Kelsey Grammer’s daughter revealed one of the “meanest things” her father ever told her — a moment that left her “sobbing” after the pair reconnected following 12 years of estrangement.
Greer Grammer said that after she reconnected with the “Frasier” star at age 16, he later admitted he didn’t want her to use his last name growing up.
“[Grammer] was always my last name,” the 33-year-old “Awkward” alum explained to host — and her roommate — Alisha Marie — on the “Pretty Basic” podcast in November.
“I guess my dad did ask my mom — he told me this later — but he was like, ‘I told your mom it might be better for you to not have my last name. It would be easier for you growing up,’” she recalled.
Greer said she was 19 when he revealed that to her, adding that it crushed her spirit.
“I started sobbing,” she said.
“Because to me, that was like the meanest thing you could ever say to somebody — like, ‘I knew I wasn’t going to be in your life, so I told your mom it would probably be easier for you not to have my last name.’”
Despite how deeply it hurt, Greer said Grammer’s advice was “fair,” adding that her father was “not wrong.”
Greer, whom Grammer shares with former girlfriend Barrie Buckner, said she was 4 when her parents split and didn’t reconnect with him until she was 16 — calling it a commonly misunderstood detail about their relationship.
Though she has “very specific” memories of spending time with her dad before he “left,” Greer said they reconnected years later while she was completing community service as Miss Teen Malibu at a Christmas tree lot.
“He came up to me and said, ‘Are you Greer?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am,’” she recalled. “Then he went, ‘I’m s–t.’ And I was like, ‘I know who you are. Duh.’”
The estranged father and daughter met for lunch a week later, marking the beginning of their reconnection.
Greer said she was eager to call him immediately, but her mother urged patience, suggesting she give Grammer and his family time to process before reaching out.
As for where they stand now, Greer explained that while she never had a trust fund, the “Cheers” star paid for her college and that the two “have a good relationship now.”
She later appeared alongside him in Season 2 of the “Frasier” reboot.
Grammer shares daughter Spencer, 43, with first wife Doreen Alderman; daughter Mason, 24, and son Jude, 21, with third wife Camille Meyer; and daughter Faith, 13, son Kelsey Gabriel, 11, and son James, 9, with fourth wife Kayte Walsh.
The “X-Men” actor welcomed his eighth child with Walsh in 2025 at age 70, gushing that having a newborn son, Christopher, at home is “awesome and fantastic.”
The actor has also acknowledged past estrangements with other children.
“I have neglected a couple of the kids in my life, especially the first two,” he told People in May. “I’m trying to make up for a little of it now.”
“I’m still their dad, so you can always have a chance to show up,” he added.
