Chris Pratt Honors His and Anna Faris' "Wonderful Son" Jack in 12th Birthday Tribute

Chris Pratt shared a heartfelt tribute to his eldest son Jack on the child's 12th birthday.

The Guardians of the Galaxy actor, who shares the pre-teen with ex-wife Anna Faris, posted new pics with the boy on social media in honor of his special day.

"Happy Birthday to my wonderful son Jack," Chris wrote on Instagram Aug. 17. "I thank God every day for you sweet boy. You are so smart, hilarious, kind, thoughtful, trustworthy and tough. I love you so much kiddo. Twelve!? I honestly can’t believe it."

The 45-year-old included pics of Jack feeding and tending to animals at his farm on the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Chris appears with his son in one of the photos.

The Jurassic World star shared his tribute to Jack as he and pregnant wife Katherine Schwarzenegger prepare to welcome their third baby together. The two share daughters Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt, 4, and Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt, 2. 

Chris, who rarely posts pics of his children on social media, spoke about the differences he's found between raising a son and daughters in May.

"I hate to make generalizations based on gender but, in my experience, girls are more emotional," he exclusively told E! News. "They've got me wrapped around their finger. It's wild."

He also said his daughter "don't like to rough house as much."

"I'll hit them with a pillow and they'll go, 'Daddy, that hurt my feelings,'" he said of their playdates together. "They like to hear stories more than they like to wrestle."

Chris also later spoke about his parenting style, reflecting on how the way he's raising his kids differs from his own childhood.

"I did exactly what my parents said all the time. I never knew I could say 'no' to my parents. And now I'm a guy who's not super—didn't have a super healthy grip on his own emotions" he told E! News at the May 19 premiere of The Garfield Movie. "So we're trying to raise them in a way that they feel comfortable expressing themselves."

He continued, "They still know the meaning of the word 'no' from their mom. When it comes from me, they don't seem to know what that means. And I don't really know what to do about it, but we'll get there."

Read on to find out more about Chris' family...

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris tied the knot in 2009. But after eight years of marriage, the Guardians of the Galaxy actor and the Mom star announced their breakup—with the pair finalizing their divorce the following year.

While the split may have come as a shock to fans, Anna hinted her life with Chris wasn’t as picture perfect as it may have seemed. In fact, The House Bunny alum—who was married to fellow actor Ben Indra from 2004 to 2008—stated she “never talked about any issues”—even with her nearest and dearest.

“I'm sure things were more transparent with my relationship with Ben,” she said on a 2021 episode of her podcast Unqualified, “but with Chris, I think that we both protected that imagery even within our close circles."

And Anna—who is now married to cinematographer Michael Barrett—suggested being in the same industry as her exes didn’t help. 

“My two other marriages were with actors, and I don’t think we did a great job of eliminating competitiveness—or at least I didn’t,” she shared on another episode of her podcast later that year. “Being a proud person and not wanting to reveal vulnerability, any hints of competitiveness and comparison, I didn’t handle that very well, I don’t think, and I hope I’ve grown from that.”

During their time together, Anna and Chris welcomed son Jack. The child was born about two months early in August 2012 and spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit.

"The day came when I got to take Jack home,” the actress recalled at a 2021 event for the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth, “and the first years were filled with doctor's appointments, five surgeries, physical therapy, a lot of laughter—because Jack was and is the most adorable cutest thing I could ever have imagined.”

Years later, Jack has grown from an adorable baby to a sweet young man.

“I’m really loving this age,” Anna said about Jack being a preteen during a July 2024 episode of Today. “Although, he told me he thinks he has an armpit hair. It’s happening.”

In 2019, Chris married Katherine Schwarzenegger. “So beyond blessed to laugh with you, love you, go on adventures with you, kiss you and live this magical life with you,” The Gift of Forgiveness author wrote on Instagram for her husband’s birthday that year. “You make life joy filled! I love you so much!”

And Anna has spoken highly of Katherine’s bond with Jack. "She's just on top of it,” Anna told People in 2022. “I love how she is with Jack."

 A little more than a year after the couple tied the knot, they welcomed daughter Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt in August 2020, her midle name a nod to Katherine’s mother Maria Shriver.

And while Chris keeps much of his family life private, he did share that Jack was already acing his duties as the older sibling.

"He's really great with her,” the Jurassic World star told Entertainment Tonight in 2021. “She always wants to pull his glasses off his face, and he’s very patient with her. He’s a great big brother.”

So Chris was upset when he received backlash that year after he praised Katherine on Instagram for giving him a “gorgeous healthy daughter,” with some social media users finding the post insensitive to Anna and Jack given his premature birth.

“A bunch of articles came out and said, ‘That’s so cringeworthy. I can’t believe Chris Pratt would thank her for a healthy daughter when his first child was born premature. That’s such a dig at his ex-wife,’" the Parks and Recreation alum told Men’s Health in 2022. “And I’m like, That is f--ked up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s 9. And it’s etched in digital stone. It really f--king bothered me, dude. I cried about it. I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are—to the people close to me—a real burden.”

Fast-forward to March 2022, when Chris and Katherine grew their family with the addition of daughter Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt.

“I’m now a father of three,” the Zero Dark Thirty actor told E! in June 2022. “I’m girl dad 2.0. My oldest daughter is adjusting very well to being a big sister. At first, she was kinda like, ‘So, what’s the deal with that thing? What up with that? Look at me.’ And now, she’s very much embraced the idea. She constantly wants to hold her sister, and she’s just very, very sweet. That’s the stuff that’s important. It’s the stuff that life is made of, and I feel incredibly blessed and filled with joy.”

As for what the future holds for the family, multiple outlets reported in June 2024 that Chris and Katherine are expecting their third baby together, his fourth child in total. The pair have yet to publicly comment on the news.

When it comes to assembling a parenting team, Chris knows he couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law than Maria Shriver. "Oh my gosh. I mean, she’s like a living saint," he said of the legendary journalist on Today in May 2024. "I feel that. And she’s funny and accessible and brilliant. She’s so involved in the lives of her children."

Along with ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former First Lady of California raised Katherine and her siblings Christina Scwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Christopher Schwarzenegger, "And that’s not always an easy thing to do," Chris continued. "You see people in Hollywood or people who’ve got like, a lot of privilege, and they end up kind of raising rotten kids. So I just want to kind of ask her everything. ‘What’d you do? How did you not spoil them? How did you not ruin them?'"

The apparent secret, he added, "I think she holds them accountable. You know, when Maria walks in the room, you stand up. She’s big on manners and she’s big on accountability."

Having built a career in Hollywood and spent eight years as California's governor, his gig as grandpa is light work for the former bodybuilder. 

"It's the easiest thing to be a grandfather," the Austria native, also dad to Joseph Baena with the family's former housekeeper Mildred Baena, told Jimmy Kimmel in 2022. "They come over to the house, you play with Lyla for around an hour or two, put her on the horse, put her with the dog. And after two hours, they leave."

Which is why he's always thrilled when they come back: "It's fantastic! I have a great time when they come over to the house." 

Having parents in the business is great and all, but Patrick credits his brother-in-law with helping him nab one plum part.

"I remember when Chris said, 'Hey you know there's this young role, Donny Mitchell, you'll be the youngest in the platoon," the actor said of booking a gig in the Amazon Prime Video series The Terminal List. "'But if you want to get this role, I need you to go and try to get into character and really get this. I need you to gain 20 pounds and start tactical training, and know how they move, the body language, all this stuff.'" 

Having the chance to train with real-life Navy SEALs, he added, was "a dream come true." 

And more pinch-me moments lie ahead for the star, set to play real life football player Tim Tebow in FX's American Sports Story. After seven years of dating, he proposed to model Abby Champion in December 2023. "I think the best part about having her by my side is that she's always rooting for me," the Gen V actor told E! News in 2019, "and wanting the best for me and bringing out the best in me."