January Jones brought a special date to a recent red carpet event: her teenage son, Xander.
The Mad Men alum and Xander, 13, posed for photos together at the 18th Annual Oceana SeaChange Summer Party at Montage Laguna Beach on Saturday, July 26. She wore a classic black dress and matching headband, while her son rocked a cream-colored linen striped shirt, white pants and black sneakers.
The outing marked their first public appearance since November 2021 when Xander accompanied his mom to the Los Angeles Mission’s annual Thanksgiving event. The mother-son duo also attended the Oceana party that same year in October.
“So excited to celebrate Oceana’s 23rd birthday and attend @oceanaseachange last night,” Jones, 47, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, July 27. “Sharks are my 2nd favorite animal. They’re iconic, powerful, and essential to the health of our oceans. But they’re also under threat. That’s why I’ve been a longtime supporter of @oceana who campaigns to protect sharks and keep our oceans healthy.”
She shared photos of herself swimming with sharks, as well as one with Xander (but covered his face with a blue heart). The actress tends to hide her child’s face whenever she posts about him on social media. In September 2024, she marked Xander’s 13th birthday by sharing a snap of him posing in front of a sunset — his face covered by a basketball emoji — via her Instagram Stories and writing, “Bday boy is a teen 😩.”
And in September 2023, she posted a video of Xander — facing away from the camera — dancing in a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey, writing, “Happy Birthday to my child, So proud to be yours, Couldn’t love you more.”
January Jones and son Xander Dane. Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Jones has kept Xander mainly out of the public eye since giving birth to him in September 2011 as a single mother. The identity of Xander’s father has never been disclosed.
“That’s my son’s business. It’s not the public’s business,” Jones told The New York Times in 2013.
Of raising her son alone, Jones told Net-a-Porter’s The Edit that same year: “I don’t have room for anything else, so I don’t know how I would have done it with a partner. I knew I would be raising my son alone. It was something I went into knowingly, I was prepared mentally — and I was excited about it.”
Jones split from Jason Sudeikis in early 2011. She had previously dated Ashton Kutcher and John Groban and was most recently linked to Will Forte and former Bachelor Nick Viall.
“She was a delightful, wonderful person, and I enjoyed my time with her, and you know, it was great to get to know her,” Viall, 44, told Maria Menounos on “Better Together” in 2021. “Like I said, it’s nice to still be able to call her a friend.”
Jones initially spoke to Dax Shepard about Viall, 44, who is now married to Natalie Joy, on the “Armchair Expert” podcast in 2020, saying, “He was cast [on The Bachelorette] as the quote-unquote ‘villain,’ but he was actually … he had a bit of a brain, you know? So there was something else there.”
