As a child, Liv Tyler’s bedtime routine included tucking in her teddy bears and conversing with the poster of Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler that hung on the wall above her bed.
She didn’t realise he was her father, but she “loved him so deeply.” When Liv was nine, she received shocking news that would rock her world.
Continue reading to discover about the actress’ extraordinary real-life story.
Liv Tyler, now 47, rose to prominence in the 1990s with lead 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 herself, 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, a Playboy Playmate from November 1974, lived with Rundgren in their New York City flat. She was often left alone when he was on tour.
Buell attributed her several affairs to the wave of non-monogamy that swept through the 1970s, saying in an interview, “I suppose every little girl would desire exclusivity, but that wasn’t the case. If you had a jealous streak, the 1970s were not your decade. And I figured that if he (Rundgren) was going to date, I would, too. I’ve had beautiful boyfriends.”
Buell, an archetypical groupie, dated music icons such as Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Jimmy Page, and Aerosmith leader Steven Tyler, whom she met while Rundgren was on tour.
Lifetime gift.
Buell’s affair with Tyler in 1976 resulted in a lifetime keepsake.
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 when she was 18.”
The choice to keep it a secret was taken to avoid exposing a vulnerable young Liv to her biological father’s out-of-control addictions.
Rundgren signed her birth certificate, gave her his surname, and reared her as his own.
The actress stated about Rundgren, “I’m extremely grateful to Todd for deciding to be a father figure to me. It’s a big deal for a man to declare, “I know this kid isn’t mine, but I still want to be her dad.” Although dad and my mother were not together, he was always a steady, loving presence in my life.”
Shirley Temple
The Jersey Girl star was heavily involved in the music industry and was usually seen with her parents’ pals.
Rundgren met Tyler during one of her concerts when she was about eight or nine years old, and she claims he bought her a Shirley Temple from the bar. She had no idea who he was at the moment, but their meeting triggered something inside her.
“Strangely, when I first met my dad, I had no idea he was my father, and I fell in love with him. I displayed his poster on my wall. I’d talk to him on the wall. And he would give me cuddly animals, which I would tuck into bed before getting in. “I loved him so much,” Liv stated. “My mum has a diary entry or something where I wrote, ‘I think Steven is my father.'”
The weird story began to develop for the young Liv.
She first saw 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 I was literally like looking at my twin,” the Lord of the Rings Trilogy star told the Guardian.
Siblings meet
On an episode of the iHeart radio podcast “Sibling Revelry With Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson,” Mia and Liv discussed the emotional moment at the performance where Guns n’ Roses opened for Aerosmith.
“It was the start of their song ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ [Liv and Buell] had drove to the gig at an area named Great Woods,” Liv explained.
She choked back tears as she continued, “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.” There was one girl standing on the side of the stage.”
“It was as if we were dressed identically. We both had spiral perms and wore pink frosty lipstick. We each wore an Aerosmith concert t-shirt, black leggings and Reebok high-top trainers.
“I looked and said, ‘Wait, that’s me.’ It was pretty strange. “It was like looking in the mirror and seeing double,” she explained.
“When I glanced at my mother, she immediately started crying. My mother was crying, and I asked, “Is Steven my father?” And she just erupted. She took 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 is still very close to both fathers, whom she describes as “like unicorns or wizards.” They are musicians through and through. The way they think is simply different. Their idiosyncrasies have made me more practical and normal, in some ways.”