Meet the Kids of the “Virgin River” Cast (Including One Who Acted with Her Dad!)

Emy LaCroixFri, March 13, 2026 at 2:30 PM UTC

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Alexandra Breckenridge and her son Jack. ; Benjamin Hollingsworth with his wife Nila and their kidsCredit: Alexandra Breckenridge/Instagram; Benjamin Hollingsworth/Instagram

As season 7 of Virgin River centers on the possibility of Mel and Jack expanding their family, several of the show’s stars are already parents.

“Being a dad is my greatest role yet — I can’t imagine life without them,” shared Doc Mullins actor Tim Matheson of his three children in an August 2024 Facebook post. The Animal House alum has been in front of the camera for decades, including throughout his kids’ childhoods, but he always prioritized family time. “Balancing career and kids wasn’t easy, but damn, was it worth it,” he added.

Benjamin Hollingsworth, who plays Marine Dan Brady on the show, couldn’t agree more. While he loves acting in Virgin River, nothing compares to how he feels about his kids.

“I can’t think of anything or anyone I could love more than my family,” he told Parents Canada in September 2021. “Regardless of the relentless chaotic catastrophe I’m constantly surrounded by, I can’t help but find myself squeezing them, smelling their hair and kissing them. ... The bond of the core crew is essential to a happy life.”

While Martin Henderson, who plays Jack, doesn’t have kids of his own, he might just get a taste of fatherhood during season 7 of the hit Netflix show, which premiered March 12. He had his costar, mom of two Alexandra Breckenridge, to lean on during filming of the latest storyline.

Here’s everything to know about the kids of the Virgin River cast.

01 of 05

Alexandra Breckenridge’s 2 Kids

Alexandra Breckenridge with his son Jack and daughter Billie in October 2019Credit: Alexandra Breckenridge/Instagram

On Virgin River, Breckenridge plays Mel, a nurse practitioner who moves to the town for a fresh start — and ends up unexpectedly on the path to parenthood through adoption right after her wedding in season 6.

In real life, Breckenridge is already a mom of two. She married her husband, Casey Hooper, in September 2015, and welcomed her first child, son Jack, one year later in September 2016. They completed their family in December 2017, when they welcomed daughter Billie.

Though Breckenridge works mostly in Los Angeles, she and Hooper are raising their family in Georgia. “The rural areas of Georgia have an amazing sense of community we were lacking in L.A," she told Atlanta magazine in January 2019. “We wanted our children to grow up in a place where they could play and ride their bikes that didn’t feel like a big city."

02 of 05

Tim Matheson’s 3 Kids

Tim Matheson with Megan Murphy and their kids on January 11, 1997 in Westwood, CaliforniaCredit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Matheson plays the gruff but caring Doc Mullins on Virgin River, and in real life, he’s the father of three adult kids.

Matheson welcomed his children — Molly, Emma, and Cooper — with his ex-wife Megan Murphy. Though he was often away acting, he said they prioritized “family dinners” and spending as much time together as possible.

“I would always try and be home on the weekends,” he told Life of Dad in January 2015. “I would fly back from Vancouver or Toronto or wherever I was shooting. To be with the family and have those [kinds] of meetings was trying because I was away a lot.”

These days, his kids all have successful careers outside of the limelight; Molly manages an investment fund, Emma works in marketing and Cooper is an engineer, according to an October 2016 interview.

03 of 05

Annette O’Toole’s 2 Daughters

Annette O'Toole with her daughter AnnaCredit: Annette O'Toole/Instagram

O’Toole plays Hope McCrea, the mayor of Virgin River. Just like her long marriage to Doc on the show, she’s been married to her real-life love, Michael McKean, since 1999. However, she first welcomed her daughters, Anna and Nell, with her ex-husband Bill Geisslinger.

According to Nell’s website, the girls spent their younger years in Oregon and moved to Los Angeles as teens, when their mom married McKean.

As an actress and musician herself, Nell credits McKean for some of her musical influences. “Her stepfather introduced her to The Kinks, Traffic and Steeleye Span, imparting a love of 1960s pop, rock and folk that continues today,” the site reads.

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These days, Nell is married to an archaeologist named Kevin O'Briant and lives in Montana, where together they started their own production company.

For her part, Anna describes herself as “a Los Angeles-based art director and prop stylist.”

One of them is even responsible for keeping O’Toole’s role on Virgin River afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was really scary, and I just couldn't commit to being away from my family, my mom, my husband and children for that long without knowing if I could return or if I'd be separated from them,” O'Toole told Smashing Interviews Magazine in March 2023. “We couldn't even have a film crew come to the house. It was that strict at the time.”

Luckily, she had producers in the family. “My daughter came over with her iPhone and shot four or five scenes for the show,” the actress explained.

04 of 05

Colin Lawrence’s 2 Daughters

Colin Lawrence with his daughtersCredit: Colin Lawrence/Instagram

Preacher, Jack’s best friend and the chef at Jack’s Bar, is played by Colin Lawrence, and his on-screen season 4 lover Julia was played by his real-life wife, Lucia Walters.

Though the romance ended on-screen, the couple is still going strong behind the scenes. They got married in 1999, and have two kids.

Lawrence’s younger daughter, Bianca, tried her hand at acting when she was little, and even got to star in a Lifetime Christmas movie, Dancing Through The Snow, with her father.

“A proud dad moment getting to work opposite my daughter in a Christmas movie,” he wrote in September 2021 alongside a photo of them from the film.

Though Lawrence mostly keeps his girls’ lives private, he sometimes shares glimpses of them on Instagram. In June 2025, he showed them looking all grown up, writing, “Time changes everything, but I’ll always be their dad ❤ ️.”

05 of 05

Benjamin Hollingsworth’s 3 Kids

Benjamin Hollingsworth with his familyCredit: Benjamin Hollingsworth/Instagram

Hollingsworth has played troubled Marine Dan Brady on Virgin River since the beginning, but his real life is much more positive and all about his family.

The actor married his wife, Nila Myers, in November 2012 after a two-month engagement. The duo went on to welcome three children: son Hemingway in July 2016, son Gatsby in March 2018 and daughter Juniper in April 2020.

“I always looked at other families with three plus kids and thought 'man those people are crazy, who does that?' ’” he admitted on Instagram in October 2020 shortly after welcoming his youngest.

The actor continued, “But that’s the thing; it’s the idea that always seems unattainable. The capacity to expand our hearts lies within us all. I’m constantly in awe of how quickly our hearts transform and make room.”

Now, when he’s not working, Hollingsworth loves spending time with his fivesome. In November 2025, they took a tropical trip to Hawaii, where he taught his kids to surf and golf, jumped off a boat with them and spent plenty of quality time on the beach together.

“The kids ran free. Time slowed down. The only stress? Deciding between pool, beach or another plate of poke,” he joked.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”