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- Pete Crow-Armstrong mom: Ashley Crow
- Pete Crow-Armstrong dad: Matthew Armstrong
- How did Pete Crow-Armstrong's parents meet?
- Where did Pete Crow-Armstrong go to college?
- Where is Pete Crow-Armstrong from?
Plenty of MLB players come from baseball backgrounds, with fathers, uncles or brothers who have played the game at the highest level. Fewer can claim both of their parents are actors.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong comes not from a baseball family, but from a Hollywood family. His parents have both made notable on-screen appearances between films and TV, with his mother even appearing in a well-known baseball movie.
Crow-Armstrong did well not to join the family business. He became a first-round pick of the Mets and is now a cornerstone of the Cubs thanks to his excellent glove and impressive power.
Here's what you need to know about Crow-Armstrong's family and where he grew up.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong mom: Ashley Crow
Pete Crow-Armstrong's mom, Ashley Crow, launched her career as an actress when she was in her 20s, primarily appearing in television roles but also making a handful of film appearances. Her most recent credited roles came in 2014.
While Crow chose acting, her son says his athleticism can be partly traced back to her. "My mom and my dad played softball together in their actors’ league," Crow-Armstrong told MLB.com in 2025. "She was pretty in tune with how baseball was played."
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Played Jenny Heywood in Little Big League
Crow appropriately had a major role in 1994 baseball movie "Little Big League" as Jenny Heywood, the mother of 12-year-old Billy Heywood. In the film, Billy inherits the Minnesota Twins and ultimately names himself manager of the organization despite his youth. Jenny, meanwhile, strikes up a relationship with first baseman Lou Collins.
More than three decades later, Crow is the real-life mother of a young MLB star whose defense often looks like something out of a movie.
Played Sandra Bennet in NBC's Heroes
Crow had a recurring role on NBC's drama series "Heroes," appearing in 41 episodes as Sandra Bennet. Bennet is the adoptive mother of Claire Bennet, one of the main characters who is played by Hayden Panettiere as part of an ensemble cast. You may remember it's tagline, "Save the cheerleader, save the world." The show ran from 2006-10.
Other notable acting roles
Crow has made a number of brief appearances on notable TV shows, including "Law & Order," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Mentalist," "Grey's Anatomy" and soap opera "As the World Turns."
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Pete Crow-Armstrong dad: Matthew Armstrong
Pete Crow-Armstrong's father, Matthew Armstrong, is also an actor and the other half of the Cubs star's last name. About 13 years younger than his wife, Armstrong has made plenty of brief appearances in notable TV shows while also taking on a prominent role in a former NBC drama series in the early 2000s.
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Played Ted Sprague in NBC's Heroes
Just like his wife, Armstrong landed a role of his own on "Heroes" as Ted Sprague, appearing in eight episodes. In the show, Sprague learns he has the power to produce radiation and attempts to figure out how to use it without putting others in danger. The character is eventually killed off in ruthless fashion.
Played Pete Pryor in NBC's American Dreams
Armstrong appeared in 36 episodes as the younger brother of Jack Pryor, who is the father of the protagonist. Armstrong's character, Pete Pryor, is a Philadelphia police officer who battles alcohol and gambling addictions. The show ran from 2002-05, lasting three seasons.
Other notable acting roles
Armstrong has made brief appearances in popular shows, including "Supernatural," "NCIS," "The Mentalist," "American Horror Story" and "House."
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How did Pete Crow-Armstrong's parents meet?
Ashley Crow and Matthew Armstrong met on the set of CBS police drama "Turks," which aired for only three months in 1999. Both had notable roles on the show, and it gave way to a long marriage despite having such a short run. Three years later, Crow-Armstrong was born.
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Where did Pete Crow-Armstrong go to college?
Pete Crow-Armstrong was drafted by the New York Mets out of high school and signed with the organization, bypassing college. He initially committed to play at Vanderbilt, but the Commodores likely didn't have many expectations of him actually arriving in Nashville given his status as a first-round prospect.
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Where is Pete Crow-Armstrong from?
With his parents working as Hollywood actors, Pete Crow-Armstrong was born and raised in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He attended Harvard-Westlake School in the city, where he put himself on the radar of MLB teams.
Crow-Armstrong was set to head much further west to play at Vanderbilt but instead opted to join the Mets organization after New York drafted him in 2020. He was traded for Javier Baez a year later and never played for the Mets, but Crow-Armstrong appears to be comfortable with Chicago as his new home.
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