All About Thandiwe Newton's Older Daughter, Screenwriter Ripley Parker

Ripley Parker and Thandiwe Newton attends the EE British Academy Film Awards on February 10, 2019 in London, England.Photo:Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty

Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty

Thandiwe NewtonandOl Parkerare “deeply proud” of their eldest daughterRipleywho is following in their footsteps with a successful career in show business.

Ripley was exposed to Hollywood early on as her mother is an actress who has starred inMission: Impossible 2,WestworldandGod’s Countryamong others, and her father is the screenwriter behind hits such asMamma Mia! Here We Go AgainandTicket to Paradise.

Newton and Parker are supportive of their daughter, with theAll the Old Knivesactress sharing in a 2010 interview that she wants her daughters “to feel empowered.”

“I think as a mom it’s important to teach your children that they’re extraordinary, powerful beings. Your job is to keep the path clear so there is nothing they can trip up on.”

Here’s everything to know about Thandiwe Newton’s daughter, Ripley Parker.

She was born on Dec. 17, 2000

Ripley Parker.Thandiwe Newton Instagram

Thandiwe Newton Instagram

Newton and Parker welcomed their first child, Ripley, on Dec. 17, 2000, a little over two years after tying the knot.

“I’ve been different things in different contexts, and I didn’t really feel beautiful until I had my first child,” Newton previously toldThe Telegraph.

With the help of a midwife, Newton gave birth to her daughter at home.

“I had just associated hospital with being ill, and I felt beautiful and healthy and wonderful when I was pregnant, and being at home is the place I felt most relaxed and comfortable,” she told theTodayshow.

She is named after a Sigourney Weaver character

Thandiwe Newton and Ripley Parker.Thandiwe Newton Instagram

When the former celebrity couple were choosing a moniker for their little girl, Newton took inspiration from a 1970s film.

“I named my kid Ripley after Sigourney Weaver inAliens,”she disclosed toVulture.

Weaver assumed the role of the film’s protagonistEllen Ripley— who was also one of the first female action heroes on the big screen — which garnered worldwide attention and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

She is a screenwriter

Ripley Parker attending the Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours event on February 16, 2023.Suzan Moore/PA Images/Getty

Suzan Moore/PA Images/Getty

Like her father, Ripley is a successful Hollywood screenwriter. In addition to creating the Netflix teen dramaEverything Now, she is also working on a jukebox musical based on the music of The Smiths as well as a play about the life and relationships of poet Emily Dickinson.

She also contributed an essay toIt’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies): Inspirational People Open Up About Their Mental Healthin 2019.

Ahead of the release,Thandiwe shared a sweet tribute to her daughter, writing, “Deeply proud of phenomenal @ripley.parker Her first published writing is a breathtaking piece in @penguin #It’sNotOKtoFeelBlueandotherlies @scarcurtis.”

When Ripley starts drafting a manuscript, politics play a significant role in shaping the narrative.

“I think it particularly informs the drive to make a really diverse show. And to have that at the very forefront of our minds while making it and casting,” she toldGlamour UKabout creatingEverything Now.

“I think many, maybe most, of the key romantic relationships portrayed in the show are queer relationships,” she said. “But at no point does anyone need to come out or assign a label.”

“The queerness of the show, I think is a reaction to the trajectory of the world the last few years — which ain’t great. So we made what is now, I suppose, quite an idealistic show, and I think it shouldn’t be idealistic at all. It should be somewhat inevitable.”

She was the inspiration behind her father’s filmTicket to Paradise

Ol Parker and Ripley Parker at “Ticket to Paradise” premiere held at the Regency Village Theatre on October 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty

Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty

For the 2022 filmTicket to ParadisestarringJulia RobertsandGeorge Clooney, Parker looked no further than his own relationship with his daughter when writing the rom-com.

“The movie came out of a conversation I was having about Ripley, who was 18, I think, at the time and starting to make her own decisions — all of which are clearly brilliant and not necessarily the ones I’d have made for her — so it was just that thing, how much do you nudge along?" he toldComingSoon.

Parked continued, “How much do you try and be wise and say what you absolutely know and how much do you just lean back and give it up to them and watch the next generation rule? That was the genesis of the movie, how that came about.”

Her sister is also in show business

Ripley Parker, Ol Parker, Thandiwe Newton and Nico Parker attend the World Premiere of “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” on July 16, 2018 in London, England.Karwai Tang/WireImage

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Nico is also pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, but unlike her sister, in front of the camera. She made her film debut as Milly Farrier in the live-action adaptation ofDisney’sDumboin 2019.

She most recently played the role of Sarah in the HBO adaptation ofThe Last of Us, based on the video game of the same name.

source: people.com