Ali Larter built a Hollywood career playing fearless heroines, yet her toughest role unfolds off-camera: raising two kids with wildly different personalities while juggling a television shoot in another state.
At a Glance
- Ali Larter and husband Hayes MacArthur moved their children from Los Angeles to Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2020
- Son Theodore, 15, resisted the relocation but now embraces small-town life; daughter Vivienne, 11, thrives as an observant, gentle counterpoint to her energetic brother
- While filming Paramount+ drama Landman, Larter splits time between Idaho and Texas, drawing sharp distinctions between her own gentle parenting style and that of her on-screen character
- Why it matters: The actress candidly details how location, career demands, and each child’s temperament shape modern motherhood
From Scream Queen to Soccer-Mom Taxi
Ali Larter met Hayes MacArthur on the set of National Lampoon’s Stoned Age in the early 2000s and told him within three weeks that she “wanted to marry him and that we could do it tomorrow,” she later admitted to Cosmopolitan. They wed in 2009 and welcomed son Theodore “Teddy” Hayes MacArthur on Dec. 20, 2010, followed by daughter Vivienne Margaret MacArthur on Jan. 15, 2015.
The family’s life revolved around Los Angeles until 2020, when the couple relocated to Sun Valley, Idaho, seeking what Larter calls “a different type of accountability.” Theodore, then 9, balked at leaving friends and sunshine behind. “Our life is so different there and it’s a small town,” she explained on Live With Kelly and Mark in January 2025. “It’s something that me and Hayes really wanted to do for our children, so we moved.”
Two Kids, Two Temperaments
The siblings’ personalities diverged early. “My son was really like, ‘Look at me, talk to me, play with me, give me your attention.’ He is just a force of nature,” Larter told News Of Los Angeles. Vivienne, by contrast, “will just sit and really look through a book and touch it and explore it… she’s like a sweet little angel.”
That contrast shapes daily routines. Theodore’s boundless energy once prompted the actress to note he was “5½ going on 14,” while Vivienne contentedly chews on makeup brushes at her mother’s trailer. “Anytime I can squeeze in time with them really feeds me,” she said.
Life on Two Fronts
In 2024 Larter began starring in Landman as Angela Norris, a tough oil-patch mom whose parenting philosophy, the actress says, “is so far from the way I parent.” Filming in Texas forced a bicoastal schedule: weeks on set, then flights back to Idaho. “It’s figuring out that balance and somehow trying to find some time for your husband and for work – and for yourself,” she told News Of Los Angeles in 2015, a mantra that now extends across two states.
Between shoots, the family reunites for adventures documented by MacArthur on Instagram: fairs, lake jumps, and cracking a “huge geode” in summer 2024. Larter keeps most moments private, but praises Theodore for stepping up as a “generous, kind, sweet big brother” and beams when describing Vivienne’s fascination with horses.
Key Takeaways
- Ali Larter credits small-town life in Idaho with grounding her children after nearly a decade in Los Angeles
- Theodore’s extroverted curiosity and Vivienne’s gentle observation style push the actress to tailor parenting to each child
- Splitting time between Landman production in Texas and family in Idaho underscores the ongoing juggle of career and motherhood
