In a church at the age of 11 George Clooney remembers his first kiss

Noemi Hüsser

9.1.2026

Actor George Clooney talks about his first love in an interview.
Actor George Clooney talks about his first love in an interview.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/dpa

George Clooney looks back: In an interview for the film release of "Jay Kelly", the Hollywood star talks about his first kiss - in a church in his hometown in the US state of Kentucky.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • In an interview, George Clooney recalled his first kiss at the age of eleven in a church in his hometown.
  • In the new film "Jay Kelly", Clooney plays a Hollywood star who finds himself confronted with loneliness and failed relationships on a trip to Europe.
  • Despite the parallels, Clooney emphasizes that, unlike him, Jay Kelly has lost real friendships through his own mistakes.

Hollywood star George Clooney has spoken about his first kiss in an interview. It took place in a church in his hometown of Augusta in the US state of Kentucky, of all places. "I was eleven years old," Clooney recalls. "We hid from all our friends who were waiting outside and shouted: 'Kiss her! Kiss her!" However, the first romance didn't last long. "Eleven-year-olds get over things like that pretty quickly," says Clooney looking back.

The actor shared the childhood memory as part of the promotion for his new film "Jay Kelly", in which he plays the lead role of the same name. The film tells the story of a Hollywood star who moves from film sets to premieres and onwards on a journey through Europe.

"Maybe I should start paying my friends"

Along the way, the tour becomes a personal reckoning: Jay has to deal with his difficult relationship with his daughters, an ever-shrinking circle of friends and the realization that fame does not protect against loneliness.

In a movie about an ageing Hollywood star, a comparison with Clooney himself is inevitable - but the actor rejects this in an interview.

His character has isolated himself through his own bad decisions, explains Clooney: from his family as well as from real friendships. Jay surrounds himself with people he pays. "Maybe I should start paying my friends," jokes Clooney, "but I'm not there yet." Precisely because so much separates him from the character, it was easy for him to keep his distance and play Jay Kelly as an independent character.


More from the department