Meet Thandiwe Newton’s mini-me daughter Nico Parker: the star of Disney’s Dumbo idolises Zendaya and scored acting gigs with Hugh Jackman and Jude Law – but how did a stuffed toy help her win a role?
- The 17 year old wore a velvet gown to the premiere of her director dad’s film Ticket to Paradise starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts – and looked just like her mum
- Since her big debut in Tim Burton’s Dumbo, she’s been in Reminiscence, The Third Day, and is set to appear in upcoming The Last of Us
Nico Parker, 17, is more than just the spitting image of her mum Thandiwe Newton. Ever since she made her film debut in Disney’s Dumbo in 2019, she has carved out a burgeoning career of her own and acted with the biggest names in Hollywood.
At the event, Nico glammed up in a floor-length forest green gown that brought out her light-coloured eyes. Proving that less is more, she kept her jewellery to a minimum with only gold rings and a bracelet around her mid-forearm.
As she comes into her own, here’s what we know about Nico and why she’s poised for stardom …
She acted with a stuffed polar bear for her Dumbo audition
Parker made her foray into acting by doing it the old-fashioned way: filming a tape for audition.
With the help of her dad, she impressed Dumbo director Tim Burton by acting out a test scene in front of a stuffed polar bear on the kitchen floor in her London home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.