John Travolta Walks Cannes Red Carpet with Daughter Ella – Fans Say She Looks like Her Late Mother

A father and daughter stepped into the Cannes spotlight together — and the internet had a lot to say about the young woman by his side.

John Travolta arrived in dapper fashion at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Friday evening, May 15, but it was his 26-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, who commanded attention at every turn.

The two appeared together at back-to-back events — first at a red carpet screening, then at a photocall — and with each appearance, comments about who Ella resembled flooded in from fans around the world.

At the "Karma" screening on May 15, Ella wore a floor-length black velvet gown with a subtle, rounded neckline and cap sleeves, finished with clean lines. She paired the look with dangling diamond earrings, a slim bracelet, and multiple rings, her dark hair blown out into a soft, voluminous style that framed her face.

John stood beside her in a sharp black three-piece suit with a black waistcoat and tie, topped with a cream-colored beret and round-framed glasses. Together, they made a striking pair against the red carpet.

The following day, May 16, the two appeared at the official photocall for their Apple Original film "Propeller One-Way Night Coach" on the rooftop of the Palais des Festivals.

For this occasion, Ella stepped into a white midi-length dress with a high military-style collar, black button detailing running nearly the full length of the front, black trim at the sleeves, and a belted waist with geometric striping.

She pulled her hair back neatly and wore black pointed-toe heels. John, true to form, kept it all black — jacket, trousers, boots — with a black beret and glasses, his hands clasped in front of him.

It was a portrait of a father and daughter in full professional partnership. And fans noticed.

"WOW!! She's grown into a stunningly beautiful young lady! The perfect combination of her mom and dad. Bet her mom is looking down so proud!" one viewer gushed. "She is her mother's TWIN," another raved.

"She looks like Kelly so much," a third echoed. "She's tall and looks alot like her Mom💙," another wrote warmly. "Tall and slim like her mommy," someone else observed.

Not everyone saw the resemblance to John's side of things. "She doesn't look like her dad I would have never guessed they were related she is pretty though [sic]," one commenter remarked plainly.

The woman fans kept invoking was Kelly Preston — actress, wife of John, and mother to Ella — who passed away on July 12, 2020, after a two-year private battle with breast cancer. She was 57. Kelly is survived by John and their two children, Ella and Benjamin. The family had also lost their eldest child, son Jett, in January 2009 at the age of 16.

Kelly had been a devoted mother. She once said that she had wanted children since she was nine. Ella was born in April 2000, and since her mother's death, she has quietly and steadily built her own career in film.

She appears in "Propeller One-Way Night Coach" as a flight attendant — the film that brought the Travoltas to Cannes in the first place. Written and directed by John, the family drama is adapted from his own 1997 book and follows young aviation enthusiast Jeff and his mother on a cross-country flight to Hollywood that changes the course of their lives.

It is John's directorial debut, selected for the Cannes Premiere section, and is set for its global release on Apple TV on May 29, 2026. Ella's role in "Propeller" is not the first time she has worked alongside her father. In 2019, she appeared in "The Poison Rose," a thriller that also starred John and Morgan Freeman.

More recently, she joined him on "Black Tides," a survival thriller directed by Renny Harlin, in which John plays an estranged father attempting to reconnect with his daughter — played by Melissa Barrera — when their sailboat is attacked by orcas off the southern Spanish coast.

Ella takes on a key supporting role in the film, which began principal photography in Gran Canaria, Spain, in October 2025. "Black Tides" marks her fifth screen role.

John has never been shy about his pride in her. "She is her own person. She is gracious, generous, poised, graceful and gorgeous. I don't know how she came to be, and I don't take any credit other than just adoring her," he said in 2019. "And maybe that's a valid contribution."

It is a philosophy that extends beyond admiration — John has long believed children deserve a genuine voice. "I really do believe that children have rights. Just because they are little bodies doesn't mean that they shouldn't have a say-so," he has said. "I find when you consult them, they can come up with much better ideas than yours."

With Ella, it appears he took his own advice.

At Cannes 2026, walking beside him on one of the world's most photographed red carpets, Ella Bleu Travolta was very much her own person — and the crowd recognized something in her face that went beyond the films.