Kermit's family has been seen and mentioned in several projects.
Parents[]
Kermit's Mom was first mentioned in The Muppet Show Pitch Reel. Although she later appeared in the Muppet Kids books and Kermit's Swamp Years, her face has never been shown. Kermit's Dad was referenced in Before You Leap, but has never made any appearances. In The Jim Henson Hour episode 102, Jim Henson tells Kermit, "Give my best to your folks."
Siblings[]
Young Kermit was seen being trampled by a barrage (12 to be exact) of unnamed siblings in Kermit's Swamp Years.
In 1994, on Larry King Live, it was stated that Kermit was born one of several thousand children in a Southern swamp, and that he had 4,000 brothers and sisters (well, at last count).
In 2002, in the On the Set with Kermit interview for Kermit's Swamp Years DVD, Kermit said, "I was the first born child, very responsible, you know. I had several thousand younger brothers and sisters." He then went on to name them: "Angie, Artie, Aloysius, Andy, Artemus,...Eloise, Eugene, Edward, Elaine,...Mortimer, Marry, Millicent, Molly, Matthew,...Yolanda, Yo-yo, Ya-ya, Ye-ye (Mom and Dad were kind of running out of names by then),... Zeek, Zachary, and, of course, Zschlomo (the Z is silent)."
In 2005, on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Kermit commented to Ty Pennington that "You know, as a tadpole in the swamp, I had 3,265 brothers and sisters!" This number was also used by Kermit on Q with Jian Ghomeshi, in 2011, where he stated he is the oldest of all his siblings.[1]
Kermit's 2006 book, Before You Leap, cites 2,353 siblings. Although he concedes that the number is approximate -- as it is with all frog families. This number was supported in a 2006 Early Show appearance, where Kermit used the same number. He commented that at Christmas it takes two weeks for everyone to hang up their coats.
When speaking with Lady Gaga about missing family around the holidays in their 2013 special, Kermit says he has about 3,400 brothers and sisters, give or take a couple. He says it takes them three months to hang up their coats over the holidays.
On April 24, 2018, Kermit tweeted, "My folks wanted to give all of their kids K names… but around sibling 143 of 3,284, they gave up and moved on to the other letters." [1]
Other Family Members[]
- Robin the Frog is Kermit's nephew and the relative with whom he appears most frequently in Muppet productions. The character first appeared in 1971's The Frog Prince, but he was not established as Kermit's nephew until The Muppet Show episode 212 in 1977.
- Kermit returned to the swamp in The Muppets at Walt Disney World to see many of his aunts and uncles, including Harry, Mary, Larry, Terri, Gary, Perry, and Lou.
- Kermit's Great-grandmother Toad and Grandfather Frog were both seen in Kermit's Garden of Verses.
- Kermit's Great-Uncle McDermott appeared in the Muppet Babies book Baby Kermit's New Friends.
- Kermit's Uncle McDermott appeared in the Muppet Kids book Help! We're Lost!.
- In a Target commercial, Kermit taunted Brad Paisley that his Grandmother "plays better than that," during a banjo duel. (This may simply be a taunt and not a reference to the actual abilities of Kermit's grandmother.)
- In a pop-up video under the "Do Not Touch" button on muppets.com, Kermit claims to have an uncle who is a chameleon. (YouTube)
- In Muppets Most Wanted, Link Hogthrob reveals that he is somehow related to Kermit through marriage.
- When asked by Fozzie in The Muppets episode "Bear Left Then Bear Write" if he had ever been shot with a tranquilizer dart, Kermit replies, "Uh, well, no, but I did lick my third cousin once and the walls started melting, so I feel you, bro."
- Kermit mentions his cousin Albert in The Muppets episode "Walk the Swine." Kermit states: "Big guest tonight on Up Late. We have Reese Witherspoon for the first time. Honestly I'm a little nervous, y'know. But, nerves are good. They keep you sharp. My cousin Albert used to tease me about it, then a hawk carried him off which simultaneously proved my point and ruined our camping trip."
- Baby Kermit draws a picture of himself fishing with his grandfather in the 2018 Muppet Babies episode "Grandpa Camp." In the episode "Fozzie Can't Bear It," he draws a picture of himself with his grandmother, playing robo dino cowboys.
- Kermit sings about (and with) his "Caribbean Amphibian" cousin who lives on a tropical island.
- Kermit mentions his Uncle Jeffrey in a 2021 holiday video. (YouTube)
Alternate Families[]
- In The Great Muppet Caper Kermit and Fozzie played identical twin brothers. Their dad is also shown in a photograph.
- Kermit (unwittingly and unknowingly) married Miss Piggy in The Muppets Take Manhattan – although subsequent events suggest that it was only their characters in the movie that married, and that their relationship is really the same as ever.
- Kermit played the patriarch of the Cratchit family in The Muppet Christmas Carol – including wife Emily Cratchit (Miss Piggy) and four children (two boy frogs named Peter and Tim, and two girl pigs named Betina and Belinda).
- On June 28, 2006, Kermit made a surprise appearance on Good Morning America for Charlie Gibson's farewell as the show's co-anchor. Referring to a picture of Gibson and his family posing with Kermit from a few years earlier, Gibson affectionately referred to Kermit as his "adopted son," to which the famed frog began this exchange with Gibson:
- Kermit: Dad, can I borrow the car tonight?
- Gibson: OK, but stay out of the back seat.
- Kermit: With my luck, I'll probably end up in the trunk.
- In Muppets Most Wanted, Miss Piggy has a fantasy that shows her and Kermit married and growing old together with two children.
- In promotional materials for Muppets Most Wanted, Kermit said one of his cousins played Constantine in the film.