Liberty Phoenix is a former actress, who is known better by her family name and is the sibling of famous actors Joaquin and River Phoenix.
Liberty was born on July 5th, 1976 in Caracas, Venezuela. Her birth name is Libertad Mariposa Phoenix.
She was born to John Lee Bottom and Arlyn Phoenix. Liberty has four siblings, River (deceased), Rain, Joaquin, and Summer.
Her famous family extends through the acting realm: sister Summer had been married to Oscar nominee Casey Affleck for over ten years. Liberty is aunt to the couple’s two children, Indiana and Atticus.
Children of God
Her mother Arlyn is better known as Heart Phoenix. Aside from the award-winning fame of Joaquin and the shocking death of her brother River, Liberty’s mother Heart is well known for having been a part of the famous cult, Children of God.
The cult identifies itself as a Christian network that is “committed to bettering our world through empowering people to develop a personal relationship with God.”
They began in 1968 as Teens For Christ before turning into Children of God (COG), then finally renamed into The Family of Love and finally ended on The Family International. For the past fifty years, the cult has been accused of exploitation, physical, and sexual abuse.
Heart and John joined the religious group in 1972 and toured Central and South America as missionaries, even temporarily changing their names to Jochebed and Amram.
It was during this work that Joaquin and Liberty were born. The family left the cult and Latin America in 1977, when John and Heart became disillusioned with the cult.
They settled the family in Winter Park, F.L., and had their youngest child Summer there. The family officially adopted the last name of “Phoenix” at this point (rather than Bottom) and, having risen from the ashes of their past, dedicated their lives to veganism and responsible living.
John and Heart eventually divorced, but not until 1997.
Acting Career
Liberty made her acting debut at only six years old in the 1982 drama Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a show based on the 1954 musical.
She played Christine, a character in the first season’s Christmas episode. Liberty acted alongside her brother Joaquin. It was also his acting debut. Their brother, River, played Guthrie McFadden in 21 episodes of the show.
Four years later, Liberty was cast in a minor role as a Brownie Scout in the made-for-tv NBC movie, Kate’s Secret, about a suburban housewife who suffers from bulimia.
Her sister Summer was also cast in the movie, playing Becky Stark, the namesake Kate’s daughter.
Liberty’s acting career was very short lived. These are her only two acting credits on her IMDb profile, excepting an appearance as herself on an episode of 60 Minutes.
She has never acted beyond the age of 10 and is the least prolific actor in the Phoenix family.
What is Liberty Phoenix doing now?
Liberty’s life has had some amazing events in it. Along with her sister Rain, she founded punk band The Causey Way. She also supported Rain’s own band, Papercranes.
At one point, she taught at the Floria School of Traditional Midwifery where her mother, Heart, was the Executive Director for five years.
From 2006 to 2018, Liberty was a licensed realtor for Pais Properties. Located in Gainesville, F.L., the business focused on flipping and selling single-family homes.
To this day, she is the owner of Indigo Green Building Solutions, a green building store in Gainesville, F.L.
Founded in 2007, their goal has been to sell sustainable and ethical products for the home, such as bamboo and cork flooring, bioglass countertops, and more.
Their products go beyond the kitchen, into the bathroom, and up on the roof, offering solar-powered solutions as well as rainwater recycling.
Liberty is also on the founding board of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, officially founded by her mother.
Guided by her brother River’s life and his own short-lived activism dedicated “to the well-being of all life on our planet.” They support sustainability and help prevent, intervene, and heal from conflict and violence.
Personal Life
( Ernesto Asch, Leo, Liberty Phoenix, Rio, ?)
Liberty has been married twice. First, to artist Ernesto Asch in 1996. The couple had three children, Indigo, Rio, and Leo.
In 2001, tragedy struck the family as their son Indigo passed away as a child. His death was due to toxic outgassing.
He developed a deadly pneumonia developed from an allergic reaction to new carpeting in his nursery that weakened his immune system.
Her sustainable business that sells safe home products is named after Indigo.
Liberty and Ernesto divorced in 2003. Today, Rio is a photographer and media artist based in L.A. and Leo is a multimedia artist who remained in Gainesville, F.L.
Liberty is now married to her second husband, Andy Lord, with whom she has two more children.
