6 Times Real Life Parents Acted With Their Kids on Screen

In Netflix‘s Maid, which was just released earlier this month, audiences follow the story of Alex, a young mother who escapes her abusive relationship with her young daughter. The movie, based on a memoir of the same name, stars Margaret Qualley and her real life mother Andie Macdowell.

In the world of Hollywood, it’s not hard to find familial connections. Some are more obvious like the Olsen twins or the Hemsworth brothers but some fly under the radar leaving fans surprised when they discover their relation.

Not only do these six parent and child duo both work as actors, they did so in the same film.

Margaret Qualley and Andie Macdowell

One of Netflix’s newest additions that has hooked audiences is a limited series based on a book of the same name by Stephanie Land. Maid stars Margaret Qualley as a young mother, Alex, who leaves an abusive relationship with her young daughter in hopes of creating a better life for them both. Her real-life mother, Andie Macdowell, plays Alex’s eccentric mother.

Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus

Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus starred together on screen as father and daughter in the wildly popular show Hannah Montana, which ran on Disney Channel from 2006 to 2011. The show catapulted Miley to mega-stardom as a pop star in her own right. Though the show wrapped 10 years ago Miley, and her father, have continued to make music. Though Billy Ray made a name for himself in music in the early 90s, in 2019 he and Lil Nas X broke records with their song Old Town Road.

Will and Jaden Smith

In 2006, real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith teamed up to portray the real-life story of Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness. The story follows Chris, a single father who is evicted from his apartment in San Francisco with his young son and left with no place to go. The two sleep in shelters and on the street while Chris works an unpaid internship that was a stepping stone to eventually launch his own brokerage firm: Gardner Rich & Co.

Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer

Meryl Streep is known for iconic Oscar-winning work in numerous films over the last several decades. What some people might not know is her daughter, Mamie Gummer, is also an actress. In 2015 the mother-daughter pair appeared in a movie that was a bit of a departure for Streep, Ricki and the Flash. Streep played a free-spirited mother who decided to pursue music returns home to her ex-husband and three children.

Charlie and Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen has not one but four children who have followed in his footsteps to become an actor. Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estévez, though, are probably the most famous of the bunch. Martin has starred with both sons in films but in the 1987 film Wall Street directed by Oliver Stone, Charlie and Martin play father and son. Before Charlie was making headlines for things not relating to his acting career, Martin’s eldest son starred as a young stockbroker trying to make it big.

Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd

Carrie Fisher was able to share the screen with her only daughter, Billie Lourd, before she died in 2016 at the age of 60. Fisher, who is the daughter of Debbie Reynolds, became a household name when she appeared as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise. In what would be one of the last times Fisher appeared on screen, she reprised the role of Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens which also featured Lourd as Lieutenant Connix.