Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara Call First Baby River
by Laura DriverActors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have welcomed their first baby naming him River. The baby’s name is a tribute Joaquin’s late brother, who tragically passed away at the age of 23 in 1993.

Neither Joaquin or Rooney have officially confirmed the pregnancy however news was announced by filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky – the director of Gunda, a film on which Phoenix is an executive producer. While speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, he dropped the baby’s name to the audience.
Viktor Kossakovsky had apologised for the actor’s absence, saying: ‘He just got a baby, by the way, his name was… a beautiful son called River, so he cannot promote it [the film] now.’
Phoenix and Mara met on the set of Spike Jonze’s Her in 2013. They’ve since starred together in a number of other films, including Mary Magdalene and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.
It’s believed the pair have been together since 2016, going on to announce their engagement in 2019.