Kelsey Grammer Shines in New ‘Christmas Ring’ Poster as He Reflects on His Own Fatherhood Journey (Exclusive)
Published by Us Weekly on Sep 25, 2025 10:45 AM
Kelsey Grammer Shines in New ‘Christmas Ring’ Poster as He Reflects on His Own Fatherhood Journey (Exclusive)
By Mariel Turner
September 25, 2025
Us Weekly
Kelsey Grammer.Mathew Tsang/Getty Images
Kelsey Grammer is ready to ring in the holiday season with a new Christmas movie.
The actor, 70, looks every inch the doting dad in a poster for the upcoming film Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring, shared exclusively with Us Weekly. The film is based on Kingsbury’s novel of the same name and hits theaters from Fathom Entertainment on November 6.
Grammer told Us that taking on the role of Howard Miller, father of Benjamin Hollingsworth’s Ben Miller, was an easy decision for him. The owner of an antique shop, Howard is a widower who makes a discovery that could change his life.
“One of the chief criteria for me is, ‘Have I played that part before?’” Grammer explained about accepting the role. “I’ve never played [a character like Howard]. A guy who owns an antique store, has raised a son on his own, and lost his wife years before. It’s a sweet tale of a widower who is carrying a secret wish to go do something and still carry her with him. It turns out to be a nice, sweet resolution of a father-son relationship where a dad says, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Karen Kingsbury Productions
In The Christmas Ring, Ben helps military widow, Vanessa, played by Jana Kramer, search for her lost family heirloom. The couple ultimately fall in love, but not without some intervention from Howard.
While Howard and Grammer share some similarities, the Frasier alum noted that their fatherhood journeys have been very different.
Grammer is the father of seven children. He shares daughter Spencer, 41, with ex-wife Doreen Alderman, daughter Greer, 33, with ex-girlfriend Barrie Buckner, and daughter Mason, 23, and son Jude, 20, with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Camille Meyer. He also shares daughter Faith, 12, and sons Gabriel, 10, and James, 8, with his wife of 14 years, Kayte Walsh, who is currently expecting his eighth child.
Grammer told Us that his role as a father has varied throughout the years, but is an experience he cherishes.
“Kelsey Grammer, the father, had mixed reviews throughout his career,” the actor said. “My kids come and go — my older ones, mostly. We’ve been very close and then we’ll seem miles apart other times, and then we’re close again. That’s sort of the natural traffic of having children — at least in my life. Do I wish sometimes we’d all just stayed together and been forever happily a close family and spend all our days together? Yeah, I wish that sometimes, but you’re supposed to push the kids out of the nest and fortify them for their journey ahead. I’ve tried to do that and I think I’ve done so with some reasonable success.”
Grammer is still in the throes of day-to-day parenting with his youngest children, who are fans of his films. The actor shared that all his chapters of fatherhood have been a lesson in love.
“I have a little brood at home now that we’re still working on,” Grammer said. “I’m pretty excited about all my manifestations of ‘the dad.’ They’ve been different over the last four decades. They’ve been varied. It’s just a part of loving. So, this story [The Christmas Ring] does not necessarily reflect any story I’ve lived in my own life.”
While The Christmas Ring may not reflect Grammer’s own life, it does showcase the spirit of Christmas — Grammer’s favorite season. The actor, who said he is “a believer,” shared that his family Christmas traditions “involve Christ” and usually include telling “the story [of Jesus] for our kids” and giving them “a little bit of a lesson in the Bible.”
Grammer and his family also put up “a great tree” every year.
“We always try to get the biggest tree we can find. Everybody decorates it together and that’s the biggest thing,” Grammer shared, adding that he hopes The Christmas Ring will “reacquaint people with the simple beauty of love and interaction with people you care about.”
“There’s nothing better than surrendering to the idea that the best choice is the most loving choice,” he added.
Tickets for Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring will be available for purchase beginning October 1. Kingsbury’s novel on which the movie is based will hit bookstores on October 21.