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Filmmaker Sophia Maddox ‘devastated’ and ‘dumbstruck’ to learn her grandfather was Charles Manson

Дата публикации: 24-07-2026 13:00:00

Maddox documented her life after learning the convicted murderer was related to her in the new Hulu documentary, “My Grandfather Charles Manson.”

Основное содержимое страницы с новостью.

Her DNA search results went helter-skelter. 

Filmmaker Sophia Maddox broke down in tears when she and her father, Daniel Arguelles, learned from an online ancestry search that his dad was one of America’s most notorious criminals — Charles Manson.

“I was obviously very devastated,” Maddox, 26, exclusively told The Post. She recalled feeling “dumbstruck” and “sobbing.”

“My dad was just rubbing my back and holding me, and telling me we were nothing like him. But it was a little traumatic,” she added.

Collage of Sophia Maddox crying and Daniel Arguelles looking upwards.

Sophia Maddox (left) and her dad, Daniel Arguelles (right), were shocked to learn that Charles Manson was Arguelles’ birth father. Disney

A black and white portrait of Charles Manson.

Charles Manson’s granddaughter explores his past in a documentary. Disney

Co-directed by Maddox and Alexandra Orton, the Hulu documentary, “My Grandfather Charles Manson,” follows Maddox as she looks into Manson’s past, struggles with her fraught relationship with her father, and interviews former Manson family members such as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Manson trial prosecutor Stephen Kay. 

Arguelles was born in 1959, when his mother, Darlene, was 17. She met Manson at a bus stop when he was going by the name “Charlie Dear” and the pair had a one-night stand.

Manson — who was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, including the horrific 1969 slaying of the pregnant Sharon Tate — died in prison at 83 in 2017.

A bearded man with a young girl smiling at the camera.

Sophia Maddox giggles as a child with her father, Daniel Arguelles, the son of Charles Manson. Hulu

Daniel Arguelles as Sophia's father in a suit and tie.

Daniel Arguelles is in “My Grandfather Charles Manson.” Disney

During his decades behind bars, Manson was given various diagnoses, including schizophrenia and hypomania, although experts disputed an exact condition.  

Maddox said therapists “cleared me” of mental health disorders. But if she has kids in the future, she will “always have that concern.”

However, if they do inherit issues such as bipolar disorder, hypomania, depression or anxiety, “I do have a hopeful heart that we have tools, and we have therapists,” she told The Post. 

Charles Manson looking directly at the camera with a slight smile.

Charles Manson (pictured in an undated photo) met Maddox’s grandmother at a bus stop. Disney

Sophia Maddox with tears in her eyes.

Sophia Maddox explored Manson’s past, as shown in “My Grandfather Charles Manson” (above). Disney

She added that if anything is passed down to her kids or future generations, she knows they’ll have “the support that they need.”

Though Maddox said she has “limited” herself from watching all of the portrayals of her infamous grandfather in pop culture, she has seen a “pretty interesting” clip from “Mindhunter” (which aired from 2017 to 2019), and the 2019 Quentin Tarantino movie, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.”

The popular Tarantino flick starred Margot Robbie as Tate and Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as two men who accidentally waylay her killers in a reimagined version of events. In a unique casting fluke, Australian actor Damon Herriman played Manson in both the film and “Mindhunters.” 

Sophia Maddox crying as she records "My Grandfather Charles Manson".

Sophia Maddox gets emotional in “My Grandfather Charles Manson.” Disney

Charles Manson reading a statement at his parole hearing in San Quentin State Prison.

Charles Manson attends a parole hearing in San Quentin in 1986. Bettmann Archive

Because she was a teen when the movie came out, “I didn’t even clock that when they said ‘Charlie’ they were talking about Charles Manson,” she said.

In her documentary, she visits the Indiana Boys School, a juvenile correctional institution Manson was sent to at 14. There, he was allegedly both a victim and a perpetrator of sexual abuse. 

Onscreen, Maddox frets about not wanting to seem like a Manson “apologist.” 

She told The Post that she doesn’t think that looking at the factors that shaped him is “apologist behavior.”

Black and white photo of Charles Manson being escorted by two police officers.

Charles Manson is shown in “My Grandfather Charles Manson.” Disney

Sophia Maddox looks at her phone in bed.

Sophia Maddox filmed “My Grandfather Charles Manson” to “face it all.” Disney

Maddox added, “I think other people might project that onto me, but I don’t believe that facing what his life was [is] justifying any actions. I think to end cycles of abuse, you have to look at the root of it.”

When asked if she feels any sense of connection to Manson, she said, “No, not really. I just had to face it all.”

She explained, “I couldn’t live in secret. I don’t like lying to people. It really weighs heavy on my heart … I didn’t feel like I could live a lie.” 

Charles Manson with an "X" carved into his forehead, being escorted by a police officer.

The documentary shows Charles Manson in custody. Disney

Mugshot of Charles Manson.

Charles Manson is seen in a 1959 mug shot. Disney

Maddox conceded that she could see a connective family trait through the “obvious stream of creativity,” and she could recognize that Manson’s music is “pretty good.” 

Before the infamous Manson Family murders, Manson was an aspiring musician, rubbing elbows with the Beach Boys.

Maddox’s dad was used to sing, act, and model, and she noted that it was “hard not to see the similarities.” 

Growing up, she didn’t think she was “smart enough” to learn how to play the guitar, but once she tried, “I realized how naturally it came to me. And now, it’s kind of a comfort for me. So, I think that’s one thing I’ve taken away.”

Sophia Maddox with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, looking to her right.

Sophia Maddox ended up estranged from her father while making the documentary. Disney

Charles Manson traveling on a police van to the Santa Monica Courthouse.

Charles Manson used to be a musician. Getty Images

Her father didn’t want to dig into learning about Manson, and over the course of the documentary, they have a falling out.

They’re still estranged, she said, but “my door is always open” to a reconciliation. 

“My Grandfather Charles Manson” is now streaming on Hulu. 

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