The Fast & Furious star posted a rare Instagram photograph with his 11-year-old daughter Pauline, who was named in tribute to his late co-star and close friend Paul Walker, as he reflected on fatherhood being the role that matters most to him.
Vin Diesel has shared a rare photograph with his 11-year-old daughter, Pauline, describing fatherhood as the role that “completes” him. The 59-year-old Fast & Furious star posted the image on Instagram, showing him embracing his younger daughter in a hug. Diesel is also a father to son Vincent, 16, and eldest daughter Hania “Similce” Riley, 18, all three of whom he shares with his longtime partner, Paloma Jiménez.
‘The role that completes me’
Alongside the photograph, Diesel wrote: “Riddick, Dom, Xander, Groot, Theo, Kaulder, Bloodshot… all parts of me. But the role that completes me… dad.” Diesel and Jiménez have been together since 2007, and the couple have largely kept their family life away from the public eye, making the appearance of a rare photograph featuring Pauline particularly notable.
A tribute to Paul Walker
Pauline’s name carries personal significance for Diesel, as she was named in honour of his late friend and Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker, who died in 2013. Diesel has previously explained that he chose the name Pauline as a tribute to Walker, saying he felt his late friend’s presence during his daughter’s birth. Because Pauline was born after Walker’s death, her name has become an enduring link between Diesel’s family and the actor’s legacy.
Diesel has spoken at length over the years about how Walker’s death shaped his approach to fatherhood, saying it changed his perspective on raising his children and that Walker remains an important presence within his family. He has repeatedly described Walker as family rather than simply a colleague, a bond that developed during the making of the Fast & Furious films and continued beyond the franchise. Walker’s own daughter, Meadow Walker, has also maintained a relationship with Diesel and his children, with Diesel publicly describing her as part of the extended Fast & Furious family.
A private family life
While Diesel has built his career in the public eye, he has deliberately kept much of his children’s lives out of the spotlight, which helps explain why photographs of Pauline remain relatively rare compared with the extensive coverage of her father. His eldest daughter, Hania, is the exception, having followed her father into acting and appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise as a child.
Diesel has previously said that fatherhood has influenced major decisions throughout his career, including how he approached later instalments of the Fast & Furious series and how much time he chose to dedicate to his family. As a result, his children have grown up surrounded by the legacy of the franchise that made their father famous, even as he has worked to shield them from full-time celebrity exposure.
