All About Ewan McGregor's Oldest Daughter Clara McGregor

Ewan McGregor and Clara McGregor are both in the entertainment industry.

Ewan and his first wife, French production designer Eve Mavrakis, welcomed their first daughter Clara in February 1996. The actor's eldest daughter was born shortly before the premiere of Trainspotting, which launched Ewan into stardom.

Though her father was in the spotlight, Clara’s life was largely kept out of the public eye during her adolescence.

“[My dad] sheltered us very much from the public eye; this was his world, his career, and we didn't have anything to do with that, and rightfully so,” Clara said at a 2021 Bluebella Lingerie event.

Clara was initially hesitant to pursue acting just like her father. “At 12 years old, and all I was asked is, 'Are you going to do what your dad does?' ” she told Playboy in 2018. “I was rebelling. I was like, 'No! I'm not going to do what he does! I'm going to be behind the camera.' "

Despite her initial reticence, Clara began her acting career and starred in the 2024 drama film Bleeding Love alongside her famous father.

“It's rare as an adult that you get to spend that amount of time with your parents, so that was really special,” she told PEOPLE. “I'd always admired my dad as an actor, and getting to act with him showed me how good he is at what he does.”

Here’s everything to know about Ewan and Clara McGregor's relationship.

Clara was born in England five months before Ewan’s big break 

Clara was born in England on Feb. 4, 1996, to Ewan and his ex-wife Mavrakis. She was born roughly five months before the premiere of the Oscar-nominated film Trainspotting.

“I had Clara in my lap as a baby doing press at Cannes for Trainspotting,” McGregor told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2021 profile. “Ultimately, through all of that craziness and that time, I had that sort of safety line through my life, which was my work and family, that I could latch onto.”

She’s the oldest of four children that Ewan shares with Mavrakis. In 2001, she became a big sister to Esther, and later again to her two sisters Jamyan and Anouk, who were both adopted.

In 2021, Clara announced the news of Ewan and his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s son Laurie in an Instagram post.

"Welcome to the world little brother ❤️ congratulations to my Dad & Mary - this is the greatest gift,” she captioned a series of photos of her and Laurie.

Her childhood was kept out of the public eye

Growing up in the shadows of her father's stardom, Clara had a rather “sheltered” upbringing.

“The only thing I had to deal with was kids at school saying, 'Your dad's Obi-Wan Kenobi,' and that was fine, and I wasn't thrown into the public eye before I had my own decision to put myself there," Clara said at an event.

Clara currently hopes that her younger siblings can grow up without feeling the pressure of the public as well.

“I hope they can grow up in a world where they don’t feel like they need to look a certain way or be anything that doesn’t feel natural to them,” she told Bustle.

She graduated from New York University

Clara originally attended NYU to pursue a degree in photography. However, she quickly realized that she wanted to try acting.

“I actually went to college for photography, but after my first year, I took an acting class and I caught the bug all over again," she told Women’s Wear Daily.

Clara ended up finding that she was unhappy studying photography and was uncertain why she was being so “stubborn” about pursuing acting.

“I got to college and asked myself, 'Why are you being so stubborn about this?,' ” she told Playboy. “I wasn't happy, so I transferred to the film studies department, and then I took an acting class and fell in love with it.”

Clara graduated from NYU in 2017.

Her parents divorce was difficult to manage

After being married for 22 years, Ewan and Mavrakis announced their split in 2017 after images of the Scottish actor and his Fargo costar Winstead kissing were made public. Nine months after Ewan filed for divorce, Clara called Winstead a “piece of trash” on a photo of the actress that was shared by a fan account.

In a 2018 interview with The Times, Clara admitted her comment “wasn't the most mature way to go about things.”

“There had been a lot building up to it and a lot to deal with — not to make excuses or anything — but yeah, it wasn't my finest moment,” she said. At the time, Clara, who had not met Winstead, added, “I have my mom's back in this — fully. Not only as a daughter but as a woman.”

Ewan later married Winstead in April 2022 in a “small wedding for family and close friends,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.

"A divorce in a family is a bomb going off in everyone's life — my children's lives," Ewan told GQ roughly two months after his marriage to Winstead. "The sort of healing of that is ongoing."

It seems the family has reconciled their differences, however, after Clara shared a series of pictures of her blended family over the 2023 holiday season.

Clara is a model and actor 

Before pursuing acting more full time, Clara embarked on a career in the modeling world. She signed with Wilhelmina Models in 2017 and went on to pose for Playboy and partner with Bluebella for their 2021 Christmas campaign.

Clara told W Magazine her initial dive into modeling came from her “interest in photography,” but she found out that wanted to go after acting instead. “I’ve always wanted to expand what I was doing and I really love fashion; modeling just seemed like it went hand-in-hand with acting and photography,” she added.

In 2021, she acted with her father and co-produced the crime thriller The Birthday Cake. She’s also been featured in the 11th season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s critically acclaimed American Horror Story.

She’s been open about her personal struggles with mental health

At the age of 4, Clara said she began having anxiety attacks and problems sleeping.

“I had separation anxiety from my parents,” she said at the 2021 Bluebella event. “I had general anxieties and fears, usually little kid things like being scared of the dark, but mine were more extreme.”

Clara later opened up about her struggles with a Xanax addiction in a 2019 Instagram post, revealing that she had attended a rehab center to seek guidance.

“I was so ashamed of my addiction, of my anxiety and depression. I was ashamed of the abuse I had let happen to me,” she wrote. “I didn't know there was a way to get better. But there is. Help yourself so others can help you, too. And never be ashamed to talk about it.”

After sharing the post, Ewan voiced his support for his daughter.

“I totally support her in every way,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “That is absolutely an individual, personal thing. And Clara’s great — I support her 100 percent.”

Clara and Ewan starred in a father-daughter film together

Clara and Ewan starred in the 2024 drama film Bleeding Love, which spotlights “a gritty, emotional tale about healing familial wounds through reconnection,” per a synopsis from its distributor, Vertical. They portrayed the roles of an estranged father and daughter duo who find themselves navigating problems from their past.

“There was something special about [Ewan] being a part of a film that I was also producing and had put together,” Clara told PEOPLE of the “incredible experience.”

And while some might think the film mirrors Clara and Ewan's relationship in real life, Clara said “the characters were their own people — they weren’t us.”