Eugene Levy has spent his career making people laugh, but parenting his children wasn’t always a comedic affair.
The Canadian actor married screenwriter and producer Deborah Divine in 1977. They raised their two children, Dan and Sarah, in Toronto, away from a “show-bizzy kind of environment,” as Eugene shared with PEOPLE in 2019. He described himself as a strict parent.
“If you crossed the line, there was going to be some sort of punishment,” Eugene explained about his parenting approach. “It’s the way I was brought up, and it’s the way I brought up my kids.”
He added, “It worked! Because honestly, we’ve never had a problem with our kids. It was fun as they got older because then they’d start making us laugh.”
The family humorously extended their bond into the professional realm when Eugene, Dan, and Sarah starred together on the hit comedy series Schitt’s Creek from 2015 to 2020. Eugene and Dan played father and son Johnny and David Rose, while Sarah portrayed Twyla Sands, the local waitress.
“As a dad, getting to work on camera for six years with both my kids, Daniel and Sarah, was such a joy. I love you both and could not be prouder,” Eugene said during his Emmy Award acceptance speech in 2020.
Here’s a closer look at Eugene Levy’s children, Dan and Sarah Levy, from their upbringing to their achievements.
Eugene and Deborah welcomed their first child, Daniel Joseph, on August 9, 1983, in Toronto. Despite having a famous comedian as a father, Dan had a relatively “normal” upbringing in Canada.
“He made me do my homework. He grounded me,” Dan told PEOPLE in 2019.
As he matured, it became evident that Dan shared more than just his father’s strong brows and great hair—he also inherited Eugene’s comedic talent.
“There were more times that Daniel had us laughing than I ever had anybody laughing,” Eugene told PEOPLE.
Dan began his on-camera career in 2006 as the host of MTV’s After Show for The Hills. In February 2023, he opened up about the homophobia he faced early in his career at MTV, explaining he “didn’t feel particularly free” to be an openly gay man at the time. “It was kind of like, ‘Conform to the culture of the workplace or sit it out.’ But it was never like, ‘Let’s pause what we’re doing to listen to you,'” he recalled on the Phone a Friend with Jessi Cruickshank podcast.
After a few minor acting roles in films like Cyberstalker and Admission, Dan teamed up with his father to create the production company Not a Real Company Productions. Together, they produced Schitt’s Creek, a series about a wealthy family who loses their fortune and moves to the small town of Schitt’s Creek.
Eugene and Deborah’s second child, Sarah, was born on September 10, 1986, in Toronto. Although she was raised with many career options, as Eugene told PEOPLE in 2019, Sarah chose to become an actress.
Sarah’s first on-screen appearance was alongside Eugene in 2005’s Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Her most notable role, however, was as Twyla, the waitress at Café Tropical on Schitt’s Creek. Working with her father and brother on the series led to “lots of conversations over the years around the dinner table” about the show, Sarah shared.
Since the show concluded in April 2020, Sarah has stayed busy off-screen. On October 16, 2021, she married law student Graham Outerbridge. Dan served as the DJ, and their parents performed a surprise duet of the Emmylou Harris song “Love and Happiness” at the reception.
“It just brought the house down. My mom, who doesn’t like the spotlight, absolutely nailed it,” Dan shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “It was so nice.”
