With a career spanning more than 30 years in entertainment, there’s no doubt Cameron Daddo has cemented his status as one of Australia’s golden boys.
From humble beginnings as the host of the 1980s dating show Perfect Match, Cameron went on to have a successful acting career in both Australia and the US.
His name is often linked to that of his brothers, Andrew and Lochie, who work in the same business, as well as that of his wife of nearly 32 years, Alison Brahe.
But while he’s been lucky enough to work on the likes of Models Inc., NCIS, The Mentalist and The West Wing, it seems Cameron’s favourite role is that of a father to his three kids – Lotus, Bodhi, and River.
After tying the knot with Alison in 1991, after three months together, the pair took off to try their luck at launching careers overseas.
Alison, who was a successful model at the time, seems to look back with a bit of a raised brow, especially considering if her own children would marry someone so quickly after meeting.
“Yeah, there would be a lot more talking about that now,” she told WHO.
“I wouldn’t try and talk them out of it, but maybe ask what is the rush? But we know when you’re in the first flush of love, common sense goes out the window.”
However, Alison and Cameron have worked hard to raise three very grounded kids.
Lotus, who is 25, was born a few years into their journey in America, with River following four years later. They had their youngest, Bodhi, in the mid-2000s.
While their kids are technically ‘American’, the family felt it was time for them to return home in 2017.
“Over the years, we’ve had our moments [of wanting to come home],” Cameron explains. “We missed a lot of big events here, such as the Sydney 2000 Olympics – we watched that in Los Angeles. But we experienced 9/11 [the terrorist attack on The World Trade Centre in 2001] and earthquakes, floods, fires etc over there.”
They also wanted to be closer to family, giving their kids the opportunity to know their uncles, aunties, grandparents, and cousins as best as possible.
“What we didn’t have were our parents and my siblings and their families. We wanted our kids to know them – and particularly our parents in their later years. So it just felt like the right time to come home.”
“We are very proud of our kids and how they have managed the difficult transition of adjusting to a new country without their friends or usual comforts,” Cameron said of the move.
“We use our technology to stay in touch with our friends and we just feel really blessed we had 25 amazing years over there. But Australia is home.”
Nowadays, the family live on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and seem to carry out a mostly normal life.
“We have a tradition at dinnertime where all media in the house is turned off and we hang out,” Cameron told TV WEEK.
“Lotus was born before [mobile]phones in 1996, and River was born in 2000. So, Bodhi is the only one to consider having a phone,” he says.
And personally, Cameron is very aware of the need to be present with his family.
“I feel like there’s time for everything – you just have to ask for it and you make the time for it,” he told WHO.
“As far as work goes for me, if something clashes with a family thing like a birthday or a graduation, I’ve always been upfront with producers about what dates I need out so I can be present.
“Sometimes I’ve got to be away on location and it’s hard for everyone, but we just try and do our best to be present when we can’t be [physically] present – so if you’re on the phone, you’re available to them, even if you can’t be there physically.”
WATCH BELOW: Cameron Daddo does a TikTok with his daughter
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