Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor to Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins — the kids set to be as famous as mum and dad
IF their faces don’t yet ring a bell then the family names will certainly sound familiar.
These are the new wave of actors following in the footsteps of their celebrity parents and trying to make their way in the world of TV.
As the sons and daughters of rock stars and models, actors and comedians, they have the star pedigree – but they still have to work their way to the top.
Rod McPhee takes a look at the next gen set to make waves this year and tells how they started out.
Eve Hewson
Parents: Singer Bono, 60, and activist Ali Hewson, 60
SHE was seen romping on a beach with another woman’s husband on BBC1 drama The Luminaries last year.
Now the 29-year-old daughter of U2 frontman Bono is involved in another love triangle as Adele in Behind Her Eyes, where she stars opposite Daisy Ridley’s boyfriend Tom Bateman in the Netflix drama.
She starred in the US television series The Knick in 2014 and the Tom Hanks movie Bridge Of Spies a year later.
But Eve revealed last month how she almost quit acting because she found it a “difficult business for women to be in”.
Yet she has always been honest about the fact her celebrity heritage has helped her get ahead.
She said: “In the beginning, I think it was easier for me to get in the door . . . I think that’s because of my family.
“That’s not the way the system should work, of course, but if the door is open, walk through the door.”
But she says it works both ways, adding: “Often, they have very low expectations. And then you are quite good, and they are quite surprised.”
Phoebe Dynevor
Parents: Actress Sally Dynevor, 57, and TV writer Tim Dynevor, 58
THE daughter of Corrie stalwart Sally – who has played Sally Webster in the soap since 1986 – Phoebe appeared in BBC1 school drama Waterloo Road 12 years ago and followed that up with small parts in 2015’s Dickensian and The Musketeers, also on the Beeb.
But few had heard of her three months ago – then Bridgerton happened.
Her portrayal of Regency wannabe bride Daphne Bridgerton in the Netflix megahit has turned her into a global name. The big break saw her strip off for several steamy scenes.
Phoebe, 25, said: “I watched the show with the whole family.
“Even the grandparents managed to watch it – but I had to sit there and fast-forward on high alert with the remote control.”
With her mum on Corrie and her dad a writer for ITV soap Emmerdale, Phoebe was often on set.
She said: “I was always really interested in what was going on, watching the cameramen and stuff.”
You can seen Phoebe in series one of Bridgerton now and she will back in series two.
Mickey Summer
Parents: Singer Sting, 69, and actress Trudie Styler, 67
REAL name Brigitte, she’s the eldest of the power couple’s four children and admits she was reluctant to tell anyone her dad was a rock star.
The actress, 37, said: “I never told people who my parents were. It was my idea of hell.
“At one school I told everyone he was a lawyer. I didn’t want to be separate. I wanted to be like everyone else. I still struggle with it.
“It’s fine, it’s part of who I am. It’s nice not to be known as ‘The daughter of’. I haven’t found it’s opened too many doors and even if it did, you still have to be good.”
Mickey, who has a child with producer husband Chris Kantrowitz, has mainly had small roles in highbrow films. But now she is making waves in Netflix drama hit Snowpiercer.
She plays a lesbian security guard on board an ever-moving train carrying what’s left of the human race after an ecological disaster.
Her TV career started later than many of her peers because she spent much of her twenties studying to be an artist.
Beattie Edmondson
Parents: Comedians Jennifer Saunders, 62, and Ade Edmondson, 64
SHE may have had a tiny role as a waitress in mummy’s hit sitcom Absolutely Fabulous when it came back in 2012, but Beattie hasn’t had it easy.
In recent years the 33-year-old has had roles in little-known BBC Three series Josh, Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat and BBC2 show Upstart Crow.
But she’ll soon be starring in BBC1’s long-awaited period drama The Pursuit of Love, which boasts a stellar cast including Lily James, Dominic West and Andrew Scott. Beattie, who has a 21-month-old daughter with husband Sam Francis, a researcher, admits that she’s lucky to have two parents in the business.
She said: “It’s an incredible wealth of experience to be able to dip into and ask about.
“It’s great working with Mum because she’s amazing at what she does and I learn so much from her, but it’s obviously also like . . . working with your mum.
“I’d ask her, ‘Did I do a good job, did I do all right?’. And she’d just be like, ‘Yeah, fine’. When I’m like, ‘Please tell me, ‘I’m amazing, please?’.”
Lily Collins
Parents: Rock star Phil Collins, 70, and actress Jill Tavelman, 64
SHE became a household name last year when she took the lead role in Netflix hit Emily In Paris – and was heralded as the new Sarah Jessica Parker.
Lily, 32, got her big break playing tragic Fantine in the 2018 BBC1 adaptation of Les Miserables.
But feelgood sitcom Emily In Paris – about an American girl trying to find love in the French capital – has been a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Of her famous father, she once said: “It’s weird to have your dad on the stage with a million people saying their name, and you’re like, ‘No, that’s just Dad’.”
And of her US actress mum, she added: “My mom brought me up on old Hollywood.
“I had been living in LA, respecting old movies and growing up with people that were icons that I got to speak to.”
Her parents had a high-profile divorce in 1996. But their fame alone wasn’t enough to launch her career.
Lily, who also stars in Netflix film Mank with Gary Oldman, said: “There’s this common perception that having a famous last name is all you need. But if there’s no talent you won’t get the part.”
Rafferty Law
Parents: Actors Jude Law, 48, and Sadie Frost, 55
THE apple didn’t fall far from the tree in terms of looks for the eldest of Jude’s six children – but he’s yet to come close to his dad’s fame.
Raff, 24, divides his time between modelling and singing in a band called Outer Stella Overdrive, but he is starting to get noticed as an actor.
That is partly thanks to Sky Cinema’s Twist, which aired in January and provided an urban spin on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. He played Twist, a graffiti artist who helps to steal a priceless painting, alongside Sir Michael Caine as Fagin and Rita Ora as Dodge.
And though mum and dad, who divorced in 2003, know all about life in the spotlight, neither tried to put him off being a performer.
Raff said: “They’ve been watching me in school plays since I was five and it’s always been something I’ve loved doing, as well as music and writing.
“They’ve been very supportive of me and my siblings following our passions. For them, if you work hard at something, the rewards pay off.”
Bessie Carter
Parents: Actors Jim Carter, 72, and Imelda Staunton, 65
ANOTHER Bridgerton star who is the child of two leading actors.
Mum and dad have both starred in ITV’s Downton Abbey, and Oscar-nominee Imelda is about to play the role of a lifetime as the Queen in the fifth and sixth series of Netflix’s The Crown.
So far Bessie, 27, has had small roles in BBC1’s Cranford, ITV’s Georgian adventure Beecham House and in Bridgerton as Prudence Featherington – a role that could grow in the second series, which is currently being made.
She said of period dramas: “I think it’s all I’m ever going to do!
“But I enjoy them because I like being in a character.
“I like the challenge of creating a person the audience can relate to, even though they lived 200 years ago.”
Angus Imrie
Parents: Actors Celia Imrie, 68, and the late Benjamin Whitrow
AT only 26, Angus has built up an incredible CV since starring in ITV drama Kingdom 14 years ago.
In 2019 he played Jake, the creepy stepson in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s huge BBC hit Fleabag.
But it’s his role as Prince Edward in the latest series of Netflix’s The Crown that is likely to be his breakthrough moment.
Angus says that becoming an actor was not influenced by his mother, Victoria Wood star Celia, or father, Bafta-nominated actor Benjamin.
He said: “When I was growing up and fell in love with acting I never really associated it with what my parents did, because what they do is a job and everything, and it was on film sets.
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“It was very different from when I found the love for performing in stuff at school, and it was really just doing stuff for an audience and getting that immediate response.
“But it became something that was really wonderful to be able to share with my parents.”
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