In a story seemingly lifted from a festive film, veteran actor Kelsey Grammer has ended a 12-year estrangement from his daughter, Greer, following a chance encounter at a Christmas tree lot. The 70-year-old father of eight had been separated from his daughter for over a decade before fate intervened in the most unexpected of places.
A Fortuitous Christmas Tree Run-In
The heartwarming reunion unfolded when the Frasier star visited a Christmas tree lot and bumped into a young woman working there. Recognising her, he approached and asked, "Are you Greer?" After she confirmed her identity, he began to introduce himself, to which Greer responded, "I know who you are. Duh."
Greer, whose mother is stylist Barrie Buckner, recounted the entire experience on the Pretty Basic Podcast. She revealed that her parents split when she was just four years old, and she had not seen her famous father again until she was 16, when this chance meeting occurred.
Rebuilding a Fractured Relationship
Following their initial conversation at the tree lot, Kelsey Grammer gave his daughter his phone number. Greer explained that, on her mother's advice, she waited a few days before calling him. "My mom was like: 'Give them some time,'" Greer shared. "I was ready to call him that day, like: 'Let's do this thing. I got a dad now, woohoo!'"
The pair eventually met for lunch a week later, an event that Greer credits as the beginning of their renewed father-daughter relationship. She also candidly admitted that this was not the first time she had seen her father in recent years. She had previously spotted him in a Blockbuster store but was too scared to approach him and "ran away".
Early Memories and Moving Forward
During the podcast, Greer recalled some of her few early memories with her father. These included visiting the set of Frasier at around age three and being confused about why scenes were being re-filmed. She also remembered him attending her preschool play of The Wizard of Oz, a memory Kelsey also retains, as they have discussed it since reconnecting.
Greer also spoke of the emotional challenge of seeing her father on television shows like Entertainment Tonight, particularly a segment about him buying a house in the Hamptons. She recalled her mother checking on her, to which she responded, "It's not about the life I could be living, but it was like, oh, that wasn't my life."
Kelsey Grammer, a father to eight children from multiple relationships, first rose to fame in 1984 when he joined the cast of Cheers as Dr. Frasier Crane. He later starred in the wildly successful spin-off series, Frasier, from 1993 to 2004. This unexpected reunion marks a poignant new chapter in the actor's extensive and often public family history.
