Sam Neill, the acclaimed actor best known for starring in the Jurassic Park franchise, died on July 13, 2026, at the age of 78. Throughout his decades-long career, Neill largely kept his personal life out of the spotlight, though he spoke candidly in recent years about his battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer. In 2023, he revealed his diagnosis while promoting his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?
In a March 17, 2023, interview with The Guardian, Neill reflected on his journey from diagnosis to treatment. “I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” he said. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive.”
In the years that followed, Neill shared encouraging health updates, revealing in 2026 that he was cancer-free. Following his death, his family also confirmed that he had “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing, adding, “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.”
While Neill was open about his health battle, he continued to keep his family life largely private. The beloved actor is survived by his children and grandchildren, many of whom have stayed out of the public eye. Read on to learn more about Sam Neill’s family.
How Many Children Does Sam Neil Have?
Neill largely kept his family life out of the public eye, and his children have mostly stayed away from the spotlight. While some earlier reports incorrectly stated that the actor had two children, Neill is survived by four children—three biological children and one adopted daughter.
His eldest son, Andrew, was born when Neill was in his early 20s and was placed for adoption at birth. The two reunited decades later, and Neill wrote about their relationship in his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This? He also shared son Tim with his former partner, actress Lisa Harrow, and daughter Elena with his ex-wife, Noriko Watanabe. During his marriage to Watanabe, Neill also adopted her daughter, Maiko, who has remained largely out of the public eye.
Maiko Neill
Maiko Neill’s age and profession are not known, but she seemingly supports the family business: Sam’s New Zealand winery, Two Paddocks. She has a link to a blog post from Two Paddocks’ website in her Instagram bio, which asks the winery’s staff to name their favorite songs. The blog post can be seen here.
Neill announced the birth of Maiko’s daughter via a Nov. 18, 2021 Instagram post in which he cradled his new grandchild, as seen below. “The Love . I don’t put family on media stuff . Except when they’re brand new,” he began in the caption of the sweet post. “This is my brand new grandson Nahlo , the bestest boy, 2 weeks old. So chilled, no fuss . Just eats , sleeps and thinks about things . Parents blissed out , and everybody happy. Me particularly . The love…”
In Feb. 2023, Neill took to the ‘gram to share a photo of Nahlo with his dad, Sly Augustin. Sly has shared a few pics of his bundle of joy and tagged Maiko, proving the baby boy is theirs. In fact, in Nahlo’s birth announcement, Sly joked that Maiko “produced” their son as if the process were a movie production. “Introducing our Son … Nhalo (nah-low) Wilson Neill-Augustin,” he wrote alongside a photo of his first child on Nov. 7, 2021.
“Beyond thankful for him. Beyond Happy to be a Father,” he continued. “Everything is so different now, Like the whole world changed the second he was born. Nothing will be the same again, it will be so much better. Greatful (sic) to know so many dope dad’s, you’ll all be hearing from me at some point”.
He concluded his heartfelt caption by revealing Nahlo’s birth date. “World Premier 29th October 22:52 …” he noted. “Directed by @maikoneill & @slyaugustin … Produced by @maikoneill …”.
Elena Neill
Once again, there is no solid information on Elena Neill due to her super private life and lack of public social media profiles. She gave birth to a little boy in 2013, according to Express. “I have recently had a new grandson. I say this almost as if it were a personal achievement, but grandchildren in truth are thrust upon you whether you like it or not,” the In The Mouth Of Madness actor wrote in a column for The Spectator, according to the outlet. “He seems a perfectly agreeable sort of chap, as babies go. He’s a quiet baby, and quietness is highly regarded in people that small. And in fact I admire it wherever I find it…”
“This boy’s grandmothers are in a complete lather over him, and are quite incapable of keeping their hands off the little tyke,” he reportedly continued. “I’m not big on baby cuddling as it happens… Anyway, this boy seems to be universally thought of as winsome. I have no idea about that, but I do like his general quietness. We sit and look at each other in companionable silence; he sucks on his pacifier and I on my 2008 Pinot (wine). I like to be quiet too.”
Tim Neill
There have been no reports of Sam’s son, Tim, having a child. However, Sam seemed to reveal he has an older grandson named Felix McIntosh on Instagram. He raved about Felix’s work as a DJ in two separate posts from March 5, 2023, and called him “The Prop’s grandson”. Sam goes by “SamNeillTheProp” on Instagram, so it appears he was referring to himself as Felix’s grandfather.
