When January Jones gave birth to her son Xander Dane Jones in September 2011, she wasn’t mad at the men in her life. But she still didn’t want them in the room.
“My brother-in-law and my dad were next door. I only wanted women with me,” the Emmy-nominated actress told the U.K.’s Red in 2017. “Female energy. And I was embarrassed—your body does all these crazy things.”
Not part of the process, in either room, was Xander’s biological father, whose identity Jones has never revealed.
Crossed off the list of possibilities at the time was her ex Jason Sudeikis, whom she had dated off and on in 2010 after meeting when she hosted Saturday Night Live.
Asked if he had any comment about Jones’ pregnancy, Sudeikis told the Washington Post at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April 2011, “Yes, but no.”
The guessing game didn’t end there, but as Jones stressed to the New York Times in 2013, “That’s my son’s business. It’s not the public’s business.”
Invoking one of the most famous-yet-private stars around, she added, “Jack Nicholson once told me: ‘You should never give your personal life away, otherwise people will pick you apart. They’ll never believe in your character.'”
And Mad Men‘s Betty Draper was nothing if not discreet.
“Women should have lots of secrets,” Jones said. “It’s our right to have secrets. Otherwise, what would we write in our memoirs?”
The speculation eventually quieted down, though not before Jones left Los Angeles for a more remote canyon enclave in the San Fernando Valley. “Photographers don’t follow us up there,” she noted to Red, “so Xander has a pretty normal life now.”
And the now-47-year-old has stayed the course when it comes to protecting her family’s privacy.
Jones shared the rarest of photos of Xander on her Instagram July 28, two days after she brought the 13-year-old to the 18th Annual SeaChange Summer Party benefit for Oceana. And even though mother and son stepped-and-repeated for pictures at the event, she still used a heart sticker to shield his face on social media.
While she considered hiring a “manny” in 2017 to up the male energy quotient in Xander’s life, Jones—who at the time was a couple years removed from dating her Last Man Standing costar Will Forte—said he was around plenty of guys.
Xander “has a lot of bro time with the neighbor dads and my dad, who is super young,” she told Red. And her male friends “want to be around him because he’s such a fun kid.”
But really, Jones said, “It’s good to have strong women around a man. To teach him to respect women.”
Needless to say, she wasn’t holding auditions to fill the role of Xander’s dad in her household, noting that people were always trying to set her up and she wasn’t interested.
Though Jones admittedly didn’t originally envision being a single mom.
“I thought I would marry the boyfriend I was with in my early 20s and we would have loads of babies,” she told Violet Grey in 2018. “But then he cheated on me, and I was like, ‘Oh.‘ After a series of disappointments, I’ve just gotten more and more comfortable with myself, where I don’t need a partner to be happy.”
See more famous parents out and about with their look-alike kids:
Jodie Sweetin & Zoie Herpin
The Full House alum appears with her look-alike eldest daughter (left) and daughter Beatrix during a trip to Jamaica in 2023.
Yolanda Hadid & Gigi Hadid
Like mother like daughter. After becoming a household name on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the former supermodel Yolanda Hadid‘s daughter Gigi Hadid broke into the fashion industry as a teen and has been rocking runways ever since.
Clint Eastwood & Scott Eastwood
Clint Eastwood‘s fifth child, son Scott Eastwood, has followed in his movie star footsteps by starring in films like Suicide Squad, Snowden, The Fate of the Furious and Pacific Rim.
Jon Bon Jovi & Jake Bongiovi
The Bon Jovi singer and his third child is his mini-me. Pictured: The two appear on either sides of with the musician’s wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, and their youngest son Romeo Bongiovi at the Jefferson Awards Foundation’ 2017 DC National Ceremony at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. in 2017.
Katie Holmes & Suri Cruise
The look-alike duo is all smiles while attending a 2016 performance of Finding Neverland in the Big Apple.
James Marsden & Jack Marsden
Woah, the Marsden men’s resemblance was uncanny at the 2017 SAG Awards.
Sienna Miller & Marlowe Sturridge
The Alfie star’s daughter, whom she shares with ex Tom Sturridge, joined her mom for a rare public outing in London in April 2025.
Kim Zolciak & Brielle Bierman
Double take! The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum’s daughter looks like her younger sister!
Cristiano Ronaldo & Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
The soccer star has the cutest plus-one ever at the London premiere of Ronaldo.
Christie Brinkley & Sailor Brinkley-Cook
Sailor is taking after her mom in the modeling industry.
Kate Moss & Lila Moss
And Kate’s daughter is also following in her mom’s famous footsteps.
Reese Witherspoon & Ava Phillippe
Here posing for an Instagram snap before the Hot Pursuit premiere in Los Angeles, mom and her daughter have never looked more alike!
Lisa Bonet & Zoë Kravitz
Like mother, like daughter. The two attend the Vanity Fair Oscars party in 2015.
Rumer Willis & Demi Moore
With their matching jumpsuits, sleek hair and glasses, the two look more like twins than mother and daughter! “That moment when you realize you actually are becoming your mother #twinning #imnotmad,” Willis joked on Instagram.
Madonna & Lourdes Leon
Pictured here in 2010, the pop icon’s daughter is a fashionista just like her mama!
David Beckham & Brooklyn Beckham
You’ll get a kick out of how much the soccer star and his son look alike.
Kelly Ripa & Lola Consuelos
The spunky morning show host celebrated her daughter’s 14th birthday with this adorable pic. Look at that resemblance!
Uma Thurman & Maya Hawke
Once upon a time in Hollywood…the Kill Bill actress twinned with her daughter on the red carpet.
Jay Z & Blue Ivy Carter
Little Blue stole the show at the 2017 Grammys, and she’s totally #twinning with her pops!
Alison Sweeney & Megan Sanov
The Days of Our Lives star and her daughter get in the holiday spirit at Disney On Ice Presents Frozen at the Staples Center.
Lily-Rose Depp & Vanessa Paradis
The mother-daughter pair looked like virtual twinsies (especially with those matching bobs) at the Chanel fall-winter Haute Couture show in Paris.
Julianne Moore & Liv Freundlich
The Oscar-winner and her daughter both rock the red hair.
Robin Wright & Dylan Penn
The nearly identical stunning stars even dress the same!
Lori Loughlin & Olivia Giannulli
The Fuller House star and her daughter are practically twins at the Summer TCA Press Tour.
Daniel Day-Lewis & Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis
The Last of the Mohicans and Lincoln star’s young adult son, whose mother is French actress Isabelle Adjani, made his big runway debut at 2015 Paris Fashion Week, walking into the Chanel show with Julianne Moore.
Gillian Anderson & Piper Maru Klotz
The two stunned on the red carpet at the Olivier Awards in London.
Kaia Gerber & Cindy Crawford
If you didn’t know better, you might’ve guessed they were sisters!
Tom Hanks & Colin Hanks
This apple certainly doesn’t fall far from the tree!
Mamie, Grace and Louisa Gummer & Meryl Streep
Mammia Mia! You can certainly see the family resemblance.
John Legend & Luna Legend
The EGOT winner posted this baby photo of himself, looking exactly like baby Luna on Oct. 6, 2017
