity and confidence that comes from a healthy smile,” the brothers said. “Our mission is to remove barriers to care and give children not just dental treatment, but hope and opportunity.”