Robert Duvall Once Joked About Not Having Kids Despite Being Married 4 Times: 'I Guess I'm Shooting Blanks'
- - Robert Duvall Once Joked About Not Having Kids Despite Being Married 4 Times: 'I Guess I'm Shooting Blanks'
Desiree AnelloFebruary 17, 2026 at 4:09 AM
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Robert Duvall poses for a portrait at the 18th Annual Hollywood Film Awards
MJ Kim/HFA2014/Getty
Robert Duvall jokingly shared the reason he never had kids in a 2007 interview with Details magazine
“I guess I’m shooting blanks,” the late actor quipped at the time
Robert's wife, Luciana, revealed on Feb. 16 that the Oscar-winning actor died at the age of 95
Robert Duvall spoke about never having children nearly a decade before his death.
Nearly 10 years before his wife, Luciana Pedraza, announced that he died at age 95 on Sunday, Feb. 15, the Oscar-winning actor shared insight into the reason he never welcomed any children.
“I guess I’m shooting blanks,” Robert quipped in a 2007 issue of Details magazine, per Today. “(I’ve tried) with a lot of different women, in and out of marriage. I thought of adoption, but (my wife and I) haven’t yet.”
Before meeting Luciana in a bakery in Argentina, Robert was married three other times throughout his life. He wed Barbara Benjamin in 1964, and they split in 1975. From 1982 to 1985, he was married to Gail Youngs. He was married to Sharon Brophy from 1991 to 1995.
Luciana Duvall and Robert Duvall at the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 11, 2015.
Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCUniversal/Getty
While Robert and Luciana, who wed in 2005, never ended up growing their family, she made it clear that he was “surrounded by love and comfort” when the actor "passed away peacefully at home.”
"Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time,” she wrote on Facebook. "To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything.”
“His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court,” she continued. “For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind."
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Robert Duvall and Luciana Duvall arrive at the premiere of "Wild Horses" during the 2015 SXSW Music, FIlm + Interactive Festival on March 17, 2015 in Austin, Texas.
Michael Buckner/Getty
Robert — known for roles in films including The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, To Kill a Mockingbird and many more — decided to pursue acting after serving in the Army for two years.
"I was terrible at everything but acting — I could barely get through school," he told PEOPLE in 1977.
Robert Duvall in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Silver Screen Collection/Getty
After studying drama at Principia College in Illinois and later moving to New York to study under Sanford Meisner at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse, Robert made his big-screen debut as Boo Radley in 1960’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
"I want my work to be true," he told PEOPLE in 1984. "Pure. Not a false note from the start to finish."
But above all of the onscreen successes he celebrated in the following decades, the late actor told PEOPLE in 2021 that one of the things he loved most about turning 90 years old was getting to spend time with Luciana.
“I don’t know if I love any of it, but day to day with my wonderful wife,” he said at the time. “She takes care of me, and I have good friends, and try to work out and keep in some kind of shape.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
