Exclusive! New Mom Spencer Grammer Talks Her Own 'Modern Family'
Spencer talks life with dad Kelsey, a stepmom who's two years older, and half-sister her son's age.
Her last series Greek was about the romantic entanglements of a college sorority girl, but we'll see a very different Spencer Grammer this fall in her new series Ironside, a cop drama starring Blair Underwood as a wheelchair-bound detective. She plays the strong and capable Holly, the only female member of an elite crime fighting team. Being surrounded by men? "I love it!" says Grammer, who enjoys hanging with the boys on set but prefers time with the two leading guys in her life: husband James Hesketh and their son, Emmett. Spencer tells us about being a new parent—and her own "modern family," which includes dad Kelsey Grammer, his wife Kayte—who at 31 is just two years her senior!—and their BFF babies.
YourTango: Since I last saw you, you got married and had a baby.
Spencer Grammer: He'll be two in October. My greatest achievement.
YourTango: How's going back to work?
Spencer Grammer: It's such an adjustment going back to work. It's tough being a mom.
YourTango: How are you managing?
Spencer Grammer: I have a lot of help, and I have a really supportive husband. He really helps out. He works an interesting schedule like I do. We have a nanny too; we just started having help recently since I went back to work.
YourTango: What does he do?
Spencer Grammer: He's a firefighter. He's really hot and handsome.
YourTango: How did you meet your husband?
Spencer Grammer: We met through mutual friends. He was visiting in L.A. He's originally from Ireland. We met and I fell in love. He was just the kind of guy that I want to be with. We wanted to have kids. We were friends for a couple of years, like two years, and around my birthday we made the decision that we should be together. He's my rock. He keeps me real and honest. We're there to support each other. We're each other's new family.
YourTango: How did he propose?
Spencer Grammer: We were in Iceland. But he had to ask my dad.
YourTango: Was he intimidated?
Spencer Grammer: Yes, of course, my dad's Kelsey Grammer! But he approved.
YourTango: What keeps your relationship solid?
Spencer Grammer: Intense attraction!
YourTango: Your dad's been married four times. Has he given you advice on what not to do in marriage?
Spencer Grammer: Not really. I think everyone's on their own journey and we're just trying to figure out as we go. I found a new appreciation for how hard it is to actually do it.
YourTango: Dad keeps trying.
Spencer Grammer: He does. He's a good man.
YourTango: Do you get along with his new wife Kayte?
Spencer Grammer: She's wonderful, yeah. They're very happy together. She's awesome. We have a lot of things in common. She's really lovely to him and they have a beautiful child. So it's wonderful for our family.
YourTango: His daughter Faith is one. Do the two kids get along well?
Spencer Grammer: They do, yeah. When kids are that age they can really play together.
YourTango: More like cousins than aunt and nephew.
Spencer Grammer: It's the modern family! It's really cool that we both have kids of similar age. I'm really looking forward to this Christmas now that they have personalities.
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