Neil deGrasse Tyson's 2 Kids: All About Travis and Miranda

Neil deGrasse Tyson welcomed a son Travis and daughter Miranda with his wife Alice Young

Neil deGrasse Tyson may be the internet’s favorite science dad, but in his everyday life, he’s also a father of two.

The former Cosmos host shares two children, Miranda and Travis, with his wife, Alice Young. The couple met in a physics class while attending the University of Texas at Austin and married in 1988. A few years later, they welcomed their first child together, daughter Miranda. Their family expanded once again with the birth of their son, Travis.

Tyson is well known for popularizing astrophysics and bringing science into the mainstream. He’s hosted educational documentaries, appeared on various talk and popular television shows, including The Big Bang Theory, and was even named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Astrophysicist in 2000. But despite his life in the public eye, his family is his first priority.

“My perfect day is I stay home with my wife and kids,” he told The Washington Post in February 2015. “I would also drink great wine and have great meals with friends and family.”

In a 2015 interview with Larry King, he offered more insight into how he feels about parenthood during a discussion about the afterlife. “I don’t fear death. I love the unknown,” he told King. “My great regret for not being around — it would be kind of cool to see my kids continue to grow.”

In 2017, the astrophysicist appeared on Celebrity Family Feud along with his wife, two kids and his cousin. His family has also accompanied him to various red carpet events over the years, but for the most part, they stay out of the spotlight.

From their individual passions to what they do for work, here’s everything to know about Neil deGrasse Tyson’s kids, Miranda and Travis.

Miranda Tyson

While Miranda’s exact date of birth is not known, Tyson and Young welcomed her sometime in the mid-1990s, naming her after one of Uranus' moons.

In 2011, Tyson wrote on X (formerly Twitter) about being proud of his daughter being a "geek," following in his footsteps. “More evidence my 14yr old daughter is a Geek: after prompting me to ask if she knew any jokes about sodium, she replied, ‘Na,' " he wrote.

Given that her mother has a Ph.D. in mathematical physics and her father is a world-renowned astrophysicist, it’s no surprise that Miranda is interested in science as well.

During a 2016 appearance on the Late Late Show with James Corden, Tyson shared another funny story of Miranda’s scientific thinking. Specifically, how she once performed an experiment to determine the existence of the tooth fairy who took the tooth.

When she lost her first tooth as a little girl, Tyson and his wife told her that they’d heard rumors of a tooth fairy. That night, she put her tooth under her pillow, and Tyson replaced it with money. The next day, however, he asked her how she could be sure it was really the tooth fairy.

“So she started setting up booby traps for the tooth fairy, like crinkly aluminum foil on the ground so she would wake up. [And] she had one of these dream catchers hoping she could catch the fairy in the dream catcher, but it didn’t work,” he explained.

He continued, “At school she got together with her friends and said, ‘We think it might be our parents who are doing this. If it is, whoever’s tooth comes out at school, don’t tell your parents. Put that tooth under the pillow and see what happens the next day.’ So they performed the experiment to demonstrate that the parents are the tooth fairy. And I was thinking, this is how adults should behave!”

In a 2013 interview with King, Tyson similarly praised his daughter’s talent and intelligence. “She loves figure skating, competitive figure skating,” he shared. “She’s interested in far eastern diplomacy. She’s teaching herself Japanese.”

Miranda went to the Bronx High School of Science and then majored in East Asian studies at Harvard University, per her LinkedIn. After graduating in 2018, she went on to get a master’s degree in teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education.

She worked for three years as a special education teacher at the NYCDOE High School of Arts and Technology until 2021 when she pivoted toward teaching part-time at Figure Skating in Harlem. She is now the program administrator for advancement at City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center.

Travis Tyson

Tyson and Young welcomed their second child, son Travis Tyson, in the early 2000s. Like his older sister, his name holds a special meaning. However, it has nothing to do with space or science.

In a 2022 interview on the Remarkable People podcast, Tyson explained that his son was named after the county where he and his wife first met. “Alice and I met in Austin, Texas, in graduate school, and that happens to be Travis County,” he said. “So Travis for the county where we met. And it would be weird if we named him Umbriel,” he joked, referencing another one of Uranus’ moons.

Travis grew up in Manhattan with his parents and older sister and plenty of stimulating dinner conversations about scientific theories and space exploration. He went to Stuyvesant High School, a prestigious prep school known for its focus on math and science, per his bio on Big Sib Tutors. However, Tyson was always cognizant of not pushing his kids to follow in his footsteps.

Speaking to King in 2013, Tyson said, “[Travis] loves chess. I can’t beat him anymore at chess. It’s embarrassing.”

He went on to say that neither Travis or Miranda is particularly interested in space. “I don’t want to tell them what to be interested in. Because then their life’s passion would be false,” he explained, adding, “They know it’s there if they want to [pursue it].”

After high school, Travis attended New York University. He graduated in 2023 from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a degree in political psychology and social justice. Like his dad, he’s passionate about helping others learn, as evidenced by his work with Big Sib Tutors, where he provided math and chess tutoring to K-12 students.

Another similarity Travis shares with his dad: an interest in the entertainment industry. In 2017, he joined his parents and older sister on Celebrity Family Feud. The Tyson family went head-to-head with Rick Fox and his family. The Tysons ended up winning $25,000 for charity, but perhaps the most memorable moment of the episode came when Travis showcased his sense of humor.

During the family member introductions, host Steve Harvey told Travis, “I love the hair,” referring to the then-16-year-old’s style. Travis had a cheeky response at the ready, quipping, “Bet you want some of that.”

In 2023, Travis made his solo television debut, joining season 2 of the reality competition show Claim to Fame. After he was eliminated in the second episode, the hosts showed a brief video from his dad. “I’m Neil deGrasse Tyson. And that is Travis Tyson, my son. Travis, both your mother and I, we’re proud of you. We’ll see you back at the ranch,” he said.

When asked to tell the group about his “amazing father,” Travis again showcased his sense of humor, joking, “He’s smart, I guess,” before sharing a heartfelt description of his dad.

“It's not every day you get to meet a famous scientist. He brings knowledge to people, brings them new facts, and brings the universe down to Earth, and we can all come out of this a little bit brighter,” he said.

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