Who is Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham?

“Actor. Writer. Director. And dog activist.” That’s how Nicola Peltz Beckham describes herself in her Instagram bio.

The 31-year-old wife of Brooklyn Beckham has found herself in the centre of a media maelstrom following her husband’s explosive social media post taking aim at his A-list parents, Sir David and Lady Victoria.

While she has risen to prominence since her marriage to the Beckhams’ eldest child, Peltz is otherwise known for her acting career and famous parents – billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and model Claudia Heffner.

Her father is a founding partner of an investment management fund based in New York and was previously the director of several global brands including Heinz.

Her mother was a successful model in the 1980s and 1990s and the couple went on to have eight children. They have now been together for more than 40 years.

Nicola grew up in New York, and, in a 2019 interview, said her parents tried to put her off her dream career of acting.

“I grew up playing ice hockey, and my dad really wanted me to focus on playing ice hockey, he thought it was so cool. I was centre-right and right-wing,” she said.

“Then, when I was 11 years old, I asked my mom if I could try acting – it started because I loved my drama class. My parents were very against it [at first]. They didn’t get it.”

They relented, and by the time she had landed her first stage role in Blackbird at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2005, they had come round to the idea.

Her film debut had actually come the previous year, when she played Mackenzie in the Christmas comedy Deck the Halls.

She went on to land roles in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender in 2010 and starred as Norman Bates’s love interest in the 2013 series, Bates Motel.

She has also had roles in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Hulu drama When the Street Lights Go On (2017).

Her next project is the indie film Prima, where she plays the leading role as a ballerina alongside a cast which also includes Oscar winners Faye Dunaway and Mira Sorvino. The screenplay is based on a story and character created by Peltz Beckham.

Nicola has also appeared in music videos, including Zayn Malik’s It’s You and Miley Cyrus’s 7 Things, and has modelled for brands such as Italian outfit Genny.

She made her directorial debut with 2024 movie Lola, which she also wrote and starred in. Nicola played the titular character, a young woman trying to save up to get her brother out of the toxic family home.

The heiress previously acknowledged criticism she got online for her privileged position.

“I get a lot of mean comments on my Instagram that, unfortunately, I do read, and they always comment, ‘She doesn’t work,'” Nicola said.

“And that’s fair, and I don’t blame them for saying that because it’s not like I’m posting my Lola experience every step of the way. But I really have been working on Lola for six years. It’s such a massively long process.”

The film received a mixed response and got a 56% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Guardian review suggesting it “exploits hardship”.

Aside from her career, Nicola is known for encouraging her followers to adopt or foster animals, and she was rewarded with a Peta award in 2022 for being a Pawsome Adoption Advocate.

But it was her relationship with Brooklyn that catapulted her into the spotlight, particularly since their lavish wedding in 2022.

In an interview with Glamour, he revealed he met his future wife at Coachella and they later got together following a Halloween party.

Nicola has frequently spoken of her love and admiration for her parents, including in an interview with Brydie in 2024, in which she also praised her in-laws.

“Family is everything to me, and I mean that with my whole heart,” she said. “I’m so close to mine and Brooklyn’s family and I think there’s no better feeling than knowing you have a strong support system. It’s such a blessing, and I never take it for granted.”

While Nicola has continued to publicly praise her family on social media, it was recently reported that she had removed a post congratulating her mother-in-law on her 50th birthday from her profile.

The pair are now embroiled in a very public fallout with Sir David and Lady Victoria – after Brooklyn posted an Instagram statement on Monday saying he has no wish to reconcile with his family following a rift.