Frank Gehry, the visionary architect renowned for his deconstructivist designs like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, lived a life as dynamic as his buildings. Born in Toronto in 1929 as Frank Owen Goldberg, he passed away on December 5, 2025, at the age of 96 from a respiratory condition at his home in Santa Monica, California. Throughout his career, Gehry’s personal experiences shaped his innovative approach to architecture, but it was his close-knit family that provided the foundation for his enduring creativity and resilience.
Gehry’s family story reflects the immigrant roots and personal transformations that marked his journey. Coming from a Jewish background, with parents Irving and Sadie Goldberg, who emigrated from Poland and Russia, he grew up in a modest household where his grandmother, Leah Caplan, sparked his imagination by building miniature cities from wood scraps. This early influence extended into his adult life, where relationships and parenthood played pivotal roles in his evolution, including his decision to change his surname to Gehry in 1954 to combat antisemitism.
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Early Marriages and Children
Gehry’s first significant personal milestone came in 1952 when he married Anita Snyder, a union that lasted until their divorce in 1966. During their time together, they welcomed two daughters, Brina and Leslie, who became integral parts of his early family life.
Frank Gehry (1929–2025)
Today, the architectural world loses one of its most fearless innovators. Frank Gehry’s work reshaped skylines and redefined how we think about form, movement, and material, long before digital experimentation became part of our daily practice.
His… pic.twitter.com/9jb9EFc25Y
— ParametricArchitecture (@parametricarch) December 5, 2025
Anita’s encouragement led Gehry to adopt his new last name, a change that symbolized his adaptation to American society after moving to Los Angeles as a teenager. The kids from this marriage grew up amid Gehry’s budding career, witnessing his transition from truck driver to architecture student at the University of Southern California.
Tragically, Leslie Gehry Brenner passed away in 2008, leaving a profound impact on the family. Brina, however, remained close, supporting her father’s endeavors. These early years of being married and raising children taught Gehry about balance, as he juggled family responsibilities with his studies and initial professional steps, including a brief stint at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Later Family and Enduring Bonds
In 1975, Gehry found love again and married Berta Isabel Aguilera, a partnership that endured for the rest of his life. This second marriage brought stability and joy, resulting in two sons, Alejandro and Samuel, who both pursued creative paths—Alejandro as an artist and Samuel as an architectural designer. Berta, often described as a grounding force, supported Gehry through his rise to international fame, helping manage their household in Santa Monica, where the family flourished.
The children from this union added a new dimension to Gehry’s world, inspiring projects that blended personal whimsy with professional ambition. His family extended to include his sister, Doreen Gehry Nelson, who shared in his life’s triumphs and challenges.
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Even in his later years, Gehry emphasized the importance of these relationships, crediting his wife and kids for keeping him innovative. At the time of his death, he was survived by Berta, Brina, Alejandro, and Samuel, a testament to the strong family ties that outlasted his remarkable architectural legacy.
