Virgin River star Annette O’Toole has the sweetest bond with her children. A proud mom of two, the actress has revealed that she often took her daughters, Nell and Anna, to set with her when they were young, and today, both of them are involved in the film industry! Here’s what Annette has said about her sweet family life with the girls…
Annette shares her two daughters with her ex-husband and fellow actor, Bill Geisslinger. According to her official website, Anna is an art director and prop stylist based in Los Angeles. America Adrift (2016), Lost Child (2017) and Broken Promise (2016), are among her film credits on IMDB.
As for Nell, she’s followed in her mom Annette’s footsteps with an acting career. In 2009, Nell appeared in The Experimental Witch, as well as Chloe and Keith’s Wedding, and more recently, she starred in the short film, The Ride Home (2019).
Nell’s Amazon bio states that “She occasionally does musical and variety type shows with her mother and stepfather [Michael McKean], in which she accompanies them on piano, guitar and provides backup vocals.”
Annette is very close to both of her daughters, and she often posts about them on social media. Back in December 2020, the Virgin River star revealed her thoughtful birthday present to her daughter, Anna.
Taking to Twitter, now known as X, Annette tweeted a photo of Anna wearing a knitted scarf. The caption read: “Anna is a New Year’s Eve baby and has always loved eyeballs. We don’t know why. This is her birthday present from me. Pattern by the great Stephen West.”
The following year, Annette delighted fans with another rare photo of both Anna and Nell on the platform. The actress had shared the sweet snap to mark National Daughter’s Day.
While Annette rarely talks about her daughters in interviews, she did reveal that one of them saved the day by filming her scenes for season three of Virgin River. As fans of the show will remember, Annette’s character, Hope McCrea was notably absent from most of the third season, which was down to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to Smashing Interviews Magazine in March 2023, Annette recalled: “Covid was so scary. It still is. But then 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.
“We couldn’t even have a film crew come to the house. It was that strict at the time. So my daughter came over with her iPhone and shot four or five scenes for the show. Sue [Virgin River’s original showrunner] didn’t know what my feeling was going to be on returning, but I was desperate to get to work. If there had been a vaccine, if there had been a way I could’ve gotten home without it being a big deal, I would’ve done season three.”
