Who are Gary Sinise’s kids? All about CSI New York star’s family

Gary Sinise, 70, and his wife, Moira Harris, 71, share three children. They are parents to daughters Sophie Sinise and Ella Sinise, and their late son, McCanna "Mac" Anthony Sinise.

With Sophie and Ella embracing motherhood, the couple is also grandparents to five grandchildren. In an exclusive interview with People Magazine published on May 14, the Forrest Gump star reflected on being a grandpa.

Recalling memorable experiences, he shared,

"It's just the most wonderful thing."

His elder daughter, Sophie, also joined in the conversation and opened up about her father's role as a grandfather to her and her sister's kids.

She explained,

"He spoils them rotten."

Fondly called Papa by the little ones, Gary Sinise always stocks up on ice cream at his home for his grandchildren.

Recounting special memories, he added,

"They know they’ll get fed a lot of it when they come."

Another loving thing that they get at the actor's place at all times is warm hugs.

He further continued,

"Being able to love on them and love on our daughters, that’s helped me a lot."

Everything we know about Gary Sinise’s family

Moira Harris

Born on April 19, 1954, Moira is a former American actress. She attended Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and met Gary Sinise at her college, according to the Gary Sinise Foundation. They tied the knot in 1981.

Per Apost, Gary Sinise expressed his love for his wife and shared the secret behind their long-lasting and happy marriage.

"A sense of humor. My wife’s a loving, funny, Irish-spirited person, and I’m still surprised at some of the things she says. She makes me laugh every day."

Harris has a successful acting career and an impressive filmography, including multiple notable mentions such as Breakdown, Of Mice & Men, Chicago Cab, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

According to a Hollywood Life report, Moira struggled with alcoholism. To overcome her abuse disorder, she headed to rehab twice and achieved sobriety in 1997.

The Apollo 13 actor spoke about his wife's sobriety journey in his memoir Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service.

He wrote:

"I’d get rid of all the booze in the house, but then I’d open a top cabinet and find a bottle tucked far away in the back."

In 2018, Moira was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. In a conversation with Fox News, Gary looked back on his decision to leave Hollywood and his wife and son's cancer diagnosis. He said:

"Traveling away from the family wasn’t possible with what we were going through. My wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer. My son was diagnosed with this very rare cancer you know, within two months of each other."

Harris entered remission by 2024 following chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and she has remained cancer-free ever since.

Sophie Sinise

Gary Sinise and Moira Harris had their eldest daughter, Sophie Sinise, on November 9, 1988, in Los Angeles. People Magazine reported that she was raised in Southern California, where she enjoyed a down-to-earth childhood.

In July 2024, Sophie spoke with the Gary Sinise Foundation podcast and reminisced about the experience of staying away from the limelight and living a private life.

She said:

"Growing up in Hollywood... our parents did a very good job of trying to shield us from... the spotlight as much as possible and keep us as normal as possible. Our dad would leave, and that was his job, and our mom did a really good job holding down the fort."

She also appreciated her mother for her efforts, saying:

"Mom was an amazing support and advocate of our father. She always made a point to make sure we knew that everything he did was so important and that we were all doing this with him. This is our sacrifice and we can do this for our country."

Sophie has also appeared in several movies such as The Heart of Christmas (2011), Swamp Shark (2011), and Fear Not (2011), per Sticky Facts. While chatting on the podcast, she also mentioned being "one of the first receptionists at the Gary Sinise Foundation."

She further stated,

"I remember I needed a job so he put me to work at his little office, right across from the studio at CSI."

The eldest Sinise daughter tied the knot to her husband, Bobby, and became a mother to at least one child. Her family relocated to Nashville from California to stay near her parents and siblings.

McCanna "Mac" Anthony Sinise

Gary Sinise and Moira Harris welcomed their only son, Mac, on November 10, 1990. As Sophie revealed on the podcast, he was named after Harris's brother.

"Our uncle Mac, who we never got the pleasure of meeting — he died at 39 — that’s who our brother is named after. He was in the army at West Point, he wrote the leadership manual."

As per the People Magazine report, Mac was associated with the Sinise family foundation. He joined as the assistant manager of education & outreach. He also contributed to the podcast.

Mac was diagnosed with chordoma. After battling this rare form of spinal cancer for over five years, he lost his life in January 2024, at the age of 33.

In a March 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gary Sinise opened his heart about the tragic loss of his son.

Acknowledging her son's gentleness, he shared,

"He was a pure soul. He had a pure heart. He was a gentle, loving, kind, funny, talented guy. He loved his family. He loved his sisters. They were so close. He loved his mom. She was constantly with him throughout this cancer fight."

Mac was a musician, and in this conversation, the actor shared a glimpse into his son's musical journey.

"The last year of his life he started to create music again and it was beautiful. He created a bunch of pieces of music while he was at college. He just put them away and didn't do anything with them. About January of 2023, he said, 'Dad, I think I want to try to finish this music that I worked on all those years ago in college.'"

During his interview with Fox News, Gary reflected on his son's cancer diagnosis, sharing,

"The cancer fight for Mac was especially difficult because he was… fighting this cancer with no cure. And trying to find drugs and doctors, and trying to find anybody who could do anything for him was like a full-time job."

He further added,

"Plus he became more and more disabled by the cancer as time went on and he needed more and more care."

Ella Sinise

Ella Sinise, born in 1992, is Gary Sinise and Moira Harris's youngest daughter. Like her elder sibling, she also grew up in Southern California. Her parents prioritized providing a grounded upbringing to all the kids.

Hailing from a renowned family background, she chose to live a private life. She made a brief appearance in the Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good documentary.

Elle also joined Sophie on the Gary Sinise Foundation podcast and looked back on her younger years. Recalling her time in college, she stated,

"When I went off to college, everyone was like 'Oh, what's it like being in Hollywood? What’s it like being his daughter?' But that wasn’t really our life."

She also chimed in,

"We just had a normal upbringing where mom took us to soccer practice and did all the normal things, and she didn't want to go to all the Hollywood stuff. It just wasn't what we did. If we did it, it was abnormal to us, we weren’t used to it."

Later, Elle touched on her father, Gary Sinise's, passion for his mission.

"[There was a] passionate uproar in dad, you could just tell there was something in him stirring and he wanted to do something. He was so concerned and so needing to help the military, and ever since he’s just been so involved. Right away, it was a huge shift."

Ella has now embraced motherhood. Shared thoughts on being a mother, she added,

"As moms, we have to pass this on. My daughter is too little to really explain, like she sees dad on a book and she’s like, 'huh?' But, the really cool part is to be able to pass down to your little ones how important it is to support our military."

Apart from raising her kid, she is equally involved in her father's philanthropic endeavors.