George Clooney, wife Amal and 8-year-old twins receive French citizenship

George and Amal Clooney are ringing in the new year with a change.

The couple and their 8-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, were granted French citizenship, according to a naturalization decree obtained by the French newspaper Journal Officiel and seen by PEOPLE.

PEOPLE has reached out to George’s representatives for comment.

In an interview with Esquire magazine in October, George, 64, spoke about his life in Europe with his wife, whom he married in Venice, Italy, in 2014, and their two children.

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“You know, we live on a farm in France. I grew up on a farm for a good part of my life, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of ​​a farm,” George explained. “But now, for them, it’s like not having an iPad. They have to eat dinner with an adult and bring in their dishes. They have a much better life.”

The actor admitted, “I was worried about raising my kids in the culture of Los Angeles, Hollywood.”

“They felt like they would never get a proper shake-up in life,” he said. “France, they don’t care about fame at all. They don’t want them walking around worrying about paparazzi. They don’t want to be compared to someone else’s famous kids.”

In addition to his family home in France, George owns real estate in England, a vacation home on Lake Como in Italy, and another property near his family in Kentucky.

However, the actors never imagined that their main residence would be a French country house.

“Growing up in Kentucky, all I wanted was to get off the farm and escape that life,” he said in a February 2025 interview with The New York Times.

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“Now I find myself back to that life. I drive tractors and things like that,” the Oscar winner said, adding, “It’s my best chance to live a normal life.”