John Ford had two children with his wife, Mary McBride Smith. The couple married in 1920, and their daughter Barbara later married actor and singer Ken Curtis, known for playing Festus Haggen on Gunsmoke. Ford and Smith remained married throughout his life, although their relationship faced personal and religious complications.
Ford, born John Martin Feeney in 1894, became one of Hollywood's most celebrated directors. His career lasted more than five decades and included more than 130 films, many of them westerns and historical dramas. He won a record four Academy Awards for Best Director, including awards for The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, and The Quiet Man.
A common mix-up comes from the much larger Feeney family. Ford was one of eleven children born to John Augustine Feeney and Barbara Curran Feeney. That number refers to his siblings and family of origin—not the children he had himself.