Sam Elliott and his daughter, Cleo Rose, share a reason to stop and look down during a walk on the beach: they collect rocks. Agates are a particular favorite, according to Cleo. And the interest goes back to a man she never got to meet—Sam’s father.
Elliott spoke about the hobby in a 2017 interview with Parade, describing walks with Cleo along the beach near his Malibu home. He enjoyed being with her, whatever they happened to be doing. Searching for stones was one activity they shared.
“My dad was a rock hound, I’m a rock hound, my daughter is now a rock hound,” he said.
A habit that started with his father
Elliott’s father, Nelson, worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sam recalled fishing trips with him and his friends, sometimes hiking or riding horses to reach their fishing spots in the Sierras.
Nelson died when Sam was 17, before his son moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. In that same interview, Elliott spoke about wishing his father could see the life and career he had built.
His father never met Cleo. But the interest in collecting stones reached her through Sam.
Cleo chose music
Elliott and Katharine Ross married in 1984 and welcomed Cleo, their only child, that September. Growing up with two actors did not mean she wanted the same career.
She pursued music, releasing her debut album, No More Lies, in 2008. As PEOPLE recounts in its look at the family’s life together, Cleo told The Malibu Times that her parents supported her musical ambitions and were happy she had chosen a different path.
Still looking for stones together
Years after Sam described their beach walks, Cleo shared a glimpse of the hobby herself. According to PEOPLE’s August 2026 report, she marked his 82nd birthday on August 9, then posted a beach photograph the following day.
“My dad and I have a great love for collecting rocks, especially agates!” she wrote.
The photograph shows them on a Malibu beach at sunset. Sam holds up a stone, and Cleo looks at it with him.
