Susan Sarandon's 8 Siblings: Everything to Know

As the oldest of nine children, Susan Sarandon often served as a second mother to her younger siblings.

The Thelma & Louise star was born on Oct. 4, 1946, in Jackson Heights, New York, to Lenora Tomalin (née Criscione) and Army Lt. Phillip Leslie Tomalin. Susan was later joined by brothers Phillip Jr., Tim, Terry and O’Brian, plus sisters Meredith “Merry,” Bonnie, Amanda and Melissa “Missy."

The family later planted roots in Edison, New Jersey, where Susan and her siblings attended an all-boys and all-girls Catholic school, respectively. In an interview with CT Insider, Susan explained that the 20-year age gap between her siblings led her brothers and sisters to see her more as a maternal figure.

“[I] was the hip the kids was on,” she quipped.

Susan reiterated her weight of responsibility to TimeOut, adding that “being at the top” kept her in check and on track.

“I had a lot of responsibility, which was a good thing, as I tended to be spacey and always daydreaming,” the actress told the outlet. "Lately, most of my brothers and sisters have told me that they looked to me as a mother figure."

Her parents “were pretty overwhelmed” with their big family too, having come from small families themselves. “Neither of them had families, so they ended up finding each other and creating this huge tribe with very little knowledge or example to follow of how to deal with kids,” Susan said.

In 2010, Susan and her family were one of the subjects of Ancestry’s Who Do You Think You Are? series. The episode followed the famous actress as she scoured dozens of records and explored the Italian countryside in hopes of learning more about her grandmother’s life and journey to America.

That wasn’t the first time Susan teamed up with a team of DNA experts to explore her ancestry. She and 10 of her relatives also traveled to Wales to learn more about their father’s genealogy in a BBC documentary titled Coming Home.

Here's everything to know about Susan Sarandon and her siblings.

Their father relocated the family to New Jersey for a better life

Lenora and Phillip Sr. started their family while living in Jackson Heights in Queens, New York, but as their brood continued to grow, Phillip Sr. made the decision to move his family across the Hudson to New Jersey.

“My father wanted to get us out of the city, couldn’t afford [it] and we bought this little house in New Jersey,” Susan said in an interview on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2022.

Susan and her siblings grew up in a township called Edison, located in Middlesex County. They were a family of swimmers, competing at their local private club Woodside Swim Club. “She was one of the best swimmers around,” Phillip Sr. said of Susan’s aquatic talent to The Central New Jersey Homes News.

The siblings attended Edison High School, where Susan was later inducted into the hall of fame as an alum. In 2010, Susan also had the honor of being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in arts and entertainment.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show star jokingly added that she’s just waiting for her hometown to establish a rest stop in her honor.

Susan and her siblings were raised Catholic

Having attended and taught at a Catholic boarding school, religion was a cornerstone of Lenora’s life and how she raised her nine children. She was a devout Catholic and volunteered for several charities, but not all her children felt the same way.

Susan went to a Catholic grammar school, where she was taught by nuns. On an episode of Oprah’s Master Class, she admitted that certain aspects of the religion “didn’t make sense” and “there was a problem" when she would ask questions.

One instance she recalled was when she was in the third grade and asked why a marriage must take place in the Catholic Church. “I had to go stand in the hallway,” she said of her punishment. “That’s when the trouble began.”

She continued, “I think that all religions at their core have some really magnificent teachings, and most of them are very similar. It's the institutionalization of these religious principles that don't serve me well."