It was a sad day in November 2013 when the world learned of the horrific, fiery death of The Fast & The Furious star, Paul Walker. With the seventh installment of the film franchise to hit theaters next week, the excitement of the upcoming blockbuster is met with an overwhelming somberness as it will be the last film to feature the franchise mainstay. Walker’s Fast & Furious co-star, Vin Diesel, has been very visibly and understandably emotional as the film nears its release date, even choking up during a speech at an advanced screening of the film (as seen above). 

In honor of his best friend, Diesel named his newborn daughter, “Pauline”. “It felt like, you know, a way to keep his memory a part of my family and a part of my world,” the 47-year-old actor explained.  “He was in the room … There’s no other person that I was thinking about as I was cutting this umbilical cord. I just … knew he was there.”

Pauline is Diesel’s third child with longtime girlfriend Paloma Jimenez. The Furious 7 star announced the birth of his daughter last week in a photo via Facebook, captioned with lyrics from the song “What a Wonderful World”.

 

 
Furious 7 hits theaters April 3.
 

You can find Khari Clarke at your local pizza shop and on Twitter (@KINGCLARKEIII).