Celebrities know that thousands (if not millions) of people are watching their every move, counting on them to inspire and motivate — but they’re not just role models to their fans. Just like your dad, Hollywood’s hunkiest are role models to their own children, youngsters who likely grow up not fully realizing their lives are any different than their peers at daycare.
In honor of Father’s Day, here’s a salute to the famous fit dads we think are doing an A-list job at inspiring healthy habits in their children — and in everyone. Click through, then tell us what fit dads we forgot.
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David Beckham
Before he was a father to sons Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, 9, Cruz, 6, and daughter Harper, 11 months, Beckham was one of the most admired soccer players in England. He remains one of the most famous international athletes of all time. Still, he considers his most important role as dad: “My proudest achievement has been my family,” a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clare-winterton/fatherhood_b_1598142.html” target=”_hplink”he has said/a. But that doesn’t mean he’s thrown sports out the window — here he is playing the role of soccer dad, a href=”http://www.justjared.com/2011/10/24/david-beckham-soccer-dad/” target=”_hplink”standing on the sidelines of Brooklyn’s match in Los Angeles/a.
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Gavin Rossdale
The rocker, dad to sons Kingston and Zuma, was named, along with wife Gwen Stefani, one of emMen’s Health’s/em a href=”http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/gwen-stefani-gavin-gossdale” target=”_hplink”hottest celebrity couples of 2011/a, undoubtedly for their matching set of super-toned abs.
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He’s an a href=”http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/package/gallery/0,,20222169_20312285_20691026,00.html” target=”_hplink”avid (often shirtless) tennis player/a who would reportedly do anything rather than hit the treadmill. “That whole a href=”http://gavinrossdalefans.com/2007/09/20/my-workout-gavin-rossdale/” target=”_hplink”mouse-on-a-wheel thing/a, day in and day out, gets monotonous,” a fan website quotes him as telling emBest Life/em. -
Will Smith
The Fresh Prince is known for his television character’s love of basketball — and for portraying fictional caddy Bagger Vance in emThe Legend of Bagger Vance/em, as well as famous boxer Muhammad Ali in emAli/em. But the actor, comedian and musical artist loves giving pretty much any sport a go, as he proved recently in London, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/16/london-2012-will-smith-olympic-sports_n_1520430.html?just_reloaded=1″ target=”_hplink”trying his hand at a variety of Olympic sports/a as part of his press tour for emMen in Black III/em. His kids are following suit: son Jaden, 13, portrayed a karate prodigy in a reboot of emThe Karate Kid/em.
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Ricky Martin
The singer (and now Broadway actor) and father of twins told emPeople/em that his a href=”http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20133136,00.html” target=”_hplink”yoga practice/a is his time to “just breathe” and find his center.
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But judging by a href=”http://www.thefrisky.com/photos/10-celebrity-couples-exercising-together/exercise-ricky-martin-jpg/” target=”_hplink”this photo of him doing pushups on the beach/a (and of course who can forget those tight leather pants?) we think he’s got a few other workout moves up his sleeves, including holding his sons. “I’m a father to two toddlers, and lifting them is a workout — a href=”http://www.details.com/celebrities-entertainment/music-and-books/201203/ricky-martin-on-buddhism-broadway-gay-marriage?currentPage=2″ target=”_hplink”this is biceps, this is triceps/a,” he told emDetails/em. -
Barack Obama
The presidential love of basketball is well documented — and Obama is certainly one fit POTUS between his late night pickup games and his daily trainer-guided workouts with First Lady Michelle. And while the first lady is working hard to cajole the citizenry off their couches and into some sneakers, the president is a href=”http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/02/28/obamas-workout-white-house-democrats-as-fitness-fanatics/” target=”_hplink”intent on getting his staff in better shape/a.
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But what about daughers Sasha and Malia? They keep a busy schedule of basketball, soccer, tennis and bike riding — not to mention gym sessions, a href=”http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20386377,00.html” target=”_hplink”according to a emPeople/em interview with Mrs. O/a. -
Tom Brady
The modelesque football star has one of the hardest jobs in sports, but told emDetails/em that a href=”http://www.details.com/celebrities-entertainment/cover-stars/200907/patriots-quarterback-tom-brady-on-football-fatherhood-and-gisele-bundchen?currentPage=6″ target=”_hplink”modeling was even harder/a. We can’t imagine how fit you have to be to think pro football is easy.
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In what seems like a natural extension of fathering his two sons, he’s even applied his love of fitness to the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, to a href=”http://www.nflrush.com/video/play-tips-and-ideas/116″ target=”_hplink”encourage kids to get active/a for an hour a day. He says in this short video clip that fitness allowed him to build teamwork and comraderie with this friends at a young age. -
Mark Wahlberg
The actor and father of four (Ella, Michael, Brendan and Grace), told Piers Morgan that a href=”http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/13/mark-wahlberg-on-putting-his-family-first-the-most-important-role-that-ill-ever-play/” target=”_hplink”family comes first/a. “It’s obviously the most important role that I’ll ever play as father and husband,” he said. “I will not fail.”
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But fitness is a pretty high priority too, especially when film roles require a certain physique, like his recent turn in “The Fighter.” To train for the role, he built his own gym, a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/sports/05seconds.html” target=”_hplink”complete with a boxing ring/a. -
Usher
The RB crooner’s famous abs may not be as front-and-center as they were pre-fatherhood, but sons Usher V and Naviyd Ely keep him active, he recently told emPeople/em. “The last game we played was ‘it.’ You know, like tag,” he told the magazine. “The boys love to run around and a href=”http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/06/12/usher-looking-4-myself-gives-sons-advice/” target=”_hplink”play games with me/a; I’m a kid at heart.”
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And as for those abs? Usher took emMen’s Health/em a href=”http://www.menshealth.com/celebrity-fitness/usher-workout” target=”_hplink”along for a workout/a in 2005 that included lat raises, pushups, medicine ball throws and more. -
Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey might be best known for all those shirtless paprazzi shots showing off a toned physique, but his muscles aren’t just for show: the actor, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/10/matthew-mcconaughey-marries-camila-alves_n_1584416.html” target=”_hplink”newlywed/a and father of two (son Levi, 3, and Vida, age 1) is an a href=”http://www.thesuperficial.com/photos/matthew-mcconaughey-gets-his-yoga-on” target=”_hplink”avid surfer, golfer and yogi/a. Of surfing and golf, a href=”http://www.parade.com/celebrity/celebrity-parade/archive/pc_0245.html” target=”_hplink”he told emParade/em magazine/a: “They’re two of the sports that you can do until you go down. They’re great for you health-wise and they put you in sweet locations.”
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But that doesn’t mean he thinks either pursuit is for adults exclusively — he also revealed his plans to get son Levi surfing as soon as possible. -
Mario Lopez
The former A.C. Slater has always been known for his fit physique. He’s penned a a href=”https://www.rodalestore.com/mario-lopez-s-fitness-workout.html” target=”_hplink”fitness book/a, a href=”http://www.hsn.com/health-fitness/mario-lopez_c-hf_a-9031_xc.aspx” target=”_hplink”hawked gym equipment/a and even strutted his stuff on a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/mario-lopez-dancing-with-the-stars-all-stars_n_1587280.html” target=”_hplink””Dancing With The Stars.”/a New fatherhood (daughter Gia was born in September of 2010) a href=”http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20434950,00.html” target=”_hplink”made fitness a little trickier/a, he told emPeople/em. “I’m definitely still working out, but I do less intense workouts because I’m not getting as much sleep now,” he said. “Lately I just haven’t been able to go at it as hard as I used to.”
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Hugh Jackman
Though they don’t get credit for it, Broadway actors are basically professional athletes — spending their days training in dance, yoga and crosstraining for grueling, physical performances. Jackman is no exception: training hard for his performances in Les Miserables and other musicals. But the actor, who was a jock in high school, is also a rugby, cricket, kayaking and soccer enthusiast.
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Despite that busy schedule, Jackman still makes time to drive son Oscar and daughter Ava to school everyday, a href=”http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/entertainment/hugh-jackman-hollywoods-baddest-good-guy” target=”_hplink”according to a profile in emMen’s Fitness/a./em -
Neil Patrick Harris
Everyone’s favorite “How I Met Your Mother” star (and a href=”http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20603021,00.html” target=”_hplink”dad to twins/a Gideon and Harper) a href=”http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/07/30/neil-patrick-harris-is-the-daring-young-man-on-the-flying-trapez/” target=”_hplink”once told That’s Fit/a that he stays in shape with occasional circus classes (yes, really) and more regular strength training and cardio. “I try to concentrate on posture, keeping my body as long as it can be,” he said at the time. “I’ve been doing more Pilates and yoga and trying to get into a real cardiovascular routine to increase my flexibility.”
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Parenthood has made finding the time to work out a little trickier: He a href=”https://twitter.com/ActuallyNPH/statuses/27443955859722240″ target=”_hplink”tweeted last year/a, “Finding time to exercise is difficult with babies. I’m thinking of trying P90X. Thoughts?”
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