Liv Tyler has shared the touching story of how she learned she had a sister and that her biological father is Steven Tyler, while acknowledging the challenges it posed for her adoptive father.
Growing up, the actress, known for her role in The Lord of the Rings, was raised by her mother, Bebe Buell, a singer and former Playboy Playmate, along with her adoptive father, Todd Rundgren, a rock musician.
When Liv was about 11 or 12 years old, she attended an Aerosmith concert and encountered Mia Tyler, Steven’s daughter with his first wife Cyrinda Fox, during Guns n’ Roses’ performance of “Welcome to the Jungle.”
Liv observed the girl on the side of the stage, realizing it was like looking into a mirror, prompting her mother to reveal through tears that they shared the same father—Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
The revelation had implications for Liv’s relationship with her adoptive father.
During an episode of the iHeart radio podcast, “Sibling Revelry With Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson,” which aired on April 13, Liv explained that Steven was struggling with drug use when her mother was pregnant with her.
She recounted: “As the story goes, [my mom] called Todd and said she was pregnant and he asked her to come home to where they lived in Woodstock in upstate New York.”
“He very courageously and lovingly said, ‘This child needs a father and I will be the father’.”
Liv was then born as ‘Liv Rundgren.’ In a 2001 interview with AP, she reflected: “I don’t think my dad was in any position to be a father. Steven, that is. What an amazing thing Todd did for me.”
After discovering her biological father’s identity at the concert, Liv described her initial emotional response as ‘shock.’
She continued: “I remember sitting there for what felt like three days, but it was probably three hours, and coming to this conclusion of ‘Whoa, I have two dads and all this love’.”
Ultimately, Liv expressed excitement about having two fathers, describing them as ‘all so different and so lovely.’
She concluded: “I love him. I have brothers from him and I had a whole family with them. He took care of me like he was [my] dad.”
However, Liv acknowledges it’s likely still challenging for Todd and noted that she doesn’t speak to him as often as she should.