The American actor Vin Diesel, whose real name is Mark Sinclair, is oftentimes listed as one of the highest-paid Hollywood stars depending on the years his movies are released. Projects he’s known for include the Fast and the Furious franchise, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) and the XXX film series.
The iconic leader of the Fast and the Furious franchise is all about family, both in his movies and in real life. Diesel’s Dominic Toretto character’s definition of family includes his closest friends, and this seems to roll over into real life. So, what about his real family? Who are they?
The Riddick actor is notoriously guarded when it comes to his romantic relationships. It’s unknown if the actor is even married! However, we do know the name of his longtime partner and the mother of his children: Paloma Jiménez.
The couple’s relationship began in 2007, years after he dated co-star Michelle Rodriguez. Diesel and Jiménez have three children together, with all of them taking on his surname: Sinclair.
Keep scrolling as we take a dive into this elusive couple’s relationship:
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Who Is Paloma Jiménez?
Karla Paloma Jiménez Denagustin was born in Acapulco, Mexico, on August 22, 1983. While most of her fame is closely related to her connection with Diesel, she is also a well-respected actress and model.
The 5’10 Latina actress and model was raised Roman Catholic. She left her lovely seaside town for a life in the U.S. with the hopes of expanding her career opportunities. She has been featured in magazines and ads for well-known brands like Coca-Cola, Pantene and Honda.
In the early 2000s, she was represented by Los Angeles model agency Two Management, and walked multiple runway shows at the time. Still, her career does not begin and end with modeling. She also appeared on an episode of the Mexican comedy TV show Otro Rollo con: Adal Ramones in 2004.
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When Did Vin Diesel and Paloma Jiménez Start Dating?
Although the longtime partners prefer to keep their personal lives private, we do know they have had three children together. They can often be seen at events or out in public together, though they seem selective with where they appear.
“I’m not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors,” the XXX star explained to Details regarding the desire to keep his life private. “I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence.”
Diesel and Jiménez’s romance began in 2007, and since then, bits and pieces of their relationship have surfaced, but never enough to warrant the spotlight of a magazine cover. It seems the two most likely met through mutual friends or events in Hollywood since their careers somewhat overlapped.
In 2001, Diesel was linked to his Furious co-star Rodriguez, though no one knows when they dated. A 2002 article in USA Today reported that Diesel “admits to dating [Rodriguez] at one time.” Things ended between the two, and six years later, we saw his relationship with Jiménez bloom.
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Are Vin Diesel and Paloma Jiménez Married?
Though we don’t have confirmation of the two getting hitched, he told Parade in 2008 that he deliberately took his time finding the right one.
“While I was doing Pacifier,” which is a 2005 comedy about a Navy SEAL-turned-nanny, “it really started to bring out this desire to have a child,” he admitted. “It took a couple years after that to find the right person and to hopefully be mature enough to be a great father which is really all you want to do.”
At his xXx: Return of Xander Cage premiere in 2017, he told Entertainment Tonight, “She’s so stunningly beautiful, but the thing people don’t realize is she’s my rock, so she’s so stunningly beautiful on the inside.” He continued, “She’s just so wonderful in so many ways.”
While we aren’t sure how their love began, we’re certain he found the “right person” in Jiménez, as they’ve been inseparable since.
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Who Are Vin Diesel and Paloma Jiménez’s Kids?
The man who played Xander Cage started a family with Jiménez, and gushed to ET in 2017, “She’s everything. She’s the perfect mother.”
As a supportive partner and mother, Jiménez understands the high demands of her partner’s career. She stepped back from her own career as an actress and model to focus on raising their three children: daughter Hania Riley, their son Vincent Sinclair, and their daughter Pauline Sinclair (named after the late Paul Walker).
Hania Riley Sinclair was born in the Spring of 2008 and, by the age of 14, already had a film credit under her belt. Speaking of belts, this first child is an orange belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She is impressive, like her father, to say the least!
Her sole film credit is courtesy of her father’s movie Fast & Furious Spy Racers, which the creators released in 2019. She remains off social media at her father’s behest and thus avoids the societal dramas that plague the children of celebrities. Diesel does occasionally post about his children himself, though.
Vincent Sinclair is the couple’s only son, born in the Spring of 2010, and is named after his grandfather Irving Vincent (Diesel’s adoptive father).
In 2017, Diesel took Vincent and Hania to the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This is certainly a perk to being a celebrity’s child that Diesel refuses to let his children miss out on.
Their third child, Pauline Sinclaire, was born in the Spring of 2015. This little angel is more well-known than her siblings simply because she is named after Paul Walker. Diesel’s co-star passed away in 2013 after a car wreck (which led to Vin’s goddaughter, Meadow, suing Porsche over the incident).
