Eddie Murphy, Father of 10, Laughs Off Comparisons to Nick Cannon: ‘I Didn’t Give Him Any Parenting Advice’ (Exclusive)
- - Eddie Murphy, Father of 10, Laughs Off Comparisons to Nick Cannon: ‘I Didn’t Give Him Any Parenting Advice’ (Exclusive)
Janine RubensteinNovember 16, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Eddie Murphy is the proud father of 10 children
He says people should have as many children as they can afford
Murphy points out one big difference between himself and father-of-12 Nick Cannon
Eddie Murphy couldn't be prouder of his large brood.
Murphy and his first wife, Nicole, with whom he shares five adult children, divorced after 13 years in 2006. He’s welcomed three children from other relationships and two more with wife Paige Butcher.
“It just happened,” the star, 64, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue of how he wound up with 10 kids, ranging in age from 6 to 36. “I never knew I would have 10 kids, but now it’s the best thing ever. If you can afford that many kids, you should have as many kids as you can afford. That is fun.”
That said, he swears he never passed that sage advice along to father of 12 Nick Cannon.
Rich Polk/FilmMagic
Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey with their twins Monroe and Moroccan.
"I've never talked to Nick. Did I ever meet Nick Cannon?" Murphy wonders aloud. What he knows for sure: "I didn't give him any parenting advice."
Murphy laughs, adding, "People always say, 'Nick Canon, he got, like, 12 kids,' " he says of the comparisons people make between the two men. But there's one key difference, says the star. "I didn't have that many when I was that young. God bless him."
Bre Tiesi/Instagram
Nick Cannon, Bre Tiesi and their son Legendary.
Cannon certainly feels blessed. "Every day I just wake up excited as a father," he told PEOPLE in May 2022. "I'm so excited about all my kids. Constantly, from every aspect of it. From them getting citizen of the month awards in the first grade to the birth of the new ones."
As for Murphy, he's now gearing up to be a grandfather again. At the Nov. 12 Los Angeles premiere for his Being Eddie Netflix documentary, daughter Bria, 35, showed off her growing baby bump in photos with her dad.
Eddie Murphy/Courtesy of Netflix
Murphy and wife Paige posed with their mothers and his 10 kids in 2018. Top, from left: Myles, Bria, Christian and Shayne. Middle, from left: Bella, Izzy, Eddie, Max, Paige, Paige’s mom, Helen Butcher, and Zola. Front, from left: Eric, Eddie’s mom, Lillian Lynch, and Angel.
"My children are all decent people. I don’t have one rotten one, and I would like to think that they got some of that from me,” he says.
Earlier this year, the proud dad watched his son Eric, 36, marry fellow comedian Martin Lawrence’s daughter Jasmin, 29.
Asked what makes him happiest now, Murphy says, “Just being Eddie. I love having my family around, and I love that I’ve been in this amazing business for so long. Coming from super humble beginnings and having this longevity, just to be around and see all the different changes and all that stuff. There’s just so much to be happy about.”
Being Eddie is now streaming on Netflix.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
