Like mother, like daughter! Whether nature or nurture is to thank, these powerful duos have made the work of casting agents remarkably easy. Who better to convey the complexity of a mother-daughter relationship than a true mother-daughter pair? Or, in the case of related look-alikes Merryl Streep and Mamie Gummer, represent the same character at different ages. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous mother-daughter costars.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Blythe Danner
In 2003, the mother-daughter duo honored Sylvia Plath in the film Sylvia. Paltrow played the famed poet, while Danner played her mother, Aurelia.
Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer
Streep and Gummer costarred in the 2015 dramedy Ricki And The Flash. Streep, often described as the “best actress of our generation”, portrayed Ricki, a musician who traded her family for life as a rock star. Gummer plays her daughter who suffers from depression. She told IndieWire the role was particularly difficult, as the two are extremely close in real life. To maintain their dicey on-screen dynamic, the director forbade as much off-screen contact as possible.
Maude and Iris Apatow and Leslie Mann
The trio first played opposite each other in 2007’s Knocked Up. Five years later, they reunited with Paul Rudd for This Is 40, a follow-up to Knocked Up’s favorite couple, Pete and Debbie. Maude, who recently scored a role alongside Zendaya and Hunter Schafer in Euphoria, revealed in an interview that, until she was out of school, her parents prohibited her from working on films that they weren’t a part of. “I’m really glad that I ended up staying in high school. I feel like when they let me start acting on my own, I was actually ready,” the young actress admitted.
Diane Ladd and Laura Dern
The actresses have worked together multiple times, first in 1990’s Wild at Heart and then a year later in Rambling Rose. The latter earned each an Oscar nomination (in different categories). In 1991, Ladd was asked if she’d like to work with her daughter again to which she responded, “Absolutely, but again, it would depend on the material. Who knows? If Laura should have a child, we might all work together. We’d be part of an acting family.” And 13 years later, she did! Fulfilling her grandmother’s wishes, sixteen-year-old Jaya Harper is now venturing into the film scene herself.
Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd
Before her death in 2016, Fisher famously shared the screen with Lourd in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and again in The Last Jedi. “I grew up with three parents: a mom, a dad and Princess Leia,” Lourd told Time. “Initially, Princess Leia was kind of like my stepmom. Now she’s my guardian angel. And I’m her keeper.”
I’m not crying, you are!