Who Are the Chicago Med Cast’s Children? Meet Their Real-Life Families
Paging the parents of Chicago Med! They may be the doctors and nurses that keep Gaffney Chicago Medical Center up and running to One Chicago fans, but to the Chicago Med cast’s children, they’re just mom and dad.
Chicago Med is NBC’s medical drama following the personal and professional lives of doctors and nurses in the emergency department of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. The series — which premiered in 2015 and is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind the Law & Order and FBI franchises — is the third spin-off in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also includes Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
So who are the Chicago Med cast’s children? Meet Nick Gehlfuss, Oliver Platt and more past and present Chicago Med stars’ real-life families ahead.
Brian Tee (Dr. Ethan Choi)
Brian Tee — who played Dr. Ethan Choi from Season 1 to Season 8 of Chicago Med— has one child, a daughter named Madelyn Skyler Takata, with his wife, actress Mirelly Taylor.
Madelyn was born at 11:58 p.m. on August 10, 2015, in Los Angeles, California, Tee’s representative confirmed to People at the time. She weighed 6 lbs., 8 oz. and measured at 19 inches long.
Tee told People that he and Taylor chose the name “Madelyn” after searchingfor a moniker that meant “elegance, grace, leadership, power, strength and beauty.” He also told People that he and Mirelly planned to call their daughter by the nickname “Brielly” (pronounced Bri-lee), which is a combination of her parents’ first names.
“We were actually thinking of naming her Brielly from inception. We loved it! So typical coming from two actors,” Tee and Taylor told People. “But we thought better, dreaming of the day when she’s 13 years old, coming at us with a, ‘Really guys? … Really?! You really hybrid-ed your names and named me Brielly?’ So Madelyn Skyler (MadSky) was born and is the magical miracle of our lives.”
The couple also told People which of Madelyn’s parents she takes after the most. “First thing we noticed is Madelyn has Daddy’s eyebrows,” Tee and Taylor said.
Tee also called Madelyn an “old soul” in another interview with People in 2015. “She’s already extremely patient,” he said. “We feel like she is a really old soul and she’s been around the block a while, and is teaching us how to be parents.”
He continued, “I guess every dad would imagine their daughter to be an angel baby, but I have to tell you that she’s an angel baby. She’s definitely feisty and has her own mind, but she doesn’t necessarily cry.”
Tee also opened up to People about how fast Madelyn is growing up. “Some of her milestones are just growing out of clothes,” he said. “We have this one piece of clothing, her first onesie, that she’s already grown out of, so we’re keeping it.”
As for what it’s like to be a first-time parent, Tee called being a father the “greatest role” he’ll ever play. “There’s no word to describe it,” he said. “As soon as she was born, there was just this incredible overwhelming power of love that completely filled my existence.”
He continued, “I call it the greatest role I’ll ever have. It’s definitely the most challenging, but the most rewarding.”
Oliver Platt (Dr. Daniel Charles)
Oliver Platt — who has played Dr. Daniel Charles since Season 1 of Chicago Med — has three children with his wife, Mary Camilla Bonsal Campbell. His first child, a daughter named Lily, was born in 1995; his second child, a son named George, was born in 1997; and his third and final child, a daughter named Clare, was born in 1999.
In an inteview with Tufts Now in 2014, Platt — who moved around a lot as a child due to his father’s job as a diplomat — explained that he focused his career on TV and movies instead of theater to give his children as “normal” of a childhood as possible. “Don’t get me wrong—I had an extraordinary upbringing in a very loving family,” he said. “But the impact of moving us around so much was tough to get adjusted to. I knew I didn’t want to put my kids through that.”
He also told Tufts Now about how growing up as a diplomat’s son affected him as an adult. “We’re army brats, diplomatic brats and any kids who don’t grow up in the culture they’re born in,” he said. “Always being the new kid in school is constantly exhausting, so we create our own culture, and when we grow up, we tend to gravitate toward outwardly focused endeavors like art, acting and communication.” He continued, “Because we are, by nature, forced to become more observant and communicative. Those are the skills you need when assimilating into new social surroundings is the top priority.”
He also told Tulsa World at the time about the artistic sacrifices he had to make in his career so he could support his family financially. “The financial rewards are just not as attractive. When you have a family, you have to think about those things,” he said.
In a video for Vassar College in 2018, Platt revealed that all three of his children attended the university. “We are the proud parents of three — count ’em, one, two, three — Vassar students,” he said.
Platt is also the second cousin, once removed of Princess Diana. Diana was the great-granddaughter of the 3rd Baron Fermoy, and Platt was his great-great granson. By extension, Platt is the third cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry.
Steven Weber (Dr. Dean Archer)
Steven Weber — who has played Dr. Dean Archer since Season 6 of Chicago Med — has two children with his ex-wife, Juliette Hohnen. His first child, a son named Jack Alexander, was born in 2001. His second child, a son named Alfie, was born in 2003.
According to his Instagram, Alfie is a musician under the stage name Alfie H-W, the initials of his parents’ last names. As of writing this, he’s released two albums: 2019’s Alfie H-W and 2020’s Alfie’s Demos. Jack is also a musician, according to his Instagram. He uses the stage name Jack Xander. “Jack Xander hops and Blends between many different styles and genres all while accidentally retaining a sense of self and the unmistakably intimate style that defines his many compositions. For real. Listen,” his website reads.
Colin Donnell (Dr. Connor Rhodes)
Colin Donnell — who played Dr. Connor Rhodes from Season 1 to Season 5 of Chicago Med — has two children with his wife and former Chicago Med co-star, Patti Murin. (Murin played Dr. Nina Shore from Season 1 to Season 4 of Chicago Med.)
Donnell and Murin’s first child, a daughter named Cecily Philips Donnell, was born on July 14, 2020. Murin announced Cecily’s birth with an Instagram post of them at the hospital in July 2020. “Meet Cecily Philips Donnell, born on July 14th. She’s strong as heck and ready to change the world, and we have never loved anything more in our lives. ‘Life is not the things that we do, it’s who we’re doing them with,’” she captioned a photo of Cecily sleeping on her chest as Donnell looked at her lovingly.
Donnell also shared the same photo on his Instagram with the caption: “Welcome to the world Cecily Philips Donnell, born July 14th. Our hearts are simply overflowing and I’m in awe. ‘Life is not the things you do, it’s who you’re doing them with.’”
Donnell and Murin’s second child, a daughter named Lorelai Grace Donnell, was born on April 2, 2023. Murin announced Lorelai’s birth
with an Instagram post of them at the hospital in April 2023. “Welcome to our sweet, sweet Lorelai Grace Donnell. She was born April 2nd, and was welcomed so lovingly by her big sister Cecily. We are over the moon, feeling great, and we also nap a lot. Love love love ♥️,” Murin captioned an Instagram photo of Lorelai sleeping on her chest as she and Donnell smiled for the camera. She continued, “Thank you all so so much!! We are living in a cocoon of newborn snuggles and Cecily love, with just a tinge of sleepless nights.”
Donnell also confirmed the birth with his own Instagram post, which also included a photo of Lorelai yawning. “We welcomed Cecily’s (and Petey & Milo’s) younger sister Lorelai Grace into our lives this past week. I’ve got a very full heart and there’ve been a lot of happy tears. The biggest thank you to @pattimurin for these beautiful gifts,” he captioned the post. He continued, “Thank you to everyone for all the beautiful well wishes from near and far.” Chicago Fire star Randy Flagler, who plays Harold Capp, wrote in a comment: “Yay! Congratulations!”
The birth of Donnell and Murin’s first child also came two years after Murin, who starred as Princess Anna in the Broadway adaptation of Frozen, suffered a miscarriage while she was auditioning for the role. “They had asked me to come back in for a mix and match and I had a miscarriage four days before, so I said ‘No,’” she told Us Weekly in 2018. “I knew by saying no it could absolutely let Frozen go from my life forever but I wasn’t in a place to go. I was sort of in a mindset of starting a family and was like, whatever’s going to happen is going to happen. That’s that.”
Murin told Us Weekly that she agreed to audition again after she received another call from Disney and was told that Broadway actress Caissie Levy would play Princess Elsa in the musical. “It was probably the best feelings I’ve had in my life – making that decision to say, ‘No, maybe I’m gonna do something else,’” she said. “It was an equally hard decision for both Colin and I, to say. ‘I’m actually going to go for this, is it OK if I put this on hold?’ It was an emotional couple of weeks. We weren’t trying to get pregnant at all. It was a complete surprise so that was also really traumatic if I was like … ‘I don’t know if I’m doing Frozen and then I was pregnant.’ There are periods in your life when you just graduate to the next level. I felt that way after my divorce six years ago. Then I started from scratch and got to know myself all over again. Honestly, the same kind of thing happened with Colin.”
Marlyne Barrett (Nurse Maggie Lockwood)
Marlyne Barrett — who has played nurse Maggie Lockwood since Season 1 of Chicago Med — has two children with her husband, pastor Gavin Barrett. Their children, twin sons named Joshuah-Jireh and Ahnne-N’Urya, were born in 2021.
In an interview with People in 2022, Barrett, who was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer in July of that year, explained how Chicago Med kept her mind off her cancer and losing her children. “Work brings me a lot of joy right now,” she said at the time. “It brings me a lot of reprieve to think about something other than, ‘When is my next chemo shift?’ and ‘How am I going to hug my children?’”
She also told the magazine about how her children kept her faith alive amid her battle with cancer. “I find new strength to carry on every day because of [my children]. I want to see them get married one day. And I will,” she said.
Yaya DaCosta (Nurse April Sexton)
Yaya DaCosta — who played nurse April Sexton from Season 1 to Season 6 of Chicago Med — has one child with her ex, director Joshua Bee Alafia. Their child, a son named Sankara, was born on September 12, 2013. Alafia confirmed the birth in a tweet at the time. “September 12 our beloved son Sankara was born at home, healthy and strong. My eyes have never feasted on such beauty! My wife is glowing!” he tweeted. Alafia wrote in a second tweet, “my son was born last night, roots! it’s all about the youth right now.”
DaCosta and Alafia broke up in 2014. In an interview with New York Family in 2018, DaCosta opened up about balancing motherhood and her career as an actress. “It’s all about the little things just to replenish your spirit, especially if you’re in a profession where you’re giving all day, and especially for moms, who are giving to their families all day long and all week long. Even if it’s just once a week — even if it’s on a Sunday morning when everyone is still sleeping, before you start up brunch—take that moment for yourself,” DaCosta said.
DaCosta explained that her key to a work-life balance was keeping her professional and private lives separate. “I leave work at work and I just make sure that I’m fully present at home with my son. I wait until he’s sleeping to study my scripts for the week and I really try to just put him first when I’m at home, and then when I’m at work, I’m also fully present and fully at work doing my job,” she said. “Energetically, I’ve learned to not be on my phone at home…because, nowadays, children are so used to seeing their parents looking down instead of at them. Growing up, we didn’t have that and I just wonder, sometimes, what that might be doing.”
As for what her son likes to do, DaCosta told New York Family, that Sankara is a fan of dancing. “It is a constant dance party in my house! He loves to dance and he loves to sing…he’s just so much fun,” she gushes. “He’s going to start Kindergarten in a few months, so we’re trying to take little steps [towards that]. We still have fun and we’re still playing—we just happen to be holding a pencil and some lined paper, and we’re practicing writing and some numbers. He sounds out letters and he’s starting to read. We take breaks and then we dance again… He just makes me so happy and so proud!”
