Jessica Lange's 3 Children: Everything You Need to Know About Shura, Hannah, and Walker
- Celebrity
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- UPDATED March 17, 2025
by Kristine Bowman
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Acclaimed actress Jessica Lange encouraged her children—Shura, Hannah, and Walker—to pursue careers in the arts. Lange had her first daughter, Shura, in 1981 with Latvian dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov, whom she dated for six years. She then had two children with playwright Sam Shepard, whom she was in a relationship with for nearly 30 years. Their daughter, Hannah, was born in 1986, followed by son Walker in 1987.
Lange has spoken fondly about motherhood, sharing in a 2017 AARP interview, “Having children gives you a perspective you didn’t have before. You are no longer the center of the universe. It opened my heart, made me a different person. Every move you make is with someone else in mind.” Here’s everything you need to know about Jessica Lange’s children: Shura, Hannah, and Walker.
Shura Baryshnikov, 44
Shura, born Aleksandra Lange Baryshnikov on March 5, 1981, is the daughter of Lange and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She attended Marlboro College in Vermont, focusing on American studies, theater, and dance. Trained in classical ballet, Shura followed in both her parents’ artistic footsteps. She is now the head of Movement at the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company MFA Program in Acting and Dancing. She’s been teaching at Brown since 2011 and has danced with several prominent companies. Additionally, Shura has worked as a movement designer for performances such as The Handmaid’s Tale at the Boston Lyric Opera. In a 1991 Vanity Fair interview, Lange described her as “grounded,” with a “great sense of herself” and an “innate understanding” of her parents’ paths.
Hannah Jane Shepard, 39
Born January 13, 1986, to Lange and Sam Shepard, Hannah Jane was described as having a “powerful personality” by her mother in a 1991 Vanity Fair interview. Hannah attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied writing, and later earned master’s degrees from the National University of Ireland and Fordham University. Her passions lie in history, the arts, and social justice, and she’s worked as a researcher, educator, and script reader for various arts institutions, including the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and The Public Theater. She’s also contributed as an archival producer to several documentaries.
Samuel Walker Shepard, 37
Lange’s youngest, Samuel Walker Shepard, known as Walker, was born on June 14, 1987. Walker has pursued a career in music and is the lead singer and instrumentalist of the band The Down Hill Strugglers, based in Brooklyn. The band, initially called The Dust Busters, plays a unique blend of traditional sounds inspired by early 20th-century folk and commercial recordings. Walker plays several instruments, including the fiddle, banjo, guitar, and harmonica.
Inside Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange's Tumultuous Relationship
Lange and Shepard shared one of Hollywood’s most passionate yet challenging relationships. They met on the set of Frances in 1982, began dating, and eventually had two children together. Despite their nearly three-decade-long relationship, both acknowledged the hardships they faced. Shepard, who passed away in 2017, spoke in 2010 about the “tumultuous” nature of their connection but also how it remained an “incredible match” despite the occasional fireworks.
