Alan Ruck is only 10 years younger than his onscreen dad, Brian Cox. That, among many other things, makes it difficult to decipher the ages of the Roy siblings on Succession. Even without my credentials as a youngest sibling, I feel very confident in saying that Roman gives off huge youngest child energy. But the Roy birth order is not all that it seems... just as who is daddy's number one is not guaranteed.
Although pop-science may have you thinking you're an expert in sibling birth order, a Scientific American article discussed how studies have shown that the traits of siblings are not uniformly dictated by their place in line. Although one can't help but think of Connor when reading that "a 1968 study showed that, compared with later borns, first borns are less likely to participate in dangerous sports because of fears of physical injury" — especially if you consider overthrowing your father a dangerous sport. But sibling traits related to birth order can vary from family to family. And when you grow up as a Roy, your upbringing is rather... varied.
In Season 3, Episode 4, the HBO show finally (!) provided an official age for one of the Roy kids. Using that as my age guide, here's their place in line.
Connor — Eldest Child, Mid-50s
You have to be 35 years old to be the American president. But my fellow Conheads, there's no need to worry about that. After all, before he took molly during Tom's "bachelor party," Connor fondly remembered getting high listening to Fleetwood Mac in 1986, so he's securely above the age limit.
Ahead of Season 3, Ruck told The Guardian that Connor is in his 50s. Ruck himself is 65, but his Ferris Bueller's Day Off costar Matthew Broderick had joked with The Ringer in 2019 that Ruck perpetually plays like he's 55. Even though Ferris himself is not privy to what goes down in the Succession writers' room, let's say that Connor is in his mid-50s. That would mean that the 80-something Logan had him in his mid- to late 20s with his first wife.
This tracks since Ruck also told The Guardian that Connor was 8 when his parents divorced. (Connor's mom is presumably dead, but I eagerly await anymore morsels that Succession throws viewers' way on the woman who contributed to Connor Roy's upbringing.) The actor noted Connor was old enough to know his father was a "big deal" at the time, meaning Logan's empire was probably blossoming when he was around 35.
Kendall — Second Child, 39
As the first child of Logan's marriage to his second wife Caroline Collingwood, there's a significant age gap between Kendall and his older brother. And via Adrien Brody's new character, he revealed in "Lion in the Meadow" that Kendall is the ripe old age of 39. He's got a 40th birthday party he's planning ("it's gonna be the bomb"), so that's surely something to look forward to later this season.
At 42 years old, Jeremy Strong is only three years older than his onscreen character. But I would've figured that Kendall had to be older based on his younger siblings. Kendall also already has been married and separated from Rava for a few years, and they have two kids — Sophie and Iverson. (Succession didn't reveal his kids' ages when Sophie had a birthday party in Season 2, but she's old enough now to be hanging with Billie Eilish and Harry Styles.)
But with his confirmed age of 39, it seems that Kendall and Rava got married relatively young, like in their early 20s — perhaps when he was finishing his MBA. (Roman did say that Kendall's Bourbon Street bachelor party with the tattoo man happened "about 15ish years ago.") Then, Kendall climbed the Waystar Royco corporate ladder and did coke off his kids' iPads.
Roman — Third Child, Mid-30s
Kieran Culkin is playing younger than his actual age of 39, which makes a whole ton of sense based on Roman's immaturity. Roman seems closer in age to his younger sister Shiv than his older brother Kendall. And thinking about the whole "dog pound" debacle, if Kendall was between 7 and 9 when he was allegedly forcing the 4-year-old Roman into a dog cage, that would make Roman 34 to 36 now.
Roman and Connor have a solid two-decade age gap, which helps explain why Roman used his Montana fishing trip with Connor as an anecdote about his father in "The Disruption." ("Single, multi-use happy childhood memory," Roman said.) So, sometimes, Connor is more of a father figure to Roman than a big brother. Though, that surely doesn't mean that Roman respects him. Remember, Con — you're not wanted!
Shiv — Youngest Child, Early 30s
Don't believe me that Shiv's the youngest? Let me refer you to Siobhan's official HBO character page to prove it. Shiv being the fourth child may explain Logan's nickname for her too, as a fan on Reddit pointed out that "Pinky" is your fourth finger.
As with Rome, Connor can fill a father figure role for Shiv when needed, like giving her away at her wedding when it didn't seem Logan would attend. And if Roman and Kendall have a three-to-five age gap, I'd say Shiv and Roman are closer (though not Siamese twins), like one-to-two years apart. If she's only one year younger than Roman, that could explain why Kendall thought Shiv might be able to recollect the dog pound situation. But considering how blurred the memories of the Roy kids are about that incident, it may not be the best indicator of age.
If she is two years younger than Roman (and let's face it, I can't see Caroline Collingwood pumping out babies quicker than that), that would make Shiv around 32 to 34. Though she's not that much younger than Roman, her inexperience and youth keeping being brought up in regards to Waystar due to her forging her own path (with surely no help from her father's connections) as a political advisor.
Besides Kendall's big 4-0 coming up, Succession will most likely not give viewers much more of the characters' biographical particulars. But one thing's for certain: Being a Roy kid stunts your growth.
Images: Macall B. Polay/HBO (2), Craig Blankenhorn/HBO, HBO, Graeme Hunter/HBO (2)