Jacob Elordi’s career has taken off since his starring role in 2018 Kissing Booth, and his parents were with him every step of the way.
Priscilla The actor was born on June 26, 1997, in Brisbane, Australia, to John and Melissa Elordi. Jacob, the youngest in the family with three older sisters, admitted that he grew up with everything he could want.
“I was definitely spoiled growing up as a baby, and I still am,” she said in an interview with . GQ In 2020.
His father originally immigrated from the Basque Country, a region between France and Spain, and his mother is Australian. Jacob talked about how supportive John and Melissa were about his career, despite his initial concerns about the difficulty of breaking into the industry.
From their personal lives to their son’s support, here’s everything you need to know about Jacob Elordi’s parents and their relationship with the actor.
John emigrated from the Basque region
While Melissa is Australian, where she and her husband raised all four of their children, John’s family originally comes from the Basque region, which Jacob described in a 2020 interview as “a little place between France and Spain.” GQ.
“If my grandfather had known I was of Spanish descent, he would have strangled me,” he said of the Wikipedia page, which initially said his family was Spanish and later corrected it to Basque.
He was 8 years old when his father emigrated with only 8 dollars in his pocket. Enthusiasm the actor said El País In 2022. “I am extremely proud of this legacy,” he said.
John is a house painter
John works as a house painter and spent 13 years building the Elordi family home himself. Jacob said GQ in 2022 that his father was “a totem of the kind of man I wanted to be” and that his hard work instilled a strong resilience and work ethic in the family salt burn actor.
As a worker, John sometimes has difficulty understanding Jacob’s career; but that doesn’t mean he isn’t extremely supportive.
“He’ll still say: ‘Are you going to hit the spot you kissed? In the cabin?’ Jacob said, ‘No, Dad, I swear I make good movies.’ GQ. “’Is this where you’re an American?’ ‘I’m an American in all of them, dad.’ ”
Melissa was a stay-at-home mom
Growing up, Jacob had a strong bond with his mother, who would spend as much quality time with him as possible. he reminded GQ How Melissa volunteered to work in her school’s cafeteria so she could hang out with him while he ate the lunch she prepared for him.
Jacob told the outlet that he has the closest relationship with his mother, whom he describes as “the most present, loving, just beautiful, angelic person on this planet.”
They have four children
Before welcoming Jacob, Melissa and John had three daughters, whom Jacob described as “relatively much older” than him. GQ. One of his sisters, Isabella, was a ballet dancer at the Australian Ballet School, so the Elordi family moved from Brisbane, where Jacob was born, to Melbourne so he could train.
John and Melissa supported Jacob in his career after initial concerns
john said daily mail He said in March 2022 that he saw his son enter the world of theater and acting when he was young and was initially cautious.
“He loved theatre. He devoured the movies. “He devoured books about movies,” he said. “Sometimes two or three books at once. “He watched YouTube videos of casting calls.”
John added that at first he questioned his son’s decision to continue acting, noting how difficult it was to break into the industry, but eventually decided to trust his son’s instincts.
“Jacob’s self-belief was always very strong, but of course as parents you try to be pragmatic and we were very pragmatic,” she said. “He always knew what he wanted to be. As his father, I once said to him, ‘Dude, acting is a one in a million situation.’ ”
The proud father continued: “And he said to me: ‘So why can’t I be that person? Why can’t I be one in a million?’ He was looking at things with such confidence. “So as parents, we decided to support him all the way and trust that he knows what he’s doing.”
Now Jacob’s doubts have diminished as his success has increased with projects such as: The Kissing Booth, Enthusiasm and his last role: playing Elvis Presley Priscilla.
“What I understand a little bit about the movie world is that it can be very fickle and one minute something really big can happen and the next minute everything can be lost,” John said. daily mail. “I know how hard-working Jake is, and if he keeps doing it, which I know he will, then he’ll achieve whatever he sets his mind to.”
Both Melissa and John are proud of their son’s accomplishments and even have t-shirts with images of almost every character their son has played. GQ.
They are attached to the characters Jacob plays
Michelle was in shock when she first saw Jacob dressed as Elvis and FaceTimed in full costume. “I think he started screaming,” he said fun tonight.
However, Michelle was not very happy with the other roles, because Jacob’s character Enthusiasm, Nate is an aggressive, shady high school student who is frequently abusive to his partners. After Nate was arrested for abusing his girlfriend in season 1 of the show, Jacob told GQ that Melissa called him and was upset.
“I think he sees her the same way I do,” Jacob said.
John said he felt the same way daily mailWhen she sees Nate choking his on-screen girlfriend. But he said he can still see the difference between who his son really is and the characters he portrays.
“Unlike many people on the internet, I can distinguish between the character and the actor,” John said. “But it’s not easy to watch. When you see your son on the screen holding a gun to his head or putting his gun to his head and putting his hand around a girl’s throat… I get it.”
They joined him on the ‘Today’ show
During a Zoom interview Today Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, co-hosts of the January 2022 show, noticed people sitting on the bed in the mirror behind Jacob. When Kotb asked who they were, Jacob explained that they were his parents and then turned the camera on them, causing Melissa to hide among the pillows.
He shared that they flew from Australia to join him a few days ago. Kotb asked what they thought of Jacob being a “Hollywood heartthrob” and they jokingly replied, “Be better!” they replied.
More than a year later, in October 2023, Jacob rejoined the show and reflected on that sweet moment he had with Kotb.
“I think this is my first appearance on Australian radio and television,” he said, referring to his role as Elvis. “They’re so caught up in everything, they can’t believe it. “I finally feel like a real actor.”