Katey Sagal's Children: All About Sarah, Jackson and Esmé

Katey Sagal's elder kids are following in her acting footsteps

Katey Sagal and daughters Sarah Grace White and Esme Louise Sutter.
Katey Sagal and her daughters Sarah Grace White and Esmé Louise Sutter. Photo:

Katey Sagal instagram

Married... with Children's Katey Sagal isn't only a mom on-screen — the actress has kids of her own: Sarah, Jackson and Esmé.

Sagal has called being a mother “the most self-sacrificing thing” that she has ever done. Speaking to CNN in 2009, the Smart House star said, “I’ve never loved anybody the way I love my children. It’s an experience I was surprised by.”

She continued, “You have your boyfriend, your husband, your friends, but it’s a different thing. It’s deeper, and it’s a fantastic — and risky — commitment to love that deeply.”

In October 1991, the 8 Simple Rules star experienced a stillbirth with her daughter Ruby at almost eight months. During an appearance on The View in 2017, Sagal opened up about the loss, calling it "difficult" and revealing that she began to heal when her friend comforted her with the message, "'Sometimes we have these little souls that come in and out [of our lives,] and their mission is completed.' "

Sagal went on to welcome her elder kids, Sarah Grace White and Jackson White, in 1994 and 1996, with her ex-husband, drummer Jack White. Sagal had her youngest, Esmé Louise Sutter, with her current husband, Kurt Sutter, in 2007.

Sagal is admittedly a “very different mother” to each of her children. “Not in all ways,” she explained in her 2017 memoir Grace Notes: My Recollections. “But my mothering is not a one-size-fits-all type of mothering. And they are not one-size-fits-all kids.”

Sarah Grace White, Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagal and Jackson James White attend the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House's 27th annual awards luncheon on October 29, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.
Katey Sagal with her husband Kurt Sutter and her kids Sarah Grace White and Jackson James White at the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House's 27th annual awards luncheon on October 29, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.

Tara Ziemba/Getty

As adults, they have followed in their mom's footsteps. Sarah landed roles in NCIS and Grey's Anatomy while Jackson costarred with his mom in the 2022 series Tell Me Lies.

“It’s a huge relief when your kids say, ‘I want to do what you do,’ and there’s natural talent there," Sagal told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014.

Here is everything to know about Katey Sagal's children: Sarah, Jackson and Esmé.

Sarah Grace White, 29

Katey Sagal and Sarah Grace White.
Katey Sagal and her daughter Sarah Grace White.

Katey Sagal instagram

Sagal and Jack welcomed Sarah on Aug. 7, 1994.

The Sons of Anarchy actress commemorated her eldest's birthday in 2014 with a tribute to her “beautiful” child on Instagram. “20 today! Time flys when your heart is full. Love my sarah,” she captioned a picture of her daughter.

Sarah graduated from Ohio’s Kenyon College in 2016, where she was a drama major, according to The Kenyon Collegian.

The year prior, she showed off her acting skills on FX’s The Bastard Executioner, playing the role of Isabel Kiffin. The show was created by Sarah’s stepfather, Kurt, and starred her mother.

Sarah’s acting credits also include Rebel and an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, among others.

Apart from acting, the Kenyon College alum sings, too. Sarah released her first single titled “Touching” in the fall of 2022 and embarked on a tour around the United States the following summer.

During an interview for The Hollywood Reporter’s 2014 Women in Entertainment issue, Sarah revealed that she writes and sings “because I saw how my mom put so much of herself into her music and acting.”

Jackson James White, 28

Jackson White and Katey Sagal attend the premiere of HBO's "Mrs. Fletcher" on October 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Katey Sagal and her son Jackson White attend the premiere of HBO's "Mrs. Fletcher" on October 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Sagal and her ex-husband Jack welcomed Jackson on March 1, 1996.

Like his older sister, Jackson followed in his mother’s acting footsteps, despite Sagal advising him to “do something else.” He told PEOPLE in 2022, "I wasn't allowed to act until I was 18. I had to grow up first."

While she originally encouraged him to pursue another profession, Sagal celebrated when her son joined the cast of HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher, starring Kathryn Hahn in 2018. “Proud of him. The boy. Kick in’ a--,” Sagal wrote on Instagram at the time.

In 2022, Jackson admitted to Esquire that music is what he “was always going to do,” but then “somehow it just naturally” shifted to acting.

He recalled being unable to focus and getting distracted while in his music program at the University of Southern California. After auditioning for musicals, though, Jackson decided to "switch over" and dropped out of school but life didn't slow down. He started two years of “really intense” acting training before launching his career.

 Jackson White and Katey Sagal during day 1 of 2014 Stagecoach: California's Country Music Festival on April 25, 2014 in Indio, California.
Katey Sagal and her son Jackson White during day 1 of 2014 Stagecoach: California's Country Music Festival on April 25, 2014 in Indio, California.

Frazer Harrison/Getty

In addition to Mrs. Fletcher, Jackson has appeared in The Space Between with Kelsey Grammer, as well as Michael Bay's Ambulance and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.

Sagal starred opposite her son in Tell Me Lies, playing his on-screen mother. In 2022, Jackson described the experience to The Seattle Times as “insane,” but noted it was “perfect casting.”

He said, “I’m friends with my mother, and we had to be extremely passive aggressive and tense, but it was so fun and exciting to build that relationship and talk to each other how we’ve never really talked to each other.”

Sagal loved working with her son and complimented him when talking to The Seattle Times.

“It was a challenge to leave our very close relationship at the door, and take on the extremely toxic dynamic between Stephen and his mom," she said of their characters in the series. "Jackson shows up fully on set, ready to play, present and collaborative. It was beautiful.”

Esmé Louise Sutter, 17

Katey Sagal and Esme Louise Sutter.
Katey Sagal and her daughter Esmé Louise Sutter.

Kurt Sutter Instagram

Sagal became a mom again at age 52 when she welcomed Esmé with her husband, Kurt.

The actress' youngest child was born via surrogate on Jan. 10, 2007. In her memoir Grace Notes, Sagal shared that she “could no longer carry a child, given previous complications.”

Sagal revealed to PEOPLE that she and Kurt “went through the whole in vitro fertilization process.” While their “embryos were not really strong,” they thought, “Let's give it a shot and if it's meant to be, it's meant to be.”

As she's gotten older, Esmé's father has called her a “sassy little firecracker” on Instagram and added that she is his “greatest teacher" and "greatest love" in another post.

In 2021, the proud dad also posted on the social media platform to praise his “amazing” daughter for volunteering with the nonprofit Hollywood Food Coalition.

Sagal opened up in her memoir about her daughter’s diagnoses of ADHD and “a bit of dyslexia.” The family has since worked to adjust their routines to best fit Esmé's needs.