Eugene Theroux: Quiet Counsel from a Literary Clan

Updated on: August 11, 2025

Table of Contents

Basic Information

Field	Detail
Full name	Eugene Theroux
Date of birth	April 29, 1938
Age	87 (as of 2025)
Place of birth	Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Ancestry	Italian and French-Canadian
Education	Pratt Institute (BID, 1961; Doctor of Letters, 1982), Harvard University (attended), Georgetown University (J.D., 1968)
Occupation	Lawyer (notably associated with Baker & McKenzie, Washington, D.C.)
Marital status	Formerly married to Phyllis Grissim-Theroux
Children	Justin Theroux (b. Aug 10, 1971), Sebastian Theroux (b. 1989), Elizabeth Theroux
Estimated net worth	~$1 million (public estimates)
Notable relatives	Paul Theroux (brother, b. Apr 10, 1941), Alexander Theroux (brother, b. Aug 17, 1939), Peter Theroux (brother, b. 1956)

Early Life and Roots — where law meets the dinner table

If you picture a childhood in Medford, Massachusetts in the 1940s and ’50s, you might imagine Sunday dinners stretched long, conversation that could pivot from geography to grammar to the latest book someone couldn’t stop talking about. That’s the kind of household Eugene emerged from: Italian and French-Canadian lineage, raised by Albert Eugene Theroux and Anne (née Dittami), a family that—unlike most—installed literature and language as its evening entertainment.

I like to imagine young Eugene as a kind of backstage manager to the family’s creative show—interested in order, rules, and structure—while his brothers wandered more obviously into the spotlight. That theatrical division of labor would come to define a clan that reads like a bookshelf: Paul, Alexander, Peter—names that push the family into the public eye—while Eugene chose the quieter, steadier cadence of the law.

Education & Legal Career — design, law, and the tidy craft of counsel

Eugene’s academic path reads like a marriage of two temperaments: the aesthetic and the analytical. He earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design (BID) from Pratt Institute in 1961—an education in form, in the precision of objects. Then he marched into the courtroom world, taking a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1968. Somewhere between drafting a chair and drafting a legal brief he found the skill set that would define his career.

Professionally, Eugene worked at Baker & McKenzie in Washington, D.C., one of the world’s most recognizable law firms—an obvious perch for someone who prefers influence to applause. We don’t have a dossier of courtroom showdowns or landmark cases attached to his name; instead, the record suggests a steady, respectable legal career—one that paid the bills, created stability, and left room for family and letters.

The Literary Siblings — a family that rewrites the rules

Walk two rooms over from Eugene and you’ll hear Paul Theroux’s travel tales; step into the next and you’ll catch Alexander’s dense, stylistic prose. The Theroux family is a study in how temperament and talent can diverge while remaining in conversation. Paul (b. April 10, 1941) is a titan of travel writing; Alexander (b. August 17, 1939) is a novelist and poet known for his exacting sentences; Peter (b. 1956) is a translator and writer with a cosmopolitan bent.

Eugene’s role within that constellation was different—less a playwright than a stage manager—but vital: he provided a kind of structural grounding. Think of him as the foundation beneath the soaring chapters written by his brothers.

Eugene Theroux

Fatherhood & Family Life — three children, three trajectories

Eugene and Phyllis Grissim-Theroux (born Feb 22, 1939), a writer and journalist in her own right, raised children who took very different routes into public life.

Child	Year of birth	Notes
Justin Theroux	1971 (Aug 10)	Actor, writer, director; known for film and TV work and a high-profile marriage (2015–2017) to Jennifer Aniston.
Sebastian Theroux	1989	Works behind the scenes in production and as a writer’s assistant.
Elizabeth Theroux	—	Less publicly visible; part of the Theroux family’s quieter branch.

I’ll admit—writing about a father of an actor invites the paparazzi ghosts. But Eugene’s story isn’t tabloid fodder; it’s the domestic scaffolding that allowed his children to climb into creative lives. Justin’s career—film roles and television arcs—garnered attention that reflected back to the family, but Eugene himself stayed mostly out of the glare. Their household was where the literary and cinematic intersected; where a design degree and a law degree could coexist with screenplays and travelogues.

Public profile, net worth & the curious absence of scandal

Eugene’s public footprint is small by design. He’s been described in public materials as controversy-free—no viral controversies, no Twitter storms, no courtroom theatrics that spilled into headlines. That low profile is part of the personality: prefer substance over spectacle.

On numbers: public estimates peg his net worth around $1 million, a figure consistent with a long legal career but not with showbiz riches. For perspective, his son Justin’s reported net worth—often cited in public reckonings—is about $40 million, underscoring the contrast between private professional steadiness and the often-lavish economics of modern stardom.

Gaps, mysteries, and what we don’t loudly assert

Here’s the honest backstage pass: there are gaps. We don’t have detailed public records of Eugene’s casework, the exact arc of his years at Baker & McKenzie, or a blow-by-blow of his personal life after separation from Phyllis. That absence is meaningful—some people simply choose a different kind of life narrative, the kind made of steady practice rather than spectacle.

I like to imagine Eugene’s life as a classic film scored softly under dialogue—the credits roll on a career that mattered but didn’t need marquee billing.