Mia Threapleton and Esther McGregor shrug off the dreaded nepo baby tag to reveal their vastly different upbringings as they lead ELLE's Hollywood Rising Class of 2025

Daily Mail​

22-05-2025

Privileged? Undoubtedly, but Mia Threapleton and Esther McGregor's lives the children of hugely successful actors are vastly different - or at least they were, until they embarked on their own careers in the film industry.
Threapleton, the daughter of Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, and McGregor, whose father is Trainspotting star Ewan, join a host of promising young star's on ELLE 'S latest list of Hollywood rising stars.
But while their career trajectories are remarkably similar, the two actresses had vastly different experiences while growing up in the afterglow of their parents' consistent success.
Already an established actress with a series of TV and film credits, Threapleton, 24 - the eldest of Winslet's three children - is currently preparing for a brighter spotlight courtesy of her starring role in Wes Anderson's eagerly anticipated The Phoenician Scheme.
The forthcoming release, which premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, pits the British star alongside seasoned actors Benicio Del Toro, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hanks.
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A challenging task perhaps, albeit one the cynical few among us might easily dismiss as the work of nepotism and the undeniable leverage afforded those with famous parents.
But Threapleton insists she's carved out her own opportunities instead of relying on the help of Winslet and her father, the British film director Jim Threapleton.
She told the latest edition of ELLE: 'I really could count on one hand - both hands possibly - the amount of times that I went to set as a kid.
'My mother really strived to keep that world separate from our home life. That's something that she really wanted.
'She would say, "all of their experiences will be theirs and theirs alone" - which is exactly what has happened.'
Conversely, Esther McGregor admits she 'lived and breathed' film sets while growing up with parents Ewan McGregor - whose career exploded following the release of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting in 1996 - and Eve Mavrakis, a French production designer.
The 23-year old has already worked alongside her famous father twice, having taken small roles in Star Wars spin-off Obi Wan and director Emma Westenberg's drama Bleeding Love - which also stars her older sister Clara.
More recently, she featured in Halina Reijn's erotic thriller Babygirl alongside Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson.
And she admits her early exposure to the frenetic environment on set fuelling her own passion for acting.
She said: 'I definitely came out singing, for sure. But being in close proximity to anything will build its charm - I immediately fell in love with it.
'I want to give the gratitude that I think deserves its place, in terms of being raised in a family in film.
'Being able to be on sets really aided that love and that breath and that heartbeat.
'As much as I don't think I would be able to do anything else, who knows? It was the way that I was born, the world I was born into.
'So I feel very thankful that I'm able to do what I do, because I need it.'
For its latest edition ELLE has selected fourteen rising stars who are poised to dominate screens big and small this year, with roles in everything from post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us to the next instalment in the Jurassic World film franchise.
Taylor Zakhar Perez, Sarah Pidgeon, Young Mazino, Geraldine Viswanathan, Louisa Jacobson, Luna Blaise, David Jonsson, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Tati Gabrielle, Benito Skinner, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Suzanna Son also feature on the new list.
The latest edition of ELLE is out now.
Saura Lightfoot-Leon (pictured) - the daughter of professional dancer Paul Lightfoot and Sol León - is another rising star on the ELLE list
Young Mazino (pictured) also features on the list having recently starred in post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us