Meet Disclaimer’s nepo baby star, Leila George: she appears in the Apple TV+ series with Cate Blanchett and Sacha Baron Cohen, and was married to Sean Penn – but who are her parents?

Nov 21 , 2024

Leila George at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, in October. Photo: AP

The parents of the budding Australian actress are also Hollywood fixtures, so she’s at home on the red carpet and on set – she has been dating her Animal Kingdom co-star, Ben Robson, since last year

Sometimes, it feels like the world is full of nepo babies. We know what the obvious ones are up to – here’s looking at you, Brooklyn Beckham and Lily Collins – but there are plenty more who fly under the radar. You may recognise Preston Bezos, Sosie Bacon and Molly Gordon’s last names, but what do they actually do?

One particular nepo baby is following in her famous parents’ footsteps with forays into film. Australian actress Leila George D’Onofrio – who uses Leila George as her professional name – has been slowly building her acting CV since 2012, but it’s her most recent role that’s sure to bring her to audiences’ attention. In the new Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, George plays the younger version of Cate Blanchett’s character Catherine Ravenscroft, holding her own against a starry cast that also includes Kevin Kline and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Leila George and Kodi Smit-McPhee in Disclaimer. Photo: Apple TV+/AP

But who exactly is this nepo baby who’s carving her own path in Hollywood?

Leila George is a rising star

Leila George (right) at the Venice Film Festival in August, with Disclaimer co-stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, HoYeon Jung, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Louis Partridge. Photo: Reuters

George is an up-and-coming actress. Her first film role was in the 2016 TV movie Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? alongside James Franco and Tori Spelling. She’s since appeared in several movies and TV shows, including Mortal Engines, Animal Kingdom and Gonzo Girl. However, it’s her latest turn, in Disclaimer, that’s really bringing attention to her work.

Her parents are famous Hollywood insiders

Leila George, starring in Disclaimer. Photo: Apple TV+/AP

It is clear where George gets her talent from – her parents are both seasoned actors. Her mother, actress Greta Scacchi, is known not least for her Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated performance in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny opposite screen legends Alan Rickman and Ian McKellen. George’s father is actor and filmmaker Vincent D’Onofrio, who has appeared in franchises that have become household names, such as the Law & Order TV series and Men in Black movies. He also played Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk, antagonist in the television adaptation of Marvel’s Daredevil and starred in Stanley Kubrick’s widely acclaimed war movie, Full Metal Jacket, as Private Pyle.