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Anna Friel opens up about daughter Gracie's acting career

The Marcella star shares her 12-year-old daughter with Harry Potter actor David Thewlis

anna friel talks gracies acting
Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
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Anna Friel has enjoyed a successful career as an actress, and is set to return to TV on Monday night in series two of her hit drama Marcella. And it looks like her daughter will be following suit in the near future! The 41-year-old, who shares 12-year-old Gracie with ex-partner, Harry Potter actor David Thewlis, has revealed that she isn’t "averse" to the idea of Gracie following in her famous parents' footsteps, because she was acting at the same age. Talking to Radio Times, she said: "If there are auditions for something that’s really right for Gracie, it’s her prerogative to try it. Because I was allowed to at that age. But, being the daughter of two teachers, I was also told that I wouldn’t be allowed to do it unless I kept up my good grades. So I became a bit of a workaholic."

anna friel and daughter gracie

Anna Friel's daughter Gracie has already been offered acting jobs

Back in 2015, Gracie was offered the chance to play Anna's daughter in American Odyssey, but Anna didn’t like the idea of being away from her little girl for too long. She said: "She would have been shooting in New York and I would have been in Morocco and I don’t want to be away from her that long." Anna also joked that she has so far managed to avoid going "off the rails" as a child actor, adding: "But there's still time, I'm only 41!"

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Anna previously spoke about Gracie's talents while appearing on The Jonathan Ross show in 2016. She said: "She's been asked to act and she's really talented. I think growing up in America for the first three, four years of life it gave her the perfect American accent so that's one thing she hasn't got to work on." The doting mum added: "But she sees how hard mummy and daddy work and she sees the ups and the downs, and I think if anything she'd probably direct more than she would act right now. She makes amazing videos and she's a great photographer and she sings like an angel, she sings in Latin and Italian, she's a beautiful singer."

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