Hollywood’s biggest stars have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.
When speaking with Fox News Digital, celebrities such as Jay Leno, Guy Fieri and Ali Larter shared the many blessings in their lives they are thankful for not only this year for Thanksgiving, but also every other day.
“I am grateful that I am in good health and [the] health problems that I have had, or my family has had, have come late in my career, so I am able to step forward to help people and take care of them,” Leno said. “I feel so horrible for people who are in situations where their life savings are eaten up in a matter of weeks from a hospital, that type of thing. So I try to help out friends and family. I am grateful for everything and I try not to be a complainer. Everything is good.”
“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” host Fieri shared that he is “without question” the most thankful for his family. The Food Network star explained his family is doing well, with his mother about to turn 80 years old, his oldest son, Hunter, getting engaged and his younger son, Ryder, starting his first year of college.
Guy Fieri, Jay Leno and Ali Larter are thankful for their families this Thanksgiving. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Paramount+; Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)
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He went on to share that his father died in January from pancreatic cancer, six years after his diagnosis, and the tragedy of losing his father led him to try and find “something positive out of it.”
“I’m so lucky to be alive, and I’m so lucky to have what I have and the people that I have around me, great friends and great family. And I think we often get so tied up in business and projects and adventures and so forth that we don’t just take the real simple, just the simplicity of just getting to wake up in the morning and getting a chance to go live the day. I’m trying to make sure that, especially the older I get, the more I try to put that into the every single day mantra that it’s got to be appreciated because it could go away like that.”
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Similar to Fieri, “Hart of Dixie” star Rachel Bilson is thankful for her family and her close friends who have become her family.
“I mean, just the love in my life, my family, my daughter, my friends. I feel very fortunate to experience love in my life. And that’s the best thing,” Bilson said. “And I love Thanksgiving. It has become like my favorite holiday because we’re all together cooking and the chaos. And I really love the meal. It’s probably up there as one of my favorite all-time meals.”
Tucker Wetmore is thankful for his peace of mind for Thanksgiving this year. (Nicola Gell/FilmMagic)
When speaking with Fox News Digital, country singer Tucker Wetmore explained he can’t possibly sit and go through “the list of things I’m grateful for,” joking he would be “sitting there for 25 minutes” and still not run out of things he could mention.
“I have so much to be thankful for, but I’m thankful for my peace of mind. I think that that’s probably at the top of the list,” he said. “I’m thankful for my peace of mind, and I’m thankful for the people that are around me helping me out, whether it’s my team or my family, my friends, you know, being the emotional support to me and being people that I can rely on. And I surround myself with these people that just truly care about me.”
He went on to say the people he surrounds himself with support him no matter his success in music, explaining “they just care about me and want to make sure that I’m good,” and that they know he is also always there for them.
“Just the simplicity of just getting to wake up in the morning and getting a chance to go live the day. I’m trying to make sure that, especially the older I get, the more I try to put that into the every single day mantra that it’s got to be appreciated because it could go away like that.”
Like Wetmore, actor Gary Sinise is thankful for those around him who help and support him through the good and bad times. In January 2024, Sinise lost his son, McCanna “Mac” Sinise, and he tells Fox News Digital he is “thankful for all the good fortune” that has come his way in the wake of the tragedy.
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Gary Sinise is thankful for everyone who was there for him following the death of his son. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
“When the word got out that we lost our son. The outpouring of love and condolence and heartbreak and support was overwhelming. And it was beautiful,” he explained. “I mean, from people I know, lots of people that I know or have known in the past that I hadn’t seen for years who read about it and reached out, to people that I’ve never met.”
Following his son’s death, Sinise posted about Mac’s struggle on his foundation’s website and was taken aback by the “thousands of messages coming in from all over the country and overseas from people who read that story.”
“I’m thankful for the love that we’ve received and the family that we have,” he continued. “And I’m thankful that I had, our whole family had, 33 years with our son, who was a blessing to all of us.”
Legendary rock star and former lead singer of Van Halen Sammy Hagar explained it’s OK to be a little “selfish” when it comes to what you are thankful for, saying, “I’m the most important guy in the world to me.”
Sammy Hagar is thankful for his health and career success because it allows him to provide for his family. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“If I’m not healthy, I can’t do anything for anyone else. I can’t help my family,” he said. “I think, you know, you have to put yourself really high on your own list and say, ‘I want to be healthy and be able to be there for my family and friends.’ And so that’s what I’m grateful for, is my health and my success that I can do so much for other people. It’s like that that that feels good.”
For many celebrities, having children changed their perspective on life, and they can’t wait to be with their kids during the holiday season.
Brooke Burke said she “[tries] to always live in gratitude,” not just around Thanksgiving but for the holiday specifically. She is grateful to have all the children in her blended family together on Thanksgiving.
“I’m grateful that everybody is healthy and happy and in a good space,” Burke said. “I’ve got one that’s going to be going off to college this year, and then my baby’s going to be a senior. And we still have two younger ones in our blended family, Levi and Lyla. Family time. We’re spending our first Thanksgiving together in Arizona with our parents, which is going to be beautiful. And all the kids are coming. In fact, even some of the Burkes are coming from the East Coast.”
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Brooke Burke is excited to have all her children home with her on Thanksgiving. (Paul Archuleta)
She continued, “So it’s a time for family, and it’s a time to sort of reset and escape. It’s a time to really check out of our lives. I demand that. And I’ve said to the children, everyone’s getting so grown up now that I’m like, pretty soon you’re going to have your significant others, you’re going to have your own families. These times are precious, and the holidays for me are about family and about connection. So I’m really looking forward to that.”
“Landman” star Ali Larter echoed similar sentiments, telling Fox News Digital she is excited to spend time with her young children on Thanksgiving, as she has spent so much time away from them recently while filming and promoting her new show.
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“To be back with my family,” she said when asked what she is thankful for. “We’ve been doing this is a two-week press tour. So just being without my kids that long is my maximum limit. And I just can’t wait to be grateful for that. And also, this shooting, the show is challenging but incredibly rewarding. And I’m just so proud that we were able to launch it. Paramount’s been amazing and I hope that people love it as much as we loved making it.”
Fatherhood also changed the way former child actor Frankie Muniz lives his life, with the “Malcolm in the Middle” star explaining he is most thankful for his family.
“With my son being 3, I’m realizing just how important having friends and family are,” he said. “I’ve been very bad in my life as a communicator, right? Because I’m always like, ‘I’m really busy doing this. I’m going to call them later. I’m going to write back later. I’m going to do this.’ And then a month goes by, six months goes by. And realizing that I shouldn’t focus so much on the things I have to do, I should focus on the people who I want in my life and around me and check in on them. That’s kind of where I go. Obviously, my wife, she’s extremely supportive.”
Frankie Muniz is vowing to spend more time with those close to him. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Having just started making a name for himself in the country music industry, Zach Topp is most thankful for his family, who continue to treat him like a normal person in “a weird changing world where people kind of start to treat you different.”
“There’s a lot of a lot of unknowns and kind of new things for me, so it’s nice that I’ll be spending it with my family,” he said about his Thanksgiving plans. “It’s nice to go back home and just have some people that love you just for you and not what songs you’re putting out or how many tickets you’re selling.”
Actor Mark Wahlberg is thankful for “an opportunity to continue to pursue a purpose-filled life” through his continued relationship with God.
“I know that all of these things are part of the process to bring people together and connect people again and to find out what my purpose really is and why it’s put me in this position and giving me this platform and what to do with it,” Wahlberg explained.
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“The Sopranos” actress Drea de Matteo told Fox News Digital she is thankful for many things, including her family, but mostly “the truth coming to light” and her role in making that happen. (Steve Granitz/WireImage)
“The Sopranos” actress Drea de Matteo told Fox News Digital she is thankful for many things, including her family, but mostly “the truth coming to light” and her role in making that happen.
“I’m not thankful for it is not happened yet, but it’s happening,” she said. “There’s a huge underground movement of people that are doing everything in their power to bring the truth to everybody. And I am thankful that I am a part of that and that they have allowed me to be part of [it]. That’s the new Hollywood buddy.”
Actress Jana Kramer, who welcomed her third baby this year, explained she is most thankful for the health of her family, “especially my kids and my husband” further noting they are the reason “I work so hard for everything, and I just want them to be happy and healthy.”
Brittany Aldean, the wife of country music star Jason Aldean, shared that she is thankful for “health and my family and my relationships,” adding she tries her hardest not to take those things for “granted.”
Brittany Aldean is thankful for the close relationships in her life. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
“It’s what I pray about every single day, and I thank the Lord that I have all those things,” Brittany said. “Sometimes I think there’s a lot that we take for granted, and so just to be able to wake up every day and feel good, and have the people around you that you have, that’s priceless, and I’m just so thankful for that.”
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