Before he became of late-night TV’s most iconic hosts, was one of six siblings growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Conan is the third eldest children of and attorney . “I always feel badly for my mom because I think, deep down, she really wanted us to be the kind of kids that could go to a country club,” he joked on a September 2024 episode of his “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast. “And we just weren’t. We were Irish pirates.”
While some of his siblings followed in their mother’s footsteps in the legal profession, Conan pursued a career in TV writing and comedy and went on to host The Tonight Show before launching his eponymous late-night talk show in 2010.
In addition to building his impressive career, Conan found love with his wife, . The pair tied the knot in 2002 and went on to welcome kids Neve and Beckett in 2003 and 2005, respectively.
Scroll down to get to know Conan’s family:
Ruth Reardon O’Brien
Conan’s parents said “I do” in 1958. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ruth studied at Yale Law School and was one of only four women in her law school class, per her December 2024 obituary. Ruth made history as the second woman partner at the Boston law firm Ropes & Gray. She reportedly retired from the position in ‘90s.
In December 2024, Ruth died just three days after her husband in their Massachusetts home. She was 92. Ruth and Thomas are survived by their six children, nine grandchildren and fifteen nieces and nephews.
Dr. Thomas O’Brien
Conan’s father was an epidemiologist known for serving as the head of microbiology at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and working as a professor at Harvard Medical School, per Biography.com.
Conan credited his father for getting him into comedy from a young age by showing him and Marx Brothers movies. “The loudest I’ve ever heard anybody laugh was sitting next to him in a theater watching in a Pink Panther movie,” he told The Boston Globe in December 2024.
Thomas died at age 95 in December 2024, just days before Ruth passed away. “Science has said there’s no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that that was wrong,” Conan told The Boston Globe following his death. “My father was in constant motion. And he was interested in everything — absolutely everything.”
Neal O’Brien
Neal is the eldest of Conan’s six siblings. Unlike the comedian, Neal has primarily stayed out of the spotlight over the years. He resides in their hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts, and reportedly works as an antique car collector.
Luke O’Brien
Though Luke followed in Ruth’s footsteps and became a lawyer, he shares Conan’s funny bone. “If they had an Emmy category for Best Itinerant Albino-ish Jackass, he’d bag one of those too,” he wrote via Instagram in July 2024, reacting to Conan’s 2024 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special for Conan O’Brien Must Go.
According to Ruth’s obituary, Luke resides in Holliston, Massachusetts, with his wife, I.
Kate B. O’Brien
The eldest of Conan’s two sisters, Kate reportedly works as a teacher in addition to being an actress. Her acting credits include films such as 2010’s The Fighter and 2015’s Ted, as well as the 2020 series The Expecting, per IMDb. Ruth’s obituary states that Kate lives in Boston.
Jane O’Brien
Conan’s sister also caught the entertainment bug, serving as a writer and producer on projects such as Cybil, The Simpsons and Battery Park, per IMDb. Unlike most of her siblings, Jane resides in San Anselmo, California.
Justin O’Brien
Similar to Luke, the youngest O’Brien sibling reportedly works as an attorney and lives in Winchester, Massachusetts, with his wife, .
Liza Powel O’Brien
Conan met his wife in 1999 while filming a Late Night With Conan O’Brien segment at the advertising agency where she worked as a copywriter. “I immediately start talking to her, and then I’m not even trying to be funny … I’m just trying to find out more about this woman,” he shared on a September 2020 episode of “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”
Liza works as a playwright and has penned several works over the years, including The Great Experiment, Ruthie Goes Shopping, Apostrophe and The Distinguished Gentleman.
The couple tied the knot in her hometown of Seattle in 2002 and became first-time parents the following year. Liza currently hosts the Team Coco podcast “Significant Others,” which dives into stories of lesser-known historical figures.
Neve O’Brien
Born in 2003, Neve inherited her father’s comedy skills. During a 2012 forum at the John F. Kennedy Library, Conan recalled how Neve once poked fun at his short stint as host of The Tonight Show ahead of his Conan series’ debut.
“She said, ‘Could you try and keep this one longer than the last one?’” he joked. “It was a great, honest moment.”
Neve currently studies history at Yale University and has lobbied for California gun control legislation with the organization TeamENOUGH, per her LinkedIn profile.
Beckett O’Brien
Conan and Liza expanded their family with the birth of Beckett in 2005. In a 2014 interview with Absolute Radio, Conan joked that Beckett was like “a little ,” adding, “He’s very good at the computer. He’s 8. He’s intense, and he just is constantly arguing with me. … He’s always scamming the system.”
Beckett reportedly graduated from high school in 2024.
