Victoria Beckham breaks silence on husband's knighthood
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood.
The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point.
"You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram.
"Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered.
"The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day.
"But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx"
The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham.
Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience.
"Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said
"To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true.
"I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment.
"It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family."
The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work.
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood.
The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point.
"You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram.
"Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered.
"The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day.
"But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx"
The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham.
Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience.
"Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said
"To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true.
"I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment.
"It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family."
The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work.
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood.
The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point.
"You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram.
"Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered.
"The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day.
"But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx"
The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham.
Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience.
"Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said
"To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true.
"I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment.
"It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family."
The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work.
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood.
The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point.
"You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram.
"Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered.
"The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day.
"But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx"
The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham.
Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience.
"Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said
"To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true.
"I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment.
"It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family."
The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work.
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Life has come full circle for new John Wick star
Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot."
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Victoria Beckham breaks silence on husband's knighthood
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood. The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point. "You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram. "Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered. "The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day. "But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx" The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham. Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience. "Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true. "I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. "It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family." The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work. Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood. The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point. "You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram. "Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered. "The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day. "But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx" The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham. Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience. "Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true. "I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. "It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family." The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work. Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood. The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point. "You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram. "Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered. "The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day. "But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx" The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham. Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience. "Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true. "I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. "It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family." The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work. Fashion designer Victoria Beckham "couldn't be prouder" of husband David Beckham after he received a knighthood. The 51-year-old fashion designer has been married to Beckham, 50, since 1999 and took to social media in the hours after he was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours to acknowledge the "passion" that led him to this point. "You've always been my knight in shining armour, but now it's official. Sir @davidbeckham!!! What an honour, I couldn't be prouder of you," she wrote on Instagram. "Your dedication to the things that matter most - your country, your work, your passion, and most of all, your family - has never wavered. "The way you've touched so many lives over the years with kindness and humility speaks volumes about the man you are and continues to inspire us every day. "But above all else, I'm so, so proud to call you mine. I love you so much xxxx" The couple - parents to Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 13-year-old Harper - will now be known as Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham. Upon receiving the honour, the former English team captain admitted he found it a "truly humbling" experience. "Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling," he said "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true. "I've been so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. "It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family." The former Manchester United star - given an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for services to football - also has a long history of carrying out charitable work.
Sky News AU
14 hours ago
- Sky News AU
King Charles, Prince William wore black armbands at Trooping the Colour in tribute to Air India crash victims, palace confirms
King Charles and Prince William have paid tribute to the victims of the Air India plane crash tragedy by wearing black armbands during Britain's annual Trooping the Colour parade. King Charles and Queen Camilla were joined by other members of the royal family on Saturday for the high-profile ceremonial event in London, which marks the King's official birthday. Senior working royals including Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward could each be seen wearing a black armband as they rode horseback during the procession. The royal family confirmed via its official social media channels that the armbands were worn as a "mark of respect" to the victims of the plane crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad last week. "At the request of His Majesty, members of the royal family taking part in the parade wore black armbands as a mark of respect following the Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad this week," a post read on X. In a separate statement, a palace spokesperson also confirmed the King "requested amendments to the Trooping the Colour programme as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy". The crash of Air India Flight 171 has been described as one of history's worst aviation disasters, which killed 241 passengers and crew as well as dozens of other people on the ground. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed into a building in Ahmedabad just moments after take-off. British-Indian national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor. More than 1,000 soldiers and 200 horses participated in the Trooping the Colour procession, which moves from Buckingham Palace and down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade. Princess Catherine stunned in a teal outfit as she rode in a carriage with her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who smiled and waved to the crowd during the event. The royal family then greeted fans on the Buckingham Palace balcony as a flypast from the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, marked the end of the parade. King Charles broke royal tradition for the second year in a row by not riding by horseback during Trooping the Colour as he continues to battle an undisclosed form of cancer. Charles instead travelled in a carriage alongside Queen Camilla, the same as he did in 2024 when he was first diagnosed with cancer. The parade comes amid reports the King's cancer is successfully being managed but is ultimately incurable, according to a place insider.
