Nigel Havers, 74, has made quite the name for himself as an actor over the last four decades. After his breakout performance in the 1981 hit film Chariots of Fire, he's gone on to roles in The Charmer, Don't Wait Up and Coronation Street, and presents the UK reality television series, The Bidding Room.
But before he became a well-known name in his own right, Nigel grew up with a surprising claim to fame in the family - and it has nothing to do with acting. And the connections don't stop there: he has a daughter who is reportedly also in the industry.
Read on for all you need to know about Nigel's famous family…
His dad was a barrister - and defended Mick Jagger
While Nigel's dad wasn't an actor, he did find himself in celebrity circles. Nigel's dad was barrister and former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, Michael Havers, who was married to Nigel's mum Carol Elizabeth Lay. Michael was named a Queen's Counsel in 1964 and knighted in 1972. The barrister famously defended The Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1967 after they were arrested for drug possession at Richards’ home in West Sussex. Nigel was just 16 at the time the court case was happening, but he was made a character in the 2024 play Redlands, which was inspired by the infamous drug bust.
Nigel recalled seeing the drug raid on the TV and his father's reaction to being put on the defence counsel for the Rolling Stones musicians. He told The Mirror in October 2024: "My dad looked at the TV and said, 'I hope to God they don't ask me to defend them.' But an hour later, the phone goes and my dad came back and said, 'I shall be defending the Rolling Stones.' And what followed was this extraordinary summer."
The actor recalled his dad went to London to meet the musicians before Mick and Keith ended up staying with the Havers family. "My dad made us swear that me and my brother would never tell my mates at school. I was a Stones fan and was dying to tell my friends, 'I've got Mick Jagger staying.' I said nothing. It was kind of important."
Mick and Keith both were handed a prison sentence and fines, however Nigel's dad Michael got them released on bail the next day. Their charges were later overturned on appeal after serving a short prison sentence. Michael died on 1 April 1992, aged 69.
The law gene runs in the Havers family; Nigel's dad wasn't the only one with a connection to a well-known case. Nigel's grandfather, High Court judge Sir Cecil Havers, sentenced Ruth Ellis to death in 1955 for shooting dead her lover, David Blakely. Ruth was the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom. Nigel portrays his grandfather in the 2025 historical drama, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
Nigel's daughter is reportedly also in the film industry
Nigel has kept his family life relatively private over the years. He shares daughter Kate, who is around 48 years old as of 2025, with his first wife Carolyn Cox. While Kate stays pretty much out of the limelight, she is reportedly a TV producer. It has also been reported that she is a voice actor.
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Nigel opened up about being "very excited" to become a grandfather while his daughter was pregnant with a boy at the time. When asked if his daughter would call her son after him, he told the outlet: "Oh God, I hope not. It's unbelievable that my parents called me that, isn't it? Nigel Alan. And my brother is Philip Nigel. So they used it twice."