What to know about Conan O'Brien and his family

By Yi-Jin Yu

Longtime comedian Conan O'Brien wears many hats and chief among them is that of a proud father of two children, whom he shares with his wife, Liza.

O'Brien, the host of the 2025 Oscars, walked the red carpet ahead of the show alongside his wife, with whom he recently celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Conan O'Brien and Liza Powel O'Brien attends the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre, Mar. 02, 2025, in Hollywood, Calif.

O'Brien has opened up over the years about how fatherhood changed him.

In a 2022 episode of his "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" podcast, he shared advice to his co-host Matt Gourley, who was expecting a child with his wife at the time.

"[Parenthood is] such a profound change in your life. Everything goes from black and white to color. Everything goes from one dimension to nine dimensions," O'Brien said. "And nothing anybody says is going to mean anything to you, but it is going to be the best thing you ever do in your life. It's absolutely transformative and great and you're going to be a great dad."

Reflecting on his own childhood, O'Brien told "Good Morning America"'s Lara Spencer that he never could have dreamed of hosting the Oscars.

"I have an amazing team of writers. We have been going through tons of ideas, and I'm excited because I grew up watching the Oscars, and it is something it's imprinted on my memory," he said in an interview that aired on "GMA" on Feb. 26, just days ahead of the 2025 Oscars. "I dreamed of, like, being a seat filler at the Oscars. I never thought, 'Oh, I'll host the Oscars.' I always kept my dreams very attainable."

On Feb. 26, just days ahead of the Oscars, O'Brien literally rolled out the red carpet in Los Angeles for Hollywood's biggest night.

Get to know the funnyman and his family.

Liza Powel O'Brien

Conan O'Brien and his wife, Liza Powel O'Brien, a playwright and podcast host, married in 2002.

Liza Powel O'Brien is the narrator and writer behind the "Significant Others" podcast and in an appearance on her husband's podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," she described the nonfiction series as a deeper dive into the stories of "people who are just outside the spotlight of history," such as the spouses of famous figures and celebrities.

"I'm really interested, even before I was married to Conan, about what it was like for people who were married to the people we read about in history books," Liza Powel O'Brien said of the inspiration behind "Significant Others." "And as I started collecting more and more of [their stories] and asking people, 'Is this anything that anyone else would be interested in besides me,' Conan was one of the first people to say, 'Absolutely, I would absolutely listen to that.'"

Neve O'Brien

The O'Briens welcomed their first child, a daughter named Neve, in 2003.

Conan O'Brien opened up about going to the music festival Coachella with his daughter Neve in a March 2023 episode of his "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" podcast featuring vocalist and songwriter Michelle Zauner and her band Japanese Breakfast and how she introduced him to Zauner.

"We started driving and my daughter did a really cool thing. She didn't tell me who the bands were but she started playing me, on the long drive, she started playing me all this different music and said, 'You tell me who you think we should go see when we're there,'" he recalled. "And then I singled out – she played me a couple songs – and then I said, 'This is the band we have to see.' … And she said, 'Correct. That is Japanese Breakfast.'"

Beckett O'Brien

The couple's youngest is son Beckett, who was born in 2005.

In a February 2020 episode of "Dads: The Podcast," Conan O'Brien opened up about his two children and described them both as "very smart" and "very good people."

"My son is incredibly talented at tech and computer stuff and he just always has been," he added of his son Beckett. "I mean, he was literally, reprogramming my phone when he was 3. He could reach over and hit a few buttons and then suddenly, it wasn't a phone anymore. It was a blender."