As a child, Liv Tyler’s nighttime routine involved tucking in her teddy bears and talking to the poster of Steven Tyler, the Aerosmith frontman, that hung on the wall above her bed.
She didn’t realise he was her father, but she still “loved him so deeply.” Liv received shocking news when she was nine years old, which shook her world.
Continue reading to discover about the actress’s astounding true story.
Liv Tyler, now 47, rose to prominence in the 1990s with leading parts in films such as Stealing Beauty (1996), Empire Records (1995), and Armageddon (1988), which featured Aerosmith’s smash song “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”
Before becoming famous, the singer, model, and actor spent her youth trying to figure out her father’s paternity, which she initially thought was singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren of the band Utopia.
Her mother, Bebe Buell, Playboy’s Playmate in November 1974, lived with Rundgren in their New York City flat. She was regularly left alone when he went on tour.
Buell, who attributed her several affairs to the wave of non-monogamy in the 1970s, stated in an interview, “I suppose every little girl would prefer exclusivity, but that wasn’t the case. If you had a jealous streak, the 1970s were not your time. And I figured that if he (Rundgren) was going to date, I would too. I had several beautiful boyfriends.”
Buell, an archetypical groupie, dated music giants such as Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Jimmy Page, and Aerosmith leader Steven Tyler, whom she met while touring with Rundgren.
A lifetime gift.
Buell’s fling with Tyler in 1976 provided her with a treasure to last a lifetime.
Liv Rundgren was born in July 1977, and while Rundgren was aware that she was most likely Tyler’s child, he stated that he and Buell agreed that he would be Liv’s father, and that “if it ever became an issue, we’d tell her at 18.”
The choice to keep it a secret was taken to protect an impressionable young Liv from her biological father’s out-of-control addictions.
Rundgren signed her birth certificate, gave her his last name, and reared her as if she were his own.
The actress stated of Rundgren, “I’m so grateful to Todd for choosing to be a father figure to me.” It’s a significant step for a man to declare, “I know this kid isn’t mine, but I still want to be her father.” Although dad and my mother were not together, he was always a dependable and caring presence in my life.”
Shirley Temple
The Jersey Girl star was frequently seen with her parents’ acquaintances, as she was heavily involved in the music industry.
Rundgren met Tyler at one of her concerts when she was eight or nine years old, and she claims he bought her a Shirley Temple at the bar. She had no idea who he was at the moment, but their meeting sparked something in her.
“Strangely enough, when I first met my dad, I had no idea he was my father, and I fell in love with him. I hung his poster on my wall. I would speak to him on the wall. And he would give me cuddly animals, which I would snuggle into bed before entering. Liv said, “I loved him so much. “My mum has a diary entry or something where I wrote, ‘I think Steven is my father.'”
The weird enigma was beginning to develop for the young Liv.
She met Mia, Tyler’s daughter with Cyrinda Foxe, at an Aerosmith concert. Mia was born one year after the actress.
“I saw her standing at the side of the stage at a concert and it was literally like looking at my twin,” the Lord of the Rings Trilogy star told the Guardian.
Siblings met
Mia and Liv discussed the emotional moment at the Guns n’ Roses performance where they were opening for Aerosmith on an episode of the iHeart radio podcast “Sibling Revelry With Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson”.
“It was the beginning of the song ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ [Liv and Buell] had driven to the gig at a location named Great Woods,” Liv began.
She said, choking back tears, “We got tickets, and we went to the audience, and we were standing, and Guns n’ Roses was playing, and I was so excited because I loved Guns n’ Roses.” And there was one female standing on the side of the stage.”
“It was like we were wearing the same clothing. We both had perms, such as spiral perms and pink frosty lipstick. We were both wearing an Aerosmith concert t-shirt, black leggings and Reebok high-top sneakers.
“I looked and was like, ‘Wait, that’s me.'” It was quite strange. “It was like looking in the mirror and seeing two people,” she explained.
“When I looked at my mother, she burst into tears.” My mom was crying, and I was thinking, “Is Steven my dad?” She just burst. She led me to a bench in an outdoor amphitheatre, where we sat and she told me the entire story in the most genuine, lovely way.”
The mother of three remains very close to both fathers, whom she describes as “like unicorns or wizards.” They are, first and foremost, musicians. They just think differently. Their idiosyncrasies have, in some ways, made me more practical and normal.
