Anya Taylor-Joy Is 'Very Lucky with Her Parents' - Facts about Them

Anya Taylor-Joy is one of six children in her immediate family. Her journey to the heights of the film industry was a challenging one as she faced issues with her identity and criticism about the way she looked long before becoming an actress.

Anya Taylor dropped out of high school at 17 to pursue a career in Hollywood. This decision was not her parents' favorite, but they were incredibly proud of her and her life's leaps. She wrote a five-page essay detailing why she has the right to drop out of school and gave it to her parents. She was cast in "The Witch," which helped her parents accept her decision.

From a very young age, Anya was given the space to be independent. Her powerboat racer father and psychologist mother left her alone in their London residency when she was 16, and she has been living on her own ever since. Although her parents were not related to acting, they were entirely behind her.

Anya Taylor-Joy's Parents Gave Her Mixed Ethnicity

Anya was born in Miami on April 16, 1996, which makes her 27 this year. She was raised in Argentina until she was six years old. Her father is a Scottish-Argentinian, and her mother is a Zambian-Spanish-English. She is the youngest of her parents' six children, which might have influenced her gravitation toward older people.

Growing up, Anya dealt with a lot of bullying at school, as her peers would ruthlessly ridicule her bigger-sized eyes. She tended to code-switch between American and English accents, which did not help her socially but gave her the versatility for a lasting career as an actress. She was scouted by Sarah Doukas, who discovered Johnny Depp's ex, Kate Moss.

Anya grew up feeling like a misfit, "I was too English to be Argentine, too Argentine to be English, too American to be anything," she complained. Despite the challenges of growing up as an outcast and finding the right company, Anya found love with actor and musician Malcolm McRae and exchanged vows in 2022.

Parents Treated Anya Taylor-Joy as an Adult

Anya's father had three children in a previous relationship before welcoming an additional three children with her mother. As the youngest child, Anya faced concerns from her siblings about traveling internationally without a cell phone. She was unstable due to the self-esteem-killing treatment at the London school she attended.

At age 14, she traveled to New York for a directing program that lasted two weeks. By 16, she had already been given the green light by her parents to drop out of school. Her parents gave her the liberty to make her own decisions as they were aware of her ability and the bullying she endured at school.

She recalled the bullying getting so bad that she would get locked in lockers, be disallowed to enter classrooms, and be left out of her peers' plans and events. The treatment became so blatant that she began to gather her homework and leave school independently as she was not cared for.

With all of her siblings being a lot older than her, she became closer to her parents than anyone else. They loved her dearly and took great pride when she found her feet in acting without their help. Without breaking into tears, her father could never speak about how proud her success made him feel.

Anya has trusted the process of her growth and overcame her challenges to establish herself as an open-minded and diverse actress.

Anya spends much time with her parents and has been spotted with them publicly and at classy events over the years. It is clear where she gets her style from, as her parents are usually dressed to impress.

Anya's Mom Helped Her Get over the Bullying

The never-ending outcast treatment she endured at school because of her looks weighed down on her acquisition of an education. Thankfully Anya had the support and wisdom of her mother to keep her head screwed on correctly. Her mother always said that Anya must look at people's hearts instead of their appearance.

Her mother, who is a significant influence in her life, has a "Stevie Nicks personality, artistic with a big heart." Extensive psychology training also gave her more knowhow regarding helping people and trickled down into her daughter, who is naturally an empath. Her mother is also the reason behind her obsession with popcorn, as she found popcorn when she returned from school every day.

Anya plays a lot of emotion-evoking characters and has a way of drawing the viewer closer with the expressions on her face. The pattern of the characters she's assigned shows that she can be the softie who becomes relentless when the pressure is on. However, she did not understand that her empathetic nature would be so important one day. Anya said:

"As a kid, I'd consistently go up to my mum and say, 'Why am I different? Why do I feel this way? Why do I see a flower and start to cry?' She was always sweet about it because it used to really freak me out when I was little. People see sensitivity as a weakness rather than a strength."

We have also taken a closer look at Sadie Sink's parents, who, just like Anya's, have no involvement in the film industry but raised movie stars of who they are proud.

Anya's Father Was Almost 60 Years Old When She Was Born

Anya's father was 57 years old when she was born. In addition to his professional speed boat racer career, her father was also a banker. Before the actress was born, her father was already a parent of five children and living in the older and wiser years of his life.

Despite his age, Dennis enjoys going out with his movie-star daughter. On one occasion, he wore a light pink shirt with a pair of cream chinos and brown shoes. His age does not stop him from attending film festivals and other film events with his daughter.

Anya has trusted the process of her growth and overcame her challenges to establish herself as an open-minded and diverse actress. Her parents can take a lot of credit for giving her the room required to find herself, and her five siblings, skeptical about her globe-trotting as a child, can celebrate the life she built.