Joaquin was born on the 28th of October 1974 and came from a special family. Her Russian/Hungarian mother, Arlyn Dunetz, left her first husband and moved to the West Coast, where she met a sweet Irish/Spanish guy named John Lee Bottom. They discovered that they were a common pleasure for them to marry and travel throughout the United States. In 1970, in Madras,
Oregon, they had their first River Jude Bottom child, before they had their second infant, Joaquin Raphael Bottom, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Each of the other three brothers, Storm, Liberty and Season, were born in separate cities as well. In 1978, they changed their surname to Phoenix, after Summer was born. Joaquin even wanted to alter his first name to Leaf, since he was furious about how his name was mispronounced by individuals. “I changed my name because nobody could pronounce ‘Joaquin’ in the United States and as a child I used to feel so ashamed about it. Every kid in my family had flawless names and I got ‘Joaquin.’ I figured,’ This is not good.’ I can’t even say it.’ But he was credited as Leaf for the next eleven years.
John, who served as a carpenter with five children under his care, was unable to give enough to his relatives. They were frail, however their optimism was not lacking. John and Arlyn persuaded them to compete in a local talent competition because among their daughters they saw aptitude. River and Joaquin’s name, though, went to actress and producer Penny Marshall, who then proposed that
“It did not take Leaf a harder route to unravel fame, not as good-looking as his child. By the time he starred in “Stand by Me” in 1986, River had starred in the Oscar-nominated “SpaceCamp” image (1986). Leaf accomplished his finest movie yet in “Parenthood” (1989) alongside Steve Martin without having to be left behind, yet despite becoming a teenager, the potential of his brother was already several measures.