NEED TO KNOW
Josh Allen credits his wife, Hailee Steinfeld, for choosing their daughter Harper Haize’s name
Allen says becoming a dad has changed his motivation, now focused on setting an example for his daughter
Steinfeld shared that her goal this summer is to be fully present with Harper while she’s still a baby
Josh Allen is sharing some insight into how he and wife Hailee Steinfeld landed on the name Harper Haize for their baby girl.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback, 30, recently chatted with E! News and was asked whether there was any specific inspiration behind their daughter’s moniker. The athlete and his actress wife, 29, welcomed their first baby together in April.
“It was an early thought that we had,” said Allen. “It was my wife’s idea.”
Asked if Harper is a family name or if there’s any special significance, the NFL pro added, “She can answer that question better than I can.”
Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen in New York City on April 3, 2025.
Credit: TheImageDirect.com
While speaking with PEOPLE this month, Allen shared how he feels about heading into his first NFL season as a dad.
“I love being a dad,” he began during a conversation about extending his partnership with supplement brand Natrol and how he’s incorporating additional products from the brand into his routine this season.
Allen admitted that his sleep schedule is “definitely not” what it was before Harper arrived; however, getting enough sleep is crucial for an NFL quarterback. “You learn about the unpredictability of what sleep is and just the interrupted part of it, but again, I love being a dad, and I welcome that, but when I know I can get that extra sleep and having Natrol at the ready has been life-changing for me.”
With a new head coach, a new stadium and a new baby this season, Allen said he’s “trying to approach it in a similar fashion of trying to be the best person that I could be, trying to be the best player that I can be,” but he’s certain that one thing about his mindset has changed.
“I’ve said this in a few different interviews in Buffalo, of why my ‘why’ has changed and why I’m doing this, and it’s not a personal ‘why’ anymore,” shared Allen.
Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld at the 14th Annual NFL Honors on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Credit: Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty
“It’s to show this little daughter that me and my wife are trying to raise how hard you need to work to accomplish something so great, so, I don’t think that the approach changes, but the why behind it does.”
The Sinners star announced in April that she welcomed her baby girl with her husband in a post on her Substack, titled “Special Delivery.”
“Our baby girl has arrived!!” she wrote in the newsletter. “We’re feeling incredibly grateful and blessed and savouring these early moments. Thank you so much for the love and well wishes.”
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A few months later, in June, the actress revealed their daughter’s name in a heartfelt letter to her infant daughter on her Substack, Beau Society. She began the letter directly addressing her baby girl, Harper Haize Allen.
Days before Steinfeld published the letter, she appeared on a Substack livestream on Wednesday, June 17, and shared that her summer focus is Harper. “So this is the only summer that she will be a baby baby. And this will be the only summer that I have her in my arms. By next summer, she’ll be running around,” Steinfeld said of her daughter, according to E! News.
“The goal is to just be incredibly present and truly soak up every moment,” she continued. “Because life happens and life moves fast anyway.”
“And I now fully understand what every parent ever has said, like you blink and it all just goes by so fast. It is so very true and so this summer my goal is to be completely present.”
Read the original article on People