Late Hollywood star Paul Walker was a devoted father who prioritized his daughter, Meadow, in his life. He did his best to keep his acting career in balance with his fatherhood. Meadow’s distant uncles are Meadow’s best friend, who has now taken over his fatherly duties.
Paul Walker, actor, met Rebecca Soteros, his ex-girlfriend in California in 1998. Their only child, Meadow, was born in November 1998.
Paul was still a rising star within showbiz at that time. However, that changed in 2001 when Paul landed his most prominent movie role, playing Brian O’Conner in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise.
Actor Paul Walker attending the Europe premiere of “The Fast and the Furious 4” at UCI cinema world at Ruhrpark on March 17, 2009 in Bochum, Germany. | Source: Getty Images
While he was a world-famous movie star, his significant other lived her life away from the limelight. Soteros works as a primary school teacher.
In February 2014, TMZ learned that she had an alcohol addiction after being apprehended for DUI the year prior. It was one of her constant faults.
Soteros, who was first arrested in 2003 in Orange County for DUI, pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to three years probation. TMZ was informed by sources that she had suffered from alcoholism for years.
The bad habit caused her 14-year-old daughter, to call her father in 2011 and plead to him to move to Los Angeles full-time. Paul told Entertainment Weekly that he had been yearning to have his daughter uproot from Hawaii:
“My heart was desperate for so many years with the situation with my daughter. My daughter lives with me full time now, and she’s the best partner I’ve ever had.”
That said, the California native now had to change his life, as he no longer was a vacation dad. Paul explained that Meadow was missing out on the transition.
He had to prioritise his child and turned down some job offers. He joked that the process became such a priority that it left him bothered when producers even suggested him for roles:
“I was like, ‘Okay, that’s it. I’m not working leave me alone. ‘You know what my priorities are right now, why are you even tempting me with this?’”
PAUL ASKED HIS MOM TO CARE FOR MEADOW
Still, he had to ask for help to get to work. Paul had tried three different nannies but none worked out so he turned to Cheryl Walker, his mother. At the time, she was a nurse.
Paul asked his mother to become a grandmother and take over full-time care of his daughter. She would then be able retire as a nurse.
Cheryl agreed, and her son called relatives, informing them of his decision to make Meadow’s grandmother her legal guardian. Tragically, the father to one was killed in a car accident on the same day.
After his passing, his close pal, Ronn Shikari from Hawaii, told Mail Online that they were “good friends. Shikari revealed that whenever he visited Hawaii, they would spend time together. “He’s such a great guy and about as anti-Hollywood as you can get,” he divulged.
Shikari explained that the blockbuster star was the opposite of a typical Hollywood public figure because he mainly wanted to be a “regular guy.” He noted that, most importantly, Paul was family-oriented:
“He was a family man, and I know it hurt him to be spending so much time away from Meadow on location; he loved being with his daughter. He was his only world. He wanted to stop acting, so he talked to his family about it. After all he had achieved, he was happy to retire.
Shikari said the “Takers” star earned millions of dollars from his last “Fast and Furious” stint. Notably, his biggest motivation to retire from his career was to be able to “spend more time with Meadow. It’s a shame that it could never happen,” Shikari noted.
In addition, Paul’s other friend, Vince Krause, revealed that the A-lister’s main focus in life was his family and not acting. He described Paul as a “selfless” human being who loved being a dad:
“He loved being a father, and it was very clear that his daughter was the most important thing in the world to him.”
VIN DIESEL’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MEADOW
Actor Vin Diesel, Similce Diesel and Meadow Walker attending “Fast & Furious: Spy Racers” World Premiere at Universal CityWalk on December 7, 2019 in Universal City, California. | Source: Getty Images
While Meadow has lost her beloved dad, a source revealed to Us Weekly that she has depended on her godfather, Vin Diesel, for moral support since Paul’s death:
“She counts Vin and his kids as family and will talk to them on days she’s struggling, and she has their backs too.”
The actor himself has openly talked about his relationship with his goddaughter and told Extra once that the model was the first to wish him a Happy Father’s Day:
“To see her with my children is one of the most beautiful things. There are moments when I see her playing with [my daughter] Pauline, and it hits me so deep because I can only imagine what my brother sees when he sees that.”
When Meadow turned 21 in November 2019, Vin Diesel paid a birthday tribute to her on Instagram, saying he had “always been proud” of her. He wrote that a cake was waiting for her when she got home. “Love you, kid. Uncle Vin,” said the producer.
Now all grown, Meadow is a married woman. She wed her boyfriend Louis Thornton-Allan in October 2021 and posted a black and white video from the wedding.
The clip showed her wearing a wedding gown and taking pictures with the groom in a classic car. Vin Diesel and Meadow’s maid-of-honor, his daughter, were also featured in this footage.
The “XXX” star took to social media to remember Paul on his daughter’s special day, alongside a picture of their daughters smiling from ear to ear.
Vin Diesel wrote a lengthy post saying he missed the “brotherhood” he and his former co-star had. He said that his kids always remind him that Paul is with him always and knows they are right.
While the father of three is close with Meadow, the same cannot be said about her uncles. Paul’s younger brothers, Cody and Caleb, opened up to E! News about the upcoming documentary “I Am Paul Walker” as they reflect on his untimely passing at age 40.
When asked whether they were close with their niece, the siblings said not as much as they had hoped. “Not as close as we would like to be,” said Caleb.
Model Meadow Rain Walker spotted on November 1, 2021 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
Meanwhile, Cody explained that the brunette beauty grew up in Hawaii, and they only saw her during the holidays. He added they were both there for her unquestionably because she has a family that adores her.